Punia and the Troublesome Gods of Kona

Retold by Keonaona Kapuni-Reynolds

You’ve all heard of the story of Punia before, right? But, you probably didn’t know about the events that happened during Punia’s return home after he killed Kai‘ale‘ale in Kohala.

While Punia was returning to Ka‘ū, Hawai‘i where his mother Hina was living, he heard some man-killing gods throwing nets at the tide pools of sea. If Punia wanted to return to his mother, he had to trick the gods just like how he tricked Kai‘ale‘ale. So he sat and listened to what was said between the gods.

The bald god said, “gods, we will catch Palani and Kala in this tide pool.” The red-eyed god answered, “That’s what you said at the other tide pools. Gods don’t listen to this bald god, let’s wait for a native of this land to show us where fish can be found and when he has no more knowledge to offer us then we shall kill him.”

As Punia was listening to what the gods said, he started to chant and cry out this recounting cry.

‘Auwē, My Father of this Place!

From Hawaiian Fishing Legends, by Dennis Kawaharada

My father of this place! The Fish runds,
We were the only two fishermen here, We were the only experts of these places!
My father and I, My father!
We fished here, You were on the path
Twisting up the edge of the net, Of no return,
Snaring the Kala, the Uhu, You fled from our intimate closeness,
the Palani, the Ananue, I alone remain,
The fish of this place, A native of this place,
My father! Beloved places of ours, my dear companion,
We came here alone, Beloved beaches of ours, doubly loved,
To all the slopes, the pits, My father!

When the gods heard this wailing, they ran towards Punia and said to him, “will you show us, head fisherman, the fish pits of your land?” The bald god heard this question and said, “No way!! Let’s kill this troublesome man!” When Punia heard this he told the other gods, “I’ll show you guys how to get a lot of fish.” So the gods ignored the bald god and returned with Punia to the tide pools.

“Eh gods, the fish have ears so be quiet, or the fish will leave this place. Follow me and help me throw the net.” When the gods went to help Punia throw net, they dived under and that’s where Punia twisted them into the net until they were dead, except for the bald god. He saw this trickery and left. Punia then returned to his mother with no more problems.

Some people have reason to believe that the dead gods in the net gave the Kala and the Palani the stinky smell that these fish are known to have when preparing these fish to eat.