Trials and Tribulations of Koʻolau
In looking at The True Story of Kaluaikoʻolau as Told by his Wife, Pi‘ilani, one finds a rich telling of passion, longing, and anger. This narrative is a firsthand account of the trials and tribulations that Koʻolau and his family faced during their years on the run. In this telling, a Hawaiian man by the name of Koʻolau contracts leprosy and retreats into the Kalalau Mountains after being forced to flee by the government. During this time in the wilderness, the family has several encounters with government officials, some of them even proving to be fatal. They receive help and support from other families hiding out in the mountains equally torn by the disease of leprosy. Koʻolau, along with his wife Pi‘ilani and son Kaleimanu, hide out in the forest for an extended amount of time before Kaleimanu and Koʻolau succumb to the drastic effects of Leprosy. In the video The True Story of Kaluaikoʻolau as Told by his Wife, Piʻilani, the audience is exposed to a narrative rich in the telling of the intimacy found in a leprosy community, the Native Hawaiians’ distrust and dislike of the government, and the power of family oaths.
After retreating into the Kalalau Mountains, Koʻolau and his family were thrust into the midst of a new community. In this society, Koʻolau finds a certain comfort as he is surrounded by individuals who, too, have faced the hardships that leprosy brought upon the Hawaiian Islands. In Kerri Inglis’s academic journal, Ma‘i Lepera, she offers a firsthand account of a young girl who contracted leprosy and the discrimination she faced from the government. The excerpt relates:
[W]hen the steamer anchored we entered a row boat in company with the
two officials [Wilder and Emerson] and rowed to the Kalaupapa landing and
put ashore and [were] recieved [ sic ] by the local officials of the Leper
Settlement. After our names, ages and places we hailed from were taken
down, [we were] left on the rocky shore without food and shelter. (Inglis 109)
In understanding this excerpt, one is made fully aware of the separation in the islands between those who had contracted the disease, and those who had not.
This video does an excellent job in creating an atmosphere in which Koʻolau is accepted by the leper settlement, as they understand his hardships. In Inglis’ depiction, the lepers were treated with the utmost disregard for personal wellbeing. Koʻolau craves a sense of intimacy and ultimately finds a warm and welcoming community in the leper sanctuary in the mountains. Cut off from the rest of civilization, this community bonds together to form personal relations and reinforce the Hawaiian ideologies of a close-knit community. Professor Jocelyn Linnekin comments on the tightly bonded Hawaiian community by expressing, “For Hawaiians, the shade of the first gulch symbolizes a return to a close-knit society of relationships and an environment where Hawaiians naturally belong” (Linnekin 4). Analyzing this statement, one is drawn to the statement where Linnekin comments “where Hawaiians naturally belong.” This is imperative for Koʻolau and his family as they must be able to find a commonality with their own culture and simply adjust to a life stricken with leprosy.
Throughout the video there are constant references and innuendos that suggest the people of Hawaiʻi had very little trust in the government. For example, when the sheriff came to the leper settlement, no one helped the officers in Koʻolau's arrest. In looking at this discontent with the government, one may find a way in tracing it back to a possible source of restlessness that the Native Hawaiian Homes Commission Act produced. In Hawaiian Blood: Colonialism and the Politics of Sovereignty and Indigeneity author J. Kehaulani Kauanui gives one a representation of the disentitlement to the Native Hawaiians: "Thus, rather than support Native claims to the Hawaiian Islands, blood quantum reduces Hawaiians to a racial minority, reinforcing a system of white racial privilege bound to property ownership" (Kauanui 2). This act itself could be the link to the boiling over the top in the overall disgruntlement of the Native Hawaiians towards the government. The distrust and opposition to authority from the Native Hawaiians is a motif in this film, and relays the underlying factor that the Hawaiian people were not content with how they were being treated. The Academic journal A DECLARATION FROM INDEPENDENT HAWAII offers a different opinion on this in describing, “Prior to the US invasion, Hawai'i was part of the world family of nations and maintained more than 20 international treaties. On January 18, 1993, we will mark the 100th anniversary of the date that we lost our right to self-determination and self-government” (Trask 11). In looking back at the film, one finds a direct correlation as the entire tone is one that portrays the government in a negative manner. Koʻolau despises the governmental authority and feels it has no right to separate him from his cherished family. With the entire leper establishment aiding in Koʻolau’s evasion and deception of the government, one is drawn to the idea that this is the Native Hawaiians' method of quietly and passive aggressively fighting the oppression of the control set in force by the government. Not only Koʻolau’s evading, but the assistance from other members of the community, allows for the realization that this resistance towards the government goes beyond that of a disease; it returns back to the initial oppression of the Hawaiian Islands.
In watching The True Story of Kaluaikoolau as Told by his Wife, Piʻilani the audience is given a portrayal of Koʻolau as an overwhelmingly devoted member to his small family. Looking deeper at these actions of utmost commitment to his family, one must understand the Hawaiian culture and the sacred oaths that bond a family. Throughout the entirety of this film, the account constantly brings up the idea that Koʻolau made an oath to his wife, and that it may never be broken. In the telling, one observes Koʻolau adhering strictly to his word, risking his life countless times in order to protect his wedding vow to Piʻilani. The academic journal The Thread of Life offers an explanation to this righteous vow as it discusses the importance of marriage throughout numerous island chains. Author Holland Douglas-Wood goes on to communicate, “Marital discord is infrequent and is considered highly detrimental to the household. This is because it interferes with the family’s attempt to make a living in both practical and spiritual ways. Household harmony is considered a prerequisite for attaining good fortune and prosperity” (Douglas-Wood 97). The video allows the audience to understand this message and produces a visual that portrays a powerful Hawaiian man doing everything in his will to keep his vow, protect his family, and honor his morals. This impacts the tone of the entire film as the small family wins over the audience through Koʻolau’s sheer audacity and willingness to provide for his family. Oaths are powerful in the Hawaiian culture and Koʻolau reinforces this ideology by doing everything in his power to keep his family united.
The True Story of Kaluaikoʻolau as Told by his Wife, Piʻilani unbolts our eyes to a visual perception of the struggles that occur after inopportunely contracting the disease of leprosy. In this film viewers are introduced to a welcoming community that sees beyond the extremities of leprosy and welcomes Koʻolau for his character, not his appearance. Diving deeper into this picture, one is also introduced to the concept of the Native Hawaiian people finding small but defining ways to stand up against being oppressed by the government. Finally, audiences are taken down a rocky path that explores the influence of oath and the virtuous nature of marriage in the Hawaiian culture. In viewing this emotionally captivating film, one finds a rich account detailing the epic journey of a young man finding refuge amongst a community of his own, quietly fighting oppression and devoting his life to protecting his all-end, his family.
Works Cited
Inglis, Kerri A.. Ma‘i Lepera : A History of Leprosy in Nineteenth-Century Hawai‘i. Honolulu, HI, USA: University of Hawaii Press, 2013. ProQuest ebrary. Web. 18 February 2015.
Linnekin, J. S. (1983), Defining tradition: variations on the Hawaiian identity. American Ethnologist, 10: 241–252. doi: 10.1525/ae.1983.10.2.02a00020
Trask, Mililani. Earth Island Journal. Winter 92/93, Vol. 8 Issue 1, p32. 1p. 1 Black and White Photograph.
Hollan, Douglas Wood.-Wellenkamp, Jane C., and Wellenkamp, Jane C.. Thread of Life : Toraja Reflections on the Life Cycle. Honolulu, HI, USA: University of Hawaii Press, 1996. ProQuest ebrary. Web. 18 February 2015.
Kauanui J. Kehaulani. Hawaiian Blood: Colonialism and the Politics of Sovereignty and Indigeneity. P. 2008. Narrating Native Histories. Web. 18 February 2015.
