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Overview
Jos. M. Poepoe’s Battle of the Owls begins with Kapoi gathering seven owl eggs while cutting thatch at Kewalo. Back at Kahehuna, Honolulu, he prepares to roast them. The mother owl appears on his fence and asks for their return. He initially refuses, but her repeated appeals persuade him to give them back. She then tells him to erect a heiau called Manua and dedicate it to her. This kindness creates the obligation behind her later intervention: she protects the person who spared her offspring, rather than attacking people indiscriminately.
King Kakuihewa, ruling Oahu from Waikiki in this account, considers the construction an infringement of a rule requiring the royal temple to be built first. Kapoi is arrested and confined at Kupalaha. The owl calls others from Hawaii, Maui, Molokai and Lanai to Kalapueo beyond Diamond Head; another gathering forms at Kanoniakapueo in Nuuanu, and the Kauai and Niihau contingent assembles at Pueohulunui in Moanalua. At dawn on the day of Kane, the owls fill the sky and defeat the king’s servants by scratching and pecking them. Kapoi is released, and the king recognizes the power of his akua. Poepoe closes by connecting the victory with reverence for owls. That ending expresses the account’s explanation of a religious relationship; it does not establish an independently dated beginning for Hawaiian owl traditions.
Origins & earliest records
Poepoe’s contribution appears as chapter XIX, pp. 200–202, in Thrum’s 1907 collection. The following chapter begins on p. 203.
Records & interpretation
A named Hawaiian contributor supplies the complete exchange, temple conflict, geographical muster and rescue. The owl receives no personal name or exceptional body size in the passage.
In the literature
“the owls conquered, and Kapoi was released”
XIX Battle of the Owls, hosted printed-page marker 202 · Not separately identified in inspected chapter
A man named Kapoi finds seven owl eggs while gathering thatch at Kewalo and takes them home to roast. Their mother comes to his fence and repeatedly asks for them; he finally yields. She tells him to build a temple named Manua, which he dedicates before the king’s own temple. King Kakuihewa arrests him under a law forbidding this precedence and schedules his execution. The owl assembles forces from named island groups at three rendezvous places. On the appointed morning the owls cover Honolulu’s sky and attack the executioners with beaks and claws. They win, and the king releases Kapoi, recognising the power of his god.
Selected bibliography
Documented works and useful reading. This is not a list of every appearance.
- 01
Hawaiian Folk Tales, XIX, Battle of the Owls
pp. 200–202; opening egg exchange through Kapoi’s release
- 02
Hawaiian Folk Tales — XIX Battle of the Owls
Hawaiian Folk Tales: A Collection of Native Legends, Chicago: A.C.McClurg,1907; inspected digital title and copyright page explicitly published1March1907. Complete selected named chapter and footnotes read in Gutenberg18450; heading attributes chapter author separately from compiler. No full collection, original-language transcript or separately cited witness review claimed.
Family & connections
A source-supported family tree or inspiration record has not yet been compiled for this profile. Related reading below indicates a connection in subject matter, not a proven lineage or creative influence.
Located primary passages
Specific passages supporting details in this entry, grouped by their published witness.
Hawaiian Folk Tales, XIX, Battle of the Owls
Hawaiian Folk Tales: A Collection of Native Legends, Chicago: A.C.McClurg,1907; inspected digital title and copyright page explicitly published1March1907. Complete selected named chapter and footnotes read in Gutenberg18450; heading attributes chapter author separately from compiler. No full collection, original-language transcript or separately cited witness review claimed.
- A man named Kapoi finds seven owl eggs while gathering thatch at Kewalo and takes them home to roast. Their mother comes to his fence and repeatedly asks for them; he finally yields. She tells him to build a temple named Manua, which he dedicates before the king’s own temple. King Kakuihewa arrests him under a law forbidding this precedence and schedules his execution. The owl assembles forces from named island groups at three rendezvous places. On the appointed morning the owls cover Honolulu’s sky and attack the executioners with beaks and claws. They win, and the king releases Kapoi, recognising the power of his god.
Complete chapter200–202 and its three geographical/calendar footnotes read. Mother and seven eggs are explicit; no individually named chicks or biological relationships between all assembled island owls. The king’s law and claimed wider veneration are part of this historical telling, not verified modern legislation or every family’s practice. No ritual formula copied. Poepoe1852–1913 verified in UniversityHawaii https://www.hawaii.edu/calendar/uh/2017/09/14/31714.html?et_id=41769 .
References
Sources supporting this profile. Linked pages have their own scope and editorial standards.
- Primary textHawaiian Folk Tales (Chicago: A. C. McClurg, 1907), XIX, Battle of the OwlsResearch access: 2026-10-05
Image credits
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