Puna and The Dragon Goddess

Kiha-wahine and Haumea were goddesses, worshipped in the temples. It is said that Haumea took a chief of Oahu as her husband. His name was Puna. It was the desire of Kiha-wahine to take Puna for herself. One day, while Puna searched for a good surfing spot, he came upon Kiha-wahine floating in the water. She called to him, telling him that she knew of a good spot far outside the reef. Puna could think of nothing but this beautiful woman, thus Kiha-wahine lured Puna out to sea and on to Molokai.

Puna remained a prisoner on Molokai, for leaving would mean death for him. The couple lived together in a cave as husband and wife for a long time. Puna longed to go down to the beach to see people surfing and playing. Finally, Kiha-wahine granted his request and Puna was allowed to leave the cave and go to the ocean. He was watching a gathering of people playing at sports when Hinole, his brother-in-law, recognized him and invited him to his house to eat.

Hinole told Puna that his wife was a goddess and that if he crept quietly into the cave, he would see her as a dragon. He also told Puna about his first wife, Haumea, and advised him on how to escape from the dragon goddess so that he could return to his home on Oahu.

Puna was to ask for the water from Poliahu of Mauna Kea, the snow covered mountain of Hawaii. He was to make a hole in the water jar, and while his wife was occupied, he was to go to the pit of Pele.

Now, Kiha-wahine had told Puna to cry out in a loud voice when he returned to the cave. However, remembering Hinole's words, Puna crept into the cave silently. There, he saw his beautiful wife in the form of a mo'o or dragon. Puna tried to hide, but he was so overwhelmed that he was shaking.

Kiha-wahine heard him and quickly changed into her human form. The dragon goddess was very angry. She called Puna an evil man and threatened to eat his eyes. Puna said nothing and Kiha-wahine's anger quickly subsided. Life settled back into a regular routine and remained that way for a long while.

Then one day, Puna was breathing hard and Kiha-wahine asked him what was wrong. Puna told her that he needed the water of Poliahu of Mauna Kea, that he had gone without for so long while he dwelt with her. Puna insisted that only the cold, ice laden water of Poliahu would do, as he had always had it since childhood. However, he told his wife that he could not ask her to go on such a quest as it was filled with too many hardships for a woman to endure.

Kiha-wahine thought for a moment and then decided to fulfill Puna's wish and bring him the water he desired. Puna gave her a water jar in which he had made a small hole so that she would be delayed and he would have time to escape.

After Kiha-wahine left, Puna found a canoe and went to Maui, then on to Hawaii. He made his way to the pit of Pele where he dwelt with the people living there and told them about his journey.

Meanwhile, Kiha-wahine went to Poliahu, but found that her water jar became light soon after she filled it. Then, realizing that she'd been tricked, she became very angry and called upon all the dragons in the islands. They gathered together at the pit of Pele where she demanded that her husband be returned to her.

The people told Kiha-wahine that Puna belonged to their sister, Haumea. They told her to find a husband of her own and called her a mischief maker. The dragon goddess responded by threatening to capture Pele's fires unless Puna was given up, but still, the people in the crater refused.

All the dragons threw their saliva into the crater and nearly destroyed the fire of Pele's pit, but the fire rose and burned off the saliva and killed many of the dragons. Earthquakes cracked the earth and the dragons tried to escape through these openings, but the fire followed them. Kiha-wahine was forced to flee and leaped into Loko-aka, the Shadow Lake, where she remained a prisoner for a time.

Finally, the dragon goddess was able to return to Molokai where she meant to kill Hinole for helping Puna to escape. Hinole knew she was coming and jumped into the ocean, becoming the Hinalea, a fish loved by fishermen. Kiha-wahine jumped into the ocean after him, but could not find the elusive Hinole.

Ounauna saw her passing back and forth and offered advice. He told her to make a basket from the vine, inalua, and lower it into the ocean. After a while, she could dive down and find her brother in it. Kiha-wahine followed these instructions, but when she dove down, Hinole was swimming along outside of the basket. No matter how long she waited, each time she dove down, Hinole was always outside of the basket.

Angered, Kiha-wahine confronted Ounauna who told her to pound some sea eggs and crabs and put the mixture into the basket. This way, Hinole would go into the basket and she could catch him. This is the way that Hinalea is caught to this day.

Kiha-wahine did catch Hinole, but he persuaded her to let him live. This she did, though he spent the rest of his days as a Hinalea. The dragon goddess then went to Maui where she dwelt in a deep pool near Lahaina.

Meanwhile, Puna had returned to Oahu where he was reunited with his wife, Haumea, and they lived in the mountains above Kalihi-uka.

One day, Haumea went fishing for crabs at her usual spot in Heeia. Puna came to a banana plantation belonging to Kou, the new chief of Oahu. There he ate and fell asleep. Kou's watchmen found him there and tied his hands. They took him to the chief who killed Puna and hung his body from a breadfruit tree. When Haumea returned home, she learned of Puna's death and hurried down to Wai-kaha-lulu to see the body. The people there shouted that this was the wife of the dead man.

When Haumea saw Puna hanging on the branches of the breadfruit tree, she made the tree open. She left her pa-u, or skirt on the ground and stepped into the tree, compelling it to close around her. The akala vine of which the skirt was made took root and grew into a large vine.

The fat from Puna's body fell to the ground where it was eaten by dogs. One of these dogs belonged to the chief, Kou. It is said that the dog went back to the chief's house and while playing with Kou, caught him by the throat and killed him.

Puna and The Dragon Goddess
By Genesis