| Legends
of He'eia Fishpond
There
were many legends (mo'olelo) about He'eia fishpond. One mo'olelo
spoke about the history of He'eia fishpond. "The ahupua'a itself
was named for He'eia, who was said to have been the foster
son of the goddess Haumea and the grandson of the demi-god
Olopana, and uncle of Kamapua'a. The handsome He'eia
fell in love with Kaohelo, a younger sister of Pele (volcano
goddess) and Hi'iaka. They met in Ko'olau on O'ahu.
When Kaohelo died, parts of her body were distributed among
the volcano areas of the islands and became the 'ohelo plant,
the fruit of which is sacred to Pele" (Kelly, 1975).
Another
mo'olelo spoke about Meheanu, the traditional mo'o
(reptile) of He'eia. "She was the kia'i or guardian of
He'eia Fishpond. Meheanu had supernatural powers and could
change herself into many forms, such as a frog or lizard, but she was
particularly fond of being an eel. She lived at Luamo'o, a small land
adjacent to the pond. Growing around Luamo'o were many sheltering hau
trees. When the hau leaves turned yellow, people knew that
Meheanu was there, but when the leaves were green, they knew she was
more likely to be somewhere else in the form of an eel. The leaves of
the hau were supposed to turn yellow because of the urine of the mo'o
in the water" (Henry, 1993).
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