Mamalahoe Kanaawai - Law of the Splintered Paddle
E na kanaka E malama `oukou i ke akua A e malama ho`i Ke kanaka nui a me kanaka iki E hele ka `elemakule Ka luahine, a me ke kama A moe i ke ala `A`ohe mea nana e ho`opilikia Hewa no, make	King Kamehameha I	O my people Honor thy god Respect alike, the rights of All men great and humble See to it that our aged, Our women, and children Lie down to sleep by the roadside Without fear of harm Disobey, and die
Source: Kamehameha the Great by Julie Stewart Williams - Pai`ea (hard-shell crab) who became Kamehameha I, was born at Kokoiki, Kohala, probably in November of 1758. Rain, thunder, lightning and a comet accompanied his birth. Halleys comet did appear in the same year. His mother, high chiefess Kaku`iapoiwa, entrusted the child to Nae`ole and her cousin, Kaha`opulani, shortly after birth. He was hidden in a cave at `Awini, from the warriors of Alapa`inui, the ruling ali`i of that island, who wanted to kill the child. The hanai parents returned Pai`ea, at age 5, to his natural mother and father, Chief Keouakupuapaikalaninui. They lived in the royal court at Kailua-Kona where Paie`a was proclaimed a chief and named Kamehameha (the lonely one). In 1780, Kalani`opu`u, the ruling ali`i at that time, met with his chiefs in Waipio Valley, named his successor, awarded land grants and gave Kamehameha custody of the family war god, Kuka`ilimoku. In 1785, the young warrior, Kamehameha, sailed along the coast of Puna, a district belonging to another chief. Seeing fishermen on the beach at Papa`i, he decided to raid them and while giving chase, caught his foot in a lava rock crevice. A defender struck him with a canoe paddle that splintered before making his escape, not knowing the raider was an ali`i. This fisherman was brought to trial before King Kamehameha I, 12 years after the incident (1797). Instead of punishment, the fisherman was given lands and set free. The King realized his mistake and issued this edict.