Halaea is one of the three traditional Hawaiian folktales found in “The Despotic Chiefs of Kau.” Similar to other tales found in the trio, Halaea portrays the power that the people of a community have against a despotic chief. In this tale, the people sought to rid themselves of the chief’s oppression. Together, the people were able to overthrow their oppressor by sinking him “in a sea surrounded by the objects of his greed.” This shows how great the community is valued in Hawaiian culture, which allowed for them to erode structures of authority. In this story, the power belongs to the people and it is clear that they are both feared and respected. This story connects to the events that occurred in Hawaiian history in the early nineteenth century. Hawaiians had long been ruled by royal chiefs until traders and missionaries brought new social values along with them and were able to end traditional authoritarian rule. This story encourages unity and harmony within the people of a community. Harmony is essential in a community in order to gain agreement. It also reinforces the strength of a group and its ability to rebel and bring change for the benefit of society. This lessens the power of higher authority and illustrates the consequences of abusive power. Power must not be granted to a single individual.

The theme of oppression from higher authority illustrated in this Hawaiian folktale is similar to the oppression that slaves received from slave-owners. In the Hawaiian tale, we see the community work together against higher power by holding a council and agreeing to deposit all of the fish onto the chief Halaea’s canoe. By unifying, the people were able to escape their leader. In the U.S. Slave Spirituals and Secular Songs, the slaves worked together and planned secret meetings with the intent to escape oppression. Their songs suggested dreams of escape using the underground railroad system. They worked together and incorporated instruments, such as constellations of stars that would lead the way for slaves on the run. For the slaves however, there were many authoritative leaders whereas the Hawaiian Folktale had a single chief.