The Legend of Naupaka

Legends and stories passed down from generations are held in high regard on the islands. Native Hawaiians passed down their cultural practices through storytelling, and these stories were a way of documenting history and beliefs. Storytellers were revered for the lessons their stories taught, and the people were encouraged to listen dutifully to each story and take with them the lessons shared. One legend believed to take place on Kaua’i tells the story of the Naupaka and why its blooms resemble only half of a flower.

As the legend goes…

In the times long before foreign captains and sugarcane fields, the islands of Hawaii were inhabited by the Polynesian people and protected by the gods and ancestral spirits. It was believed that the ancestral spirits watched over the islands and guided people, the water, and the land. The people of Hawaii inhabited the mountains, the ‘aina, and ventured out into the sea. People lived off the land, caught fish in the oceans and ponds, and looked up to the nobles and the kapuna. Some people were born into nobility, and others found their calling elsewhere.

A beautiful princess named Naupaka lived high up in the mountains on the island of Kaua’i. Naupaka was the daughter of a noble chief and beloved by her people. She was said to have a warm and radiant beauty. Naupaka was wise beyond her years and loved to walk along the forest and down to the ocean. She would wander throughout the island, finding peace in the wildness of the forest and the energy of the ocean’s waves. She held compassion in her heart for all living things. She was destined for greatness as her lineage descended from chiefs and gods, but Naupaka yearned for the simplicity of life among ordinary people.

One day, on Naupaka’s walk along the ocean, she spotted a fisherman. He cast his net into the lagoon when he saw her and was captivated by her beauty. Naupaka was immediately drawn to the handsome fisherman, and it was love at first sight. He met her on the beach and introduced himself as Kau’i. Naupaka was ready to give up her life of nobility to be with the lowly fisherman, but they both knew their love could never be.

Naupaka confided in the kapuna, hoping to get her blessing to marry Kau’i. But of course, she knew, this was forbidden. The kapuna told her that she could travel to the high priest and ask him to grant her permission. Naupaka and Kau’i traveled for days through the mountains and forests when they found the kahuna. The kahuna listened to Naupaka with care, but he advised that the ancient custom was too strong. He, too, forbade them from marrying. But he wanted to give the young lovers hope, so he told them to ask the gods for their permission.

Naupaka and Kau’i prayed to the gods, but as their prayers were heard, dark clouds covered the mountains, rain poured down, and lightning struck the mountain in a crash of thunder. The couple knew the answer the gods had given them, and they returned down to the beach to part ways. They embraced one last time before Kau’i would return to the water, and Naupaka to the mountains with her people. Naupaka wanted Kau’i to have something to be reminded of her and their love. She removed the flower from behind her ear and tore it in half, giving one half to Kau’i and keeping the other for herself.

The couple said their goodbyes, knowing that they would never see each other again and could never be together. Kau’i retrieved his net, and Naupaka watched as he retreated back to the lagoon. Naupaka looked at her half of the pua, knowing it was the only thing she would have to be reminded of him, and him of her.

It is said that the Naupaka only blooms by half as a symbol of the young lovers’ separation. The Naupaka kuahiwi grows in the mountains, while the Naupaka kahakai grows by the ocean. The Hawaiians believe that when the Mountain Naupaka flower is united with the Beach Naupaka flower, the young lovers are once again reunited. And thus how the legend of Naupaka came to be.