Pikoi and His Magic Arrows

Long ago on the island of Kauai, there lived a man called Alala who wished for a son. As the years passed, only daughters were born, the first of which was blessed with special powers from the gods. She was called Beauty of Manoa. Then, finally after six daughters had been born, there came a son. Alala named him Pikoi.

Pikoi grew up to be strong and capable, but he wished to be a bowman. This was disappointing for his father since the bow and arrow were used only for shooting rats, which was a sport reserved for royalty. Alala urged his son to chose a more practical pastime, however, Beauty of Manoa understood his choice and before she was to sail to Oahu to get married, she bestowed upon Pikoi four magic arrows wrapped in kapa (a cloth made from bark). She admonished him to use the arrows wisely for in this way he would win his father's approval.

Years passed and Pikoi practiced with his bow diligently. After a time, Alala longed to visit Beauty of Manoa and invited Pikoi to go to Oahu with him. Pikoi was eager to explore another island and even more eager to see his sister who gave him so much love and support.

Pikoi made sure to bring his magic arrows on the long canoe journey. While the wind blew, they sailed and when the air was still, he paddled with his father. At night, they used a stone anchor to keep them from straying off course as they slept.

One windless day, father and son were paddling and nearly to their destination, when Pikoi heard his father cry out behind him. When he turned he saw a sight so horrible it chilled him despite the heat of the sun beating down on his shoulders. A giant squid had grasped the back half of the canoe; tentacles slithering swiftly toward Alala.

Pikoi sprang toward his kapa bundle and drew out a magic arrow which he swiftly shot straight and true into the monster's body. Pikoi drew a breath of relief as the tentacles went slack and the giant body descended into the ocean's depth.

Alala was overjoyed at his son's bravery and skill and praised him warmly. Pikoi was pleased at the first signs of his father's approval. They resumed paddling and were soon reunited with Beauty of Manoa and her husband, Chief Pawaa.

At his sister's request, Pikoi demonstrated his archery ability with some target shooting. She and her husband were impressed, but even more so after Alala related the incident with the giant squid and how Pikoi had saved his life. Chief Pawaa was so pleased with the story that he invited Pikoi to accompany him to the royal rat-shooting competition of King Kakuhi-hewa.

When Pikoi arrived with his family, they heard cheers for Mainele, the king's bowman. The king and queen were wagering land, and Mainele had just won the Valley of Manoa for the king, beating out the queen's best bowman.

Chief Pawaa approached the couple and humbly offered the queen the services of Pikoi. She was very pleased and the king was in agreement. Mainele, however, was offended that he would be competing against a bowman so much younger than himself and scoffed at Pikoi.

The queen accepted Pikoi and bet her Coconut Grove of Kailua against the Valley of Manoa. The king agreed to the wager and announced that each bowman would shoot where the other directed. The first to shoot fourteen rats would be the winner.

Mainele was to shoot first, so Pikoi directed him toward a swarm of rats by a kamani tree. Mainele's arrow flew true and a servant retrieved it with three rats impaled upon it. The crowd cheered, but Pikoi was not impressed and told Mainele that he had expected there would be ten rats killed by his arrow, not three.

Mainele was furious, but shot true again and his second arrow held ten rats. This time the crowd was very excited, but Pikoi simply directed Mainele to shoot a rat in the weeds, but through the whiskers this time.

"I am Mainele of Oahu, champion rat shooter. I have shot rats through the foot, the ear and through the eye. No one has ever shot a rat through the whiskers!" Mainele roared.

At that, Pikoi took a magic arrow and shot it at the weed patch. The queen's servant breathlessly brought it back for all to see. Dangling from it's shaft were fourteen rats and the last one was shot through the whiskers.

Pikoi was thanked graciously by the queen and congratulated by many in the cheering crowd. Even the king was pleased to have such an excellent bowman present. Everyone had enjoyed the show except for Mainele who stared at Pikoi with cold hard eyes as he left the field.

Days passed and Pikoi began to wish for another journey to explore yet another island. Then one day, two canoes approached from the island of Hawaii. The High Chief Keawe-nui had sent a delegation to request the aid of the king's bowman, Mainele.

Pikoi longed to visit the island of Hawaii and asked Mainele if he could join him. Mainele brushed him off distastefully and sped away with the paddlers in the larger of the two canoes. However, the paddler from the second canoe invited Pikoi to join him to help with the long journey, and they set off right away.

Pikoi paddled with the man called Waiakea for many days and during that time they talked of many things. Eventually, Waiakea heard the story of the rat shooting match between Pikoi and Mainele, and promised Pikoi that he would take him to the forest for the bird-shooting in the event an opportunity should arise.

When they finally reached Hilo, Pikoi was full of tired and aching muscles. Waiakea directed him to a quiet beach where he could soak his fatigued body and gain strength for the following day.

Pikoi was relaxing in the surf when he was almost struck by a surfboard as it's rider shouted a warning. Sputtering back to the surface, Pikoi watched the figure glide to shore, then turn around and paddle back out to him. He was astonished to discover that the surfer was a beautiful and inquisitive maiden. They spent the rest of the evening talking and surfing. He told her all about his journey and his experiences on Oahu, but realized after they had parted that he knew only her name; Hokulani.

The next morning as he made his way into the forest, Pikoi's mind wandered to Hokulani and he resolved to find her after the shooting match was over. It was soon becoming time to take a wife and he had never been so captivated by anyone as he was by Hokulani.

The shooting party with Waiakea and Pikoi trailing behind, had finally reached a great koa forest high in the mountains. Several trees lay felled and the chief's kahuna was chanting next to a towering specimen. Suddenly, a bird call echoed and two elepaio birds settled onto branches high in the tree the kahuna was chanting over and began to peck at it's bark.

The kahuna stopped what he was doing and there was heavy disappointment in the air. Canoe building was a sacred act and trees were always picked out by a kahuna. If an elepaio bird pecked at the tree, it was deemed flawed and unfit, likely infested with insects. Yet these two elepaio birds had rejected every single tree the kahuna had chosen even when it was discovered later that the tree was perfect. It was thought that these birds were kupua (supernatural or demigod) birds, sent by an enemy to keep the chief from building more canoes.

Mainele approached the tree and pulled back an arrow in his bow. He leaned back, squinted against the sun, and the arrow shot forward, but faltered and fell before it could reach the birds. Two more arrows were loosed and still they could not reach the great height.

A tower was built that stood half as high as the great tree. Mainele climbed to the top and took aim again. The birds merely flew to a higher branch and were still out of range of Mainele's arrows.

Now was Pikoi's chance and Waiakea sent a messenger to High Chief Keawe-nui to introduce him. Keawe-nui was skeptical, but when Pikoi explained that he would shoot the birds with a magic arrow, the chief agreed to let him try.

Pikoi requested a calabash of water be placed near the tree. The crowd of watchers looked upon this upstart coldly, but none glared as hard as did Mainele. However, Pikoi went on in his calm preparation, choosing one of his two remaining arrows carefully, staring at the reflection of the birds in the calabash of water, and praying to his god. Finally, he let his arrow go and it sailed into the topmost branches of the tree, striking both birds before returning to the ground.

Keawe-nui was overjoyed and his followers cheered. Pikoi learned that there would be a elebration feast and he would be presented with the prize that was promised to the winner. Pikoi asked Waiakea what the prize was, but he didn't know. He hoped it would be land or position so that he would have something to offer to Hokulani.

Pikoi was lost in happy thoughts when Waiakea rushed up to him and told him that the prize he was to receive was the high chief's daughter's hand in marriage.

The feast was grand with the finest foods; suculent pig, tender fish, fresh opihi, sweet yams, coconuts and bananas. Pikoi could hardly taste anything. He was stunned and disappointed that he was obligated to marry the high chief's daughter, just when he had found someone he wished to share his life with.

When the feast ended, the crowed of men moved to the long house where the women joined them to be entertained by dancers. Pikoi took his place next to Keawe-nui as the music started and the dancers told the story of Pikoi's victory.

Next came a dance performed by the high chief's daughter. When Pikoi finally brought his eyes up to look at her, he realized it was Hokulani smiling mischieviously at him. Dumbfounded, it took a few moments for him to realize that Hokulani was the high chief's daughter.

Pikoi returned to Oahu with his bride to visit King Kakuhi-hewa. There they were invited to go surfing with the royal couple. It was a great honor, but a dangerous one, for it was forbidden for anyone to share the same wave that royalty rode. After a time, the king and queen went ashore and gave permission for the others to continue surfing. Pikoi and Hokulani were the only two left riding the waves.

Later in the day, a young man called Apiki swam out and told them that the queen would be surfing and that Pikoi was to catch the wave after her. Pikoi watched for Apiki's signal and caught the wave when he was told to. He heard a cry from behind him as Hokulani realized he had caught the queen's wave.

When Pikoi reached the shore, Mainele and his followers met him. They raised a cry that he had broken the law and must be put to death. As they pummeled him, the king approached to nvestigate. He became very angry when he learned that Pikoi had commited a crime against royalty.

Chief Pawaa and Alala hurried over with Pikoi's kapa bundle and requested permission to speak. When it was granted, they exposed Mainele's plot to trick Pikoi into riding the queen's wave. The king was silent for a moment, then turned with rage to Mainele and his followers. The penalty for their crime was death and the king commanded Pikoi to carry it out.

Pikoi took his final magic arrow from the kapa wrappings and fitted it to his bow. The arrow shot forward to Apiki, then on to each man who had plotted against him before returning to Pikoi's hand. He placed it back into the kapa and when the royal family had gone, he took Hokulani back to Kauai. He lived out his life as a respected bowman with his wife and family, and the approval of his father.

Pikoi and His Magic Arrows
By Genesis