Date: January 30th, 2022

Location: Kelii William Ioane Jr. Kingslanding  Residence

At the piko in Ainalani

Hilo, HI 96720

Interviewer: Ainaaloha Ioane

Interviewee: Kelii William Ioane Jr. 

Summary:

In an interview with Kelii William Ioane Jr. he recalls the Kings Landing village as being Kapu to the akua Kāne, the tax man, and that some village men went crazy because of Pō Kāne. He explained that he built his first house by selling the fish, ʻōpihi, limu kohu, manini and ʻāholehole, he caught in Kings Landing. Keliʻi described life in the village as beautiful, perfect and abundant with marine life. He was so in love with ʻāina and was overwhelmed with happiness. Keliʻi remembers the villagers of those days upholded the Hawaiian culture and respect which made village life safe to raise his kids. He believes that the village life provided sustenance physically, emotionally and spiritually and that the community worked together. Kelii concludes his interview by stating that when he dies, his heaven will be that of raising his kids in the village of Kings Landing, just him, his family and the earth.  

Kelii  William Ioane Jr.

Ahhumm.. aloha kākou, ahh mahalo ʻoukou ko lokomaikaʻi i kou ahh hoʻi ana mai i kēia kau hale o Kingslanding. Dwas da first family in here. Ahh dey came in here ahhhh Aunty Mary, not Aunty Mary da sistah Aunty Lili Puana, dey was living ahh Waiokawa and ahhh but was too fah. Dey used to walk ehh… so dey wen go ahh wey dey wey dey at wey dey driveway stay now. Bill Pakani they gave Bill Pakani dat land… then we came in after so but now that all all da old timers gone getting lonely ova here. My grandfaddah I was raised Keaukaha my grandfaddah my faddah dem from Keaukaha Todd avenue, 405 Todd avenue. And my madda from Palolo so I was raised Palolo housing and ahh… ahh Keaukaha homestead. But ahh.. Ahh.. when I was young we used to come in here eh. I mean not here we used to go umm Pumaile and den all the mens used to come in here fish. And so like in heah this village ehh (mumbling not understandable) this was just sort of semi kapu. 

(1:09)

because ahh dey always used to talk about pō kāne. Pō kāne was the mea ʻauhau for ahh akua kāne and dey always tell you you know you come in heahh you feel funny you gotta leave the fish cause the tax man he coming, pō kāne.

(1:25)   

And ahh da attah ding is in this village ahh this is what dey say cause pō kāne man ehh da man get pupule in heah not all but ehh going get we had quieta few pupule braddahoods in hea and den das what dey say is da pō kāne ahh make ʻem pūpule. 

(1:45)

But das why cause my gradfaddah he used to come in hea fish with ahh John Malo. John Malo da chief of  ahh ahh this ahupuaʻa Waiakea ahupuaʻa Jhon Malo da chief. So everytime couple times had some kingdom kings came in here talk to me I no listen. Cause my gradfaddah told me who chief, you know, ahh but den ahh all dis, what you call add watah and stir aliʻi dey come in heah dey the kingdom I da king, king dis king dat king dis anyhow but ahh das how when I used to listen to da stories in heahh I knew I wanted to come you know. 

(2:31)

SKIPPY SHARES HOW HE BUILT HIS HOUSE IN KINGʻS LANDING  

Irregardless of ahh your finances as long as you had ahh aloha ʻāina in your naʻau and you had drive you go, you know my outhouse our first house from ʻōpihi, limu kohu, and manini and ʻāholehole, you know das how I when built dat house and rubbish dump before rubbish dump you can go get, I got a lot of lumber and iron roof from rubbish dump, matta of fact some is I using right now up ʻŌloaʻa. Forty years later still going. 

(2:58)

SUBSISTENCE LIVING WITH ʻĀINA

All was beautiful, beautiful, beautiful, cause had plenty fish one, had plenty fish, plenty ʻaʻama, da limu da limu kohu like this kine (? from elbow to fingertips) you see my hand dis kine da limu. Before Bill Pakani he tie he tie rope he take he drag out two pakini. (mumble not understandable) da water malia ehh kai momona. He put, he tie two pakini together he drag ʻem out den he fill up two pakini, two pakini now, and ahh… cause fast so much ova here meaʻai das why dey used to call dis da icebox. In da old days dey call da ocean da ice box. So dey always tell you no no hanaʻino your ice box and the uwowo, you gotta trow rock for get da buggah out of da way you know and da nenue I gotta shake ʻem out of da net you know had soo much fish heah, so da fish you like you gotta get trow rock for da attah fish go. 

(4:05)

SKIPPY SHARES ABOUT THE VILLAGE PEOPLE

And den da people here in the village before was all ahh in our old days ka manaʻo o ka waʻa, das how we used to think, you on the canoe everybody gotta pull deah own wait and if you no can pull your own wait get out of heah. Ova hear you no ask for help you ask for advice, den you go ahead and do ʻem yourself. When I first came in heah no more cah,  you know, I when use Adrean Kalimaʻs truck den he saw da road he when take his truck back I had to carry our house girl on my shoulder but I was soo in love with ʻāina I was just overwheloming with happiness. If I get tired I put the log down, rest, call, carry bring in the ʻōhiʻa, and I bring in waiwi. I neva had iron roof when I first started, ahh dat when cost me two gallon ʻōpihi. But ahh after dat dose days only had two family den ahhhh I dink who came in next dah Pelekanes I dink I cannot remembah, but had ahh da ahh da Kānes, John and Rose Kāne, dey was all oldah den me but da people who came in hea befoah dey was all ʻeleu all good with deah hands, fix deah carh all go fishing, you know when you get partay everybody get fish was very ahh plentiful soooo… dis village ehh had providen ahhh sustenance physical, emotional and spiritual, so dat the people in heah no mo argument, when time fo work, hooo everybody show up. Everybody show up da kids all in da way, soo much food, you know ummm life was just perfect in hea da people no was exactly perfect but in dose days deah was dey still had a lot of da ahhhh…. Ahhhhh….ahhhh Upbringings of da Hawaiian culture you know you do your shaeah, no steal, no lie, you know what I mean ahhhh and you kāhea before you go somebody’s house you no just walk in if no body home turn around, you know you no go walk in, you kāhea, hui, hui no body stay go home you turn around. In da old days you borrow something you ask first, you no ask after da guy told you if you when take ʻem, yeah I when borrow. You ask before you grab and when you pau you put ʻem back bettah shape den when you when you use, you know no, no borrow da car being ʻem back da tank empty, full. Soooo da village life in heah was just abundant, abundant, abundant, you know we was bursting at the seams and ahhh dem days gone and cause dose days are gone cause dose types of Hawaiians is gone. Da Hawaiian now cry babe ahhh what about me and and dey have a degree in chicken shittery so but you know das life is see like now im in da tophalfofda fourth quatah so I gotta adjust to da chicken shittery for me survive I gottah ahhh ahhh awayah of da chicken shit i’m surrounded by. You know and so but ahh das what I have to adapt to now you know in dis ahhh two dousand what dis twenty two ahh twodousand twentytwo kanaka but ahhh we gottah just keep ahhh steppen you know no no stop

SKIPPY SHARE ABOUT RAISING THEʻOHANA IN THE VILLAGE

(7:50)

Ahhhhh well I gotta be honest I gottah be honest it, it, to me ahh no was hard we had ahhh hot wattah, we had stove, da ovan, gas stove, gas ovan ahh washing machine but neva had computah dose days and den ahh dah what you call dat dey just started not cell phone ahhh shit I forget what kine phone dat was… neva had cell phone, but was small but ahh we had ahhh… radio cb radio and a ham radio for everybody in da village but raising my kids in hear to me was, to me was good you know because ahhh what ahhh a dont know about my wife cause she did all da hard work but my kids ahhh dey grew up dey grew up kinda of tuff, rough kid in heahh and ahhh what ahh but dey good ocean you know like before when I set da net I bring da net in dey all take out da fish take out da lobstah, put da one with da egg back, clean time dey eat all da fat from da manini but ahhh was ahhh raising my kids in heah.

(9:07) 

Theres two, you know when if I die, da heaven I like das going be one, cause you know one had plenty fish and my kids all listen, you  know, you know we had a great time, we had a great time in heah, good neighbors and ahhh, it was safe, you know in heah da kids go all ova no mattah dey all kihele all ova cause neva had, I don’t know, you know da kine druggies like dat, neva had and was mostly dat time was all Keuakaha people in hea. But ahhh, you know for for have dis kine life ahhh…. Ahhhhh… what you call and not void of human touch, contact, but ahhhh, just you, your family and da earth was ahhhh… very ahhhh…. I don’t know was good. You know I when like but ahhhh… and dis present ahhh because I stay soo fah in da bushes no body buttah me and my dogs big, but ahhh raising my kids in hea I tell you das da second heaven I like go back to. Da first heaven I like go back to before I met your mattah was a aku boat, aku boat ahhh man, I had money cah my own apartment, my maddah still wash my clothes, shiees das da attah heaven and den dis Kingslanding das da two heavens I like, ahhh madah of fact I should do it intermittent, go one heaven half a day go da attah heaven da attah half a day I would be ahhhh, I came back up heah I dink, where I was twenty eight, I dink so, but at by twenty eight, from twentyfour you know in dat my twenties I was aku boat ahhh da life but ahhhh ova here two is just as ʻono, just as ʻono and den I had my kids, my kids and my wife ahh das da next, what you call dat da lewa as you move on your journey, actually you going down, you moving down your journey you going back to da earth (mumbling) 

(11:25)

Without dat building block you cannot accomplish ahhhh da steps dat take you back to da earth.