hurried into shore and breathlessly told everyone what had happened, and that the evil shark who had been destroying some of their people was trapped in the shallow waters. They swam armed with sharp knives to destroy wicked Pehu. When they cut open his body, they found human hair and bones inside the man-eater, proof enough that this was the shark who had been killing some of their people.
The two men who had been surfing and had seen the wonderful feats of the other sharks now understood that the leader of them all was Ka’ehu, the little yellow shark from Pu’uloa or Pearl Harbor, whose ancestors were wise and kind and powerful. Ka’ehu loved the people of Oahu and hated all evil which could harm them. The men knew then how he had banded together the other good sharks and had used the powers and wisdom given him by the great shark god Kamailiili.
When the body of Pehu was brought ashore, it was cut into pieces and put into baskets. The baskets were carried from Waikiki to Pelelua, an ancient ceremonial spot, known today as where Nu’uanu and Beretania streets meet in downtown Honolulu.
A large area was cleared to build an immense imu, or oven. The Hawaiian chiefs and village peoples including the kei-ki (Hawaiian name for little children), gathered around the imu and when the fire was an angry red, in went the remains of wicked Pehu. They danced around the fire and chanted old me-le (Hawaiian legends and stories in song), in honor of the occasion where they no longer needed to fear the terrible man-eater. They also chanted their gratitude to Ka’ehu for his good deed. The celebration lasted until the imu fire was nothing but ashes.
All those who saw or heard that the man-eating shark had been captured and killed, knew that it was because of Ka’ehu’s cleverness and his love for the people of Oahu. They never forgot the little yellow shark who lived in the blue waters of Pu’uloa, and how he had saved them!
Author’s note:
The hole in the coral reef off Waikiki where evil Pehu was trapped? It is still known today to many of the old time Hawaiian fishermen.
1—My Family Moves to Pearl Harbor
One day, she told me the legend of the Little Yellow Shark that lived in the Bay of Pu’uloa. She also told me about the shark goddess, Ka’ahupahau, who lived in the same bay full of pearl oysters which is called Pearl Harbor. That’s when I first learned that we would be moving to the Pearl City Peninsula, a small strip of land surrounded on three sides by the waters of the Bay of Pu’uloa, better known as Pearl Harbor.
Our house was at 443 Jean Street in the area called Pearl City Peninsula. It was so close to the harbor that Mom could walk to her new job at the Pan American World Airways Clipper Base. She could come home on work days for lunch with my baby brother, Ishmael and our dog, Hula Girl. I was away in kindergarten at Sacred Hearts Convent, and Dad was at work at the Honolulu Post Office. The year was 1940.
To be a child of the harbor was special. My friends and I would take our nets down to the piers where the airplanes were moored, and drop them into the shiny water to catch crabs. The best bait was fish heads, and we tied them to the center of the circular net to lure the crabs. I wanted the best bait, aku heads, so I could attract the most crabs, and especially Samoan crabs, which were the largest of all.
In the fall of 1941, I began first grade at Sacred Hearts Convent in Nu’uanu. But I wouldn’t finish out the year there, because of events that were beyond my control, even beyond imagining!
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