‘Ancient Guardians’ is an ode to the author’s brother

"Ancient Guardians: The Hawaiian Legend of Sharktooth and Hawkeye" is the tale of Kawehi, a young Hawaiian girl, who deals with the death of her brother while learning of her family’s lineage. 

Kawehi faces many struggles, from bullying to standing up to the aumakua. 

Although the story is fictional, Puanani Hurley-Wataoka, who uses the pen name Kanani Hurley, says that the story is anchored in her own family, especially her brother, Kahoku Hurley, who died at 18 in a skateboarding accident on Kauai. 

Though it’s been 14 years since he died, Hurley-Wataoka wanted to do something to remember her late brother, so she created the character for her first book. "When he passed away, it took a lot of life out of us. Everyone was drawn to him and it left a big void," said the Aiea resident. "But now he lives on in the pages of my book." 

Hurley-Wataoka, 44, grew up on Kauai hearing stories about the family aumakua from her grandmothers Evelyn Fernandes, 89, and the late Edna Hurley. 

The pharmacist has always been an avid "story dreamer." She said she was lost after the death of her brother and immersed herself in postgraduate school. But after she got married and felt more settled, she was inspired to share her story. Hurley-Wataoka started the story in 2008 but didn’t complete it until last July. 

"It took me a while to finish because I had to find the time to put pen to paper and write a story line that would encompass my brother’s memory as well as interesting life experiences that I shared with all of my family," she said. 

In the story, readers experience Kahoku’s life, death and rebirth. As the family deals with their loss, Kawehi, a strong and determined young girl, faces the world with both mano (shark) and pueo (owl) aumakua and learns some ancient family secrets. Kawehi must help her grandfathers and bond with her brother, Kahoku, in the afterlife as he appears to her as a pueo trying to keep her family safe. In the process, Kawehi is immersed in a mystery that involves missing family members. 

Kawehi is both named after and modeled after the author’s younger sister, Kawehi Anama, 43, who still resides on Kauai. Anama was both surprised and flattered to be a part of the project. "The characters are a melding of all of us," Anama said. "She was not shy about using real names, and you see bits of different personalities in the characters." 

Anama’s proud of her sister for creating a tale that both memorializes their brother and celebrates their Hawaiian culture. 

"My favorite part of the book was the ending, where my character and my brother’s become one to solve a problem that affects the whole family. But it’s definitely a cliffhanger." 

Other characters share traits with the author’s father, Paul Hurley; mother, Aukele Fernandes; and husband, Todd Wataoka. 

The boar’s tusk necklace that Kawehi is wearing on the book’s cover has special family meaning. "My father and brother, Kahoku, caught two boars for one of our cousin’s wedding luau. After my father and brother harvested the meat, they buried the heads next to my father’s workshop, approximately two years before my brother passed away," she said. 

They had planned to dig up the tusks later and make necklaces for Hurley-Wataoka, her mother and sister. After her brother died, her dad retrieved the boar’s tusks, cleaned them up, engraved them with Kahoku’s initials and placed a strand of Kahoku’s hair into each tusk before sealing it with a koa cap. Hurley-Wataoka, her mother and sister each wear a tusk around their neck on a gold chain.