Sunday, September 17, 2023

Owls & Lullabies

A L O H A From Honolulu!


Kapoi was a Hawaiian man who lived
at Waikiki back in the olden times.
Foraging one day, he found some owl's eggs, and brought them home. That evening he wrapped them in ti leaves to roast them in hot ashes, when an owl perched on his fence
The owl called out to him,
"O Kapoi, give me my eggs!
The owl asked a second time:
"O heartless Kapoi! Take pity on me,
Give me my eggs!" Kapoi finally complied.
Then the owl told Kapoi
to build a heiau, [temple].
He duly did as directed.
But news spread to
the King of Oahu
who bristled at the audacity
of a commoner. He ordered
Kapoi seized and brought
to the royal presence.
The owl who had told Kapoi
to erect a temple was aware
of these events, and gathered
all the owls from Lanai, Maui,
Molokai, and Hawaii to Kalapueo
a beach you may visit to this day
on the Eastern shore of Oahu.
The name Kalapueo literally means
"Owl Proclamation".

The day that Kapoi should
be put to death arrived.
At dawn the owls left their
rendezvous and covered the
whole sky over Honolulu!

When the King's servants seized
Kapoi to put him to death,
the owls flew at them,
with beak and claw.
Thus was fought the
bloody Battle Of The Owls.
The owls emerged victorious and
Kapoi was released by the
King personally who acknowledged
that the Owl Akua (god) is a
powerful one worthy of respect.

From that time to this,
the owl has been recognized
as one of the many deities
and protectors of
the Hawaiian people.
Pueo are honored
as the family Akua
of certain
Hawaiian families
to this day.

Sunlight pierced the
Shadows that dance
A secret path beckoned
At the edge of a glance.



Pixie, What would you do

if you had one year to live?


Pretty much
what I'm doing now,
but with more passion,
more,
abandon, more fun,
and less worry!
So this is my plan
for the year.

Good Plan, I'm IN!

ᳩᳪᳩᳪᳩᳪᳩᳪᳩᳪᳩ

Love You,

Pixie & Cloudia



Linking To


19 comments:

DrumMajor said...

Wow! Mahalo for sharing the Owl story. (But can the Owls do something about all of those roosters?) Linda in Kansas

magiceye said...

What a fascinating tale!

Elephant's Child said...

What a lovely tale. Yet more proof that kindness never goes astray. And that owls are birds of wisdom, beauty and power.

John A Hill said...

There was a big barn owl that roosted in an abandoned barn near where we used to live. Such a magnificent creature. Its wingspan was about 7 feet and it hunted snakes and rodents each night in the field behind our house.

Mike said...

My son was outside last night and heard some owls for the first time this year. They must be spreading this story.

eileeninmd said...

Hello,
What a lovely story. It has been awhile since I heard an owl.
Beautiful images and a sweet shot of Pixie.
Take care, have a great day and happy new week!

s.c said...

Great story but I wonder how an owl reaches such remote island as Hawai.

William Kendall said...

Quite a story.

RedPat said...

A wonderful story, Cloudia.
Love the sunset.

Cloudia said...

Thanks so much friends. An interesting question, SC!

Bill said...

What a wonderful owl story and another gorgeous sunset. Thank you, Cloudia.

Teresa said...

Thanks for sharing the legend of the Hawaiian owls with us! It was wonderful. I also like Pixies plan for more passionately engaging in power cat naps ;)

Martha Jane Orlando said...

I did so enjoy the owl fable, Cloudia! I love reading stories from other cultures.
Blessings!

roentare said...

That is an incredible tale to read. I am learning the culture even more. Beautiful story

kathyinozarks said...

I really enjoyed reading this owl story too-thanks so much for sharing with us. that would be scary to know if one only had a year left to live-better to not know I think.
have a good week

Iris Flavia said...

Great story, fitting to the book on owls I´m still at.

Sami said...

Great tale about the owls Cloudia.
Thanks for participating in Monday Murals :)

Mae Travels said...

The pueo is the native Hawaiian species of owl. Hawaii once had many native birds, but many have gone extinct because of human activity. Now the remaining ones, in many cases, are very threatened by the effects of climate change.

Nice legend1

best, mae at maefood.blogspot.com

Bleubeard and Elizabeth said...

What an incredible story and a fabulous mural to match it. Just amazing.