Images of Old Hawaiʻi

by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

Royal Footsteps

To the unsuspecting motorist, travel along Ali‘i Drive is a very pleasant coastal drive filled with scenic vistas, natural features and recreational opportunities.

But look a little closer and discover that these seven miles of roadway hold seven centuries of Hawaiian history and culture revealed in the archaeological sites that have survived over hundreds of years.

Ali‘i, Hawai‘i’s royal class, were the ruler-caretakers of the islands. The great chiefs, through their strong genealogical connections, owned all the land in the areas they controlled.

Royal Centers were compounds selected by the Ali‘i for their abundance of resources and recreation opportunities, with good surfing and canoe-landing sites being favored. Structures most likely included heiau (religious temples) and sacred areas, house sites for the Ali‘i and their entourage of family and kahuna (priests).

Four of the seven ancient Royal Centers in use in Kona are located on what is now called Ali‘i Drive: Kamakahonu, Hōlualoa, Kahaluʻu and Keauhou.

  1. Kamakahonu, Kailua – Occupied by Kamehameha I between 1813 and 1819.
  2. Holualoa – Area with numerous heiau and good surf. Associated with Keolonahihi in the ca. 1300, Keakamahana and Keakealaniwahine in ca. 1600 and Kamehameha I in the 18th Century.
  3. Kahaluʻu – Complex of multiple heiau surrounding Kahaluʻu Bay.
  4. Keauhou – This area is noted for the largest hōlua slide in Hawai‘i called Kaneaka, the surfing area called Kaulu and numerous heiau.

Oral traditions that tell us that in the time of Pāʻao, or by western calculations the 1300s, Chiefess Keolonāhihi resided at the Hōlualoa Royal Center.

Keolonāhihi (reported to be either the daughter or niece of Pāʻao) is an essential link to the beginnings of old Hawai‘i’s kapu system – the religious, social and political structure introduced by Pāʻao which lasted for some 500-years until King Kamehameha II defiantly ended it in 1819 at the Kamakahonu Royal Center.

Defending these old traditions, over 300 warriors lost their lives in the fierce Battle of Kuamoʻo and are buried at Lekeleke, the southern endpoint of Ali‘i Drive.

In the early-1500s, ʻUmialiloa (ʻUmi) consolidated his reign by killing off other chiefs to become the sole ruler of Hawai‘i Island. He then moved to Kona, where he was known as a benevolent chief, and during this time the Kahaluʻu area grew in its political stature and religious significance.

Lonoikamakahiki, who also ruled during the 1500s, chose Kahaluʻu and Keauhou for his residence and the seat of government.

The Kahaluʻu Royal Center included the ancient Hāpaiali‘i Heiau that once stood for prayers, along with adjacent Ke‘ekū heiau and Makolea heiau. All have been recently restored.

In the 1600s, Keakealaniwahine, the great-great grandmother of King Kamehameha I, and her mother Keakamahana were Ali‘i of the highest rank and they resided at the Hōlualoa Royal Center. Alapaʻinui and Kalaniʻōpuʻu, 1600s to 1700s, are also associated with several sites and heiau in the region.

The Kamehameha Dynasty ruled for nearly a century from the late-1700s to the late-1800s. During the late-1700s and early 1800s, King Kamehameha I, also known as Kamehameha the Great, was the first to unify the entire Hawai‘i archipelago under a single rule.

He excelled at surfing at Hōlualoa Bay; in the final years of his life, Kamehameha I selected Kamakahonu as his residence and his rule established the first Capital of Hawai‘i here from 1812 until his death in 1819. Shortly thereafter, the capital of the kingdom was moved from Hawai‘i Island, never to return.

Archaeological features of these various sites, for the most part, remain in place along Ali‘i Drive and signal their monumental importance in Hawai‘i’s history and culture. Several heiau have been restored in Keauhou.

It was here, along Ali‘i Drive, over centuries in time where chiefs of the highest rank walked.

Here was the coming of the first Christian missionaries who arrived in Kailua Bay in 1820 and began the transformation of Hawai‘i through rapid religious conversion.

Historic Kailua Village hosts renowned international sporting events (Hawaiian International Billfish Tournament, Ironman Triathlon World Championship and Queen Lili‘uokalani Long Distance Canoe Races.)

Historic sites once covered much of the Kailua to Keauhou section of the Kona Coast. It is important for us to honor the Ali‘i by maintaining, enhancing and interpreting the remaining ancestral inheritance.

Recently, TripAdvisor, considered the world’s largest travel site, announced that Historic Kailua Village was the top choice for visitors in the US (the awards annually highlight 54-spots globally that have seen the greatest increase in positive traveler feedback and traveler interest, year-over-year.)

We prepared a corridor management plan for Royal Footsteps Along the Kona Coast Scenic Byway for the Kailua Village Business Improvement District – it runs the length of Aliʻi Drive.

We were honored and proud when the Scenic Byway received an Environment / Preservation Award from the American Planning Association‐Hawaiʻi Chapter; Historic Preservation Commendation and Preservation Media Awards from Hawaiʻi Foundation from Historic Hawaiʻi Foundation; and the Pualu Award for Culture & Heritage from the Kona‐Kohala Chamber of Commerce.

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Ahuena_Heiau-Cloris-Sketch-1816
Ahuena_Heiau-Cloris-Sketch-1816
kamehameha_at_kamakahonu-(heberkane)
kamehameha_at_kamakahonu-(heberkane)
Alii Drive Interpretive Sign
Alii Drive Interpretive Sign
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Hulihee_Kailua-WC
Pa_o_Umi-LSY
Pa_o_Umi-LSY
Princess Keelikōlani's hale pili (grass house) in Kailua, Kona, Hawai‘i. ca 1883_Hulihee_Palace-WC
Princess Keelikōlani’s hale pili (grass house) in Kailua, Kona, Hawai‘i. ca 1883_Hulihee_Palace-WC
Mokuaikaua_Curch_Kona_1900-WC
Mokuaikaua_Curch_Kona_1900-WC
Kailua-Baker-Photo-1908
Kailua-Baker-Photo-1908
Laniakea-LSY
Laniakea-LSY
Kailua-Kona with Hualalai, Hulihee Palace and Church, 1852-WLA_haa_James_Gay_Sawkins-WC
Kailua-Kona with Hualalai, Hulihee Palace and Church, 1852-WLA_haa_James_Gay_Sawkins-WC
Keauhou_to_Kailua-Aerial
Keauhou_to_Kailua-Aerial
Holualoa-Kamoa_Point,_Kona_Circa_1890-WC
Holualoa-Kamoa_Point,_Kona_Circa_1890-WC
King_Kalakaua_House_Kahaluu-WC
King_Kalakaua_House_Kahaluu-WC
Hapaialii-Keeku-Heiau (Keauhou Resort)
Hapaialii-Keeku-Heiau (Keauhou Resort)
Holua
Holua
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DaughtersOfHawaii-KamIII-Birthday-03-17-11
Lekeleke_Burials_in_lava_rock-WC
Lekeleke_Burials_in_lava_rock-WC

by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

Hōnaunau

Each island was divided into several moku (districts,) of which there are six in the island of Hawaiʻi, and the same number in Oʻahu. There is a district called Kona on the lee side and one called Koʻolau on the windward side of almost every island.  (Alexander)  The moku of Hawaiʻi Island are: Kona, Kohala, Hāmākua, Hilo, Puna and Kaʻū.

The Polynesians who came to the Hawaiian Islands were quick to consider the sunny, sheltered Kona district of Hawaiʻi, rising gently to fertile, cloud-covered slopes, as an environment suited to their needs.

It was ideal for food crops such as taro, breadfruit, banana, sweet potatoes and sugar cane they brought with them. Its clear, calm waters offered excellent near- and off-shore fishing. This coast became the most densely populated area in the islands and the coveted land of the chiefs.

In the centuries prior to 1778, seven large and densely-populated Royal Centers were located in Kona along the shoreline between Kailua and Hōnaunau.  These included Kamakahonu at Kailua Bay, Hōlualoa, Kahaluʻu, Keauhou, Kaʻawaloa, Kealakekua and Hōnaunau.

The compounds were areas selected by the aliʻi for their residences; aliʻi often moved between several residences throughout the year.  The Royal Centers were selected for their abundance of resources and recreation opportunities, with good surfing and canoe-landing sites being favored.

Structures associated with the Royal Centers include heiau (religious structures) and sacred areas, house sites for the aliʻi and the entourage of family and kahuna (priests), and activity areas for burial, bathing, games, recreation and crafts and often a puʻuhonua (refuge area.)

The small but deeply indented Hōnaunau Bay, with a sandy cove where canoes could be easily beached, was a favorite residence for the king.  (Emory)

The grounds of the Royal Center was centered around the small embayment known as Keoneʻele Cove.  Cup holes, which may have held kapu sticks, are noted to the north, east and southern boundaries of this area. It is believed that these kapu sticks demarcated the boundary of the royal area.

In pre-contact times, the royal grounds contained several chiefly residences and ceremonial-related structures. Other highlighted sites used by royalty included the Heleipālala fishponds and Keoneʻele Cove canoe landing.

“When first seen by Europeans, the district was composed of scattered coastal settlements of thatched houses with two nodes large enough to be called villages: Hōnaunau at the north end and Kiʻilae at the south.”  (NPS)

“Hōnaunau, we found, was formerly a place of considerable importance, having been the frequent residence of the kings of Hawaii, for several successive generations.” The town contained 147-houses. (Ellis, 1823)

“We arrived in the afternoon at a village by the seaside called Hōnaunau, about two leagues (4-miles) to the southward of Kealakekua Bay. … They took us to a large house which was tabooed for the king, with a number of smaller houses contiguous to it for sleeping in and for his attendants when he comes to the village.”

“We were told that he has a set of houses kept for him in the same way in every village he is likely to stop at round the Island, which; when he once occupies or eats in, cannot afterwards be used by any other.”  (Menzies, 1793)

A feature found at Royal Centers were fishponds.  Cartographer Henry Kekahuna called the Honaunau ponds Heleipālala. These were a number of fish ponds inland from the shore and containing a mixture of fresh and ocean waters.

They were probably stocked with fish (most likely ʻamaʻama (mullet) and awa (milkfish.))  Given their location within the royal grounds, an area inhabited and used by aliʻi, the Heleipālala ponds were most likely kapu (prohibited) to commoners.

Beyond the boundaries of the royal grounds, around the head of Hōnaunau Bay, lived the chiefly retainers and the commoners. To the south were scattered settlements along the coast and inland under the cliffs of Keanaeʻe.  (NPS)

At Hōnaunau was the puʻuhonua, The Place of Refuge, termed the ‘City of Refuge’ by Rev. William Ellis in 1823, with its adjoining chiefly residences and associated with the Royal Center.

Hōnaunau was not the only puʻuhonua in the Islands.  Ethno-historical literature, and available physical, cultural, and locational data, note at least 57-sites across the Islands.  Puʻuhonua tended to occur in areas of high population and/or in areas frequented by chiefs.  (Schoenfelder)

Hale O Keawe, at the northern end of the eastern wing of the Great Wall at Puʻuhonua O Hōnaunau, was named after and either built by or for Keawe around 1700.  In ancient times the Heiau served as a royal mausoleum, housing the remains of deified high chiefs.

Historical information indicates that in the area immediately east of the Hale o Keawe was once the location for a ti leaf thatched structure called the “Hale O Lono.”  In 1919, archaeologist JFG Stokes was told by elderly Hawaiians that this area was a temple used for the four periods of prayer held monthly for eight months of the year.

The area bordering the east side Keoneʻele Cove was traditionally known as Kauwalomālie. Kauwalomālie is said to have contained a large platform, fronted by an 8-foot high retaining wall. The platform was reportedly the location for a chiefly residence and/or ceremonial area.  (NPS)

At about the time of ʻUmi (about the same time Christopher Columbus was crossing the Atlantic,) a significant new form of agriculture was developed in Kona; he is credited with starting this in Kona.  Today, archaeologists call the unique method of farming in this area the “Kona Field System.”

This intensive agricultural activity changed farming and agricultural production on the western side of Hawai’i Island; the Kona field system was quite large, extending from Kailua to south of Hōnaunau.

In lower elevations all the way to the shore, informal clearings, mounds and terraces were used to plant sweet potatoes; and on the forest fringe above the walled fields there were clearings, mounds and terraces.  Sweet potatoes grew among the breadfruit.

In 1871, a coastal trail that originally extended from Nāpōʻopoʻo south to Hoʻokena was repaired, and renamed the 1871 Trail.  It is a section of the historic coastal Alaloa (regional trail) and was a primary route of travel between communities, royal centers, religious sites and resources.  (Improved, it was a ‘two-horse trail’ because it was widened to accommodate two horses.)

The Alahaka Ramp, located near the southern end of the Keanaeʻe Cliffs, is a massive stone ramp that connects the historic 1871 Trail to Kiʻilae Village.  Prior to the construction of the ramp (probably in the mid-1800s,) folks used a ladder or rope to get up the slope.

(In 1918 the trail section north of Hōnaunau was improved for wheeled traffic; however, the section south to Hoʻokena was never modified for motorized vehicles.)

In 1891, the lands at Hōnaunau were deeded to the Bishop Estate Trustees and from 1921-1961 the County of Hawaiʻi leased the Bishop Estate-owned lands for a County Park. It is during this time, they constructed a series of seawalls that fronted the eastern and western sides of Keoneʻele Cove. (NPS)

The image shows Keoneʻele Cove and the area known as Kauwalomālie (NPS, 1912.)  I have added other images to a folder of like name in the Photos section on my Facebook and Google+ pages.

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Moku O Keawe

Moku O Keawe – The Island of Keawe recalls and honors a 17th-century chief, Keaweʻīkekahialiʻiokamoku (Keawe the One Chief of the Island,”) whose reign was ascribed “such peace and prosperity as the island of Hawai‘i had not enjoyed since the time of his ancestor Līloa”.  (Barrere, deSilva)

James Cook (1778) and George Vancouver (1793) both referred to the island as “Owhyhee.”  Today, we more commonly call it Hawaiʻi, Hawaiʻi Island or the Big Island.

The following is a portion of Kūaliʻi’s chant (he was a chief from Oʻahu.)

Ua like; aia ka kou hoa e like ai,
‘O Keawe‘īkekahiali‘iokamoku,
‘O Keawe, haku o Hawai‘i

There is a comparison; here, indeed, is the one you resemble,
Keawe-i-Kekahi-alii-o-ka-moku,
Keawe, Lord of Hawaiʻi.
(Ka Inoa O Kūaliʻi, The Chant Of Kūaliʻi; Fornander; deSilva)

“Kūaliʻi’s chant devotes over a hundred lines in its own closing section to extolling his superiority; nothing on land, sea, or sky can compare to him; he is not like the hala, ‘ōhi‘a, or ʻaʻali‘i; nor is he like the porpoise, shark, or līpoa; nor is he like the ʻōʻō, nāulu rain, or mountain wind.”

“He can be compared to one thing only, the chant finally concedes; he finds an equal in his Hawai‘i island counterpart, the Hōnaunau-based chief Keaweʻīkekahialiʻiokamoku.”  (deSilva)

Keawe was believed to have lived from 1665 to 1725. He is sometimes referred to as King Keawe II, since prior to him there was already a King Keawenuiaumi. He was son of Keākealaniwahine, the ruling Queen of Hawaiʻi and Kanaloa-i-Kaiwilena Kapulehu.  Keawe was the great-grandfather of Kamehameha I.

Keākealaniwahine ruled from what is referred to as the Hōlualoa Royal Center, in Kona; it is split into two archaeological complexes, Kamoa Point/Keolonāhihi Complex and Keākealaniwahine Residential Complex.)

The Hōlualoa Royal Center had three major occupation sequences with various aliʻi: AD 1300 (Keolonāhihi), AD 1600 (Keākealaniwahine and Keakamahana (her mother)) and AD 1780 (Kamehameha I) – it appears very likely that the Hōlualoa Royal Center grew and changed over time.  (DLNR)

Prominent aliʻi in the Kona District who also may have resided at Hōlualoa include Keakealani-kane (father of Keakamahana,) Keawe, Keʻeaumoku-nui (son of Keawe) and Alapaʻi-nui (nephew of Keawe.)  (DLNR)

Keawe ruled along with his half-sister wife Kalanikauleleiaiwi who inherited their mother’s kapu rank. After his death, a civil war broke out over succession between his sons, Keʻeaumoku and Kalaninuiʻamamao, and a rival chief known as Alapaʻinuiakauaua (his nephew.)

Hale O Keawe, at the northern end of the eastern wing of the Great Wall at Puʻuhonua O Honaunau, was named after and either built by or for Keawe around 1700.

In ancient times the Heiau served as a royal mausoleum, housing the remains of deified high chiefs. The powerful mana (divine power) associated with these remains served to sanctify and validate the existence of the Puʻuhonua.

The earliest western accounts indicate that in the 1820s the structure was largely intact with thatched hale, wooden palisade, and multiple kiʻi (wooden images of gods.)  (NPS)

The only heiau allowed standing by Kaʻahumanu after the breaking of the kapu were Hale O Līloa (built by the High Chief Līloa in the 16th century) in Waipiʻo Valley and Hale O Keawe at Hoʻonaunau in Kona. These two edifices were the sacred repositories of the iwi of Hawai`i’s greatest chiefs. (Parker)

However, in December of 1828, Kaʻahumanu visited Hale O Keawe. She found to her dismay that someone had left hoʻokupu (gifts) inside to honor dead ancestors. She was so angry that she ordered the dismantling and destruction of both Hale O Keawe and Hale O Līloa in Waipiʻo.  (Parker)

Hale O Keawe was dismantled by Ka‘ahumanu in 1829; its bones were removed to Kaʻawaloa, its large timbers were used in the construction of a school and government house, and smaller pieces of its kauila wood framework were given as souvenirs to the missionaries.  (deSilva)

The pu‘uhonua was deeded to Miriam Kekāuluohi, a granddaughter of Kamehameha I, in the Māhele of 1848, and it was inherited, upon her death, by Levi Ha‘alelea, her second husband. In 1866, the property was auctioned by Ha‘alelea’s estate to Charles Kana‘ina, the father of William Charles Lunalilo.

Kana‘ina, however, did not pay the $5000 bid, and Charles Reed Bishop stepped in to purchase Ha‘alelea’s land for that same amount on April 1, 1867. In 1891, six years after Pauahi’s death, Bishop deeded the land to the trustees of the Bishop Estate who leased it to one of their members, SM Damon.

Damon was responsible for the 1902 restoration work on the Great Wall and the stone platforms of two heiau, Hale o Keawe and ‘Ale‘ale‘a. The County of Hawai‘i took over Damon’s lease in 1921. That lease expired in 1961 when the then County Park was acquired by the US National Park Service.  (deSilva)

Further reconstruction consisted of four terraces and a passage between the southern end of the platform and the northern end of the Great Wall. In 1966-67 Edmund J Ladd directed the excavation and re-stabilization of the Hale o Keawe platform.

Ladd’s excavations in addition to historical accounts indicated that the platform did not originally have multiple tiers; therefore, the 1967 work restored the platform to its more authentic form that joins the Great Wall on its south side.

After the platform was restored, the thatched hale, wooden palisade, and kiʻi were also rebuilt on the site. Since the time of Ladd’s initial reconstruction, the Hale o Keawe structure and carved wooden kiʻi have been replaced on two occasions with the most recent efforts being completed in 2004.  (NPS)

The image shows the ahupuaʻa of Moku O Keawe. In addition, I have added other images to a folder of like name in the Photos section on my Facebook and Google+ pages.

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by Peter T Young 5 Comments

Tauʻā

William Ellis (August 24, 1794 – 1872) applied to train as a Christian missionary for the London Missionary Society and was accepted to the school.  After attending Homerton College he was ordained in 1815; later that year, he married Mary Mercy Moor (November 9, 1815.)  He served the London Mission in the Society Islands, Hawaiian Islands and Madagascar.

From 1816, when he first entered on his missionary career, until 1825, he devoted himself to “service of the Lord as a missionary” among the South Pacific Islands.

“It was the morning of the Sabbath when we embarked.  Our friends in Gosport were preparing to attend public worship, when we heard the report of a signal-gun. The sound excited a train of feeling, which can be understood only by those who have been placed in similar circumstances. It was a report announcing the arrival of that moment which was to separate, perhaps for ever, from home and all its endearments, and rend asunder every band which friendship and affection had entwined around the heart.”  (Ellis on departing for the South Pacific)

First landing in Eimeo (Moorea,) and travelling throughout the area, he served the London Mission for the next 6-years in the Society Islands (so named by Captain James Cook in honor of the ‘Royal Society,’ “as they lay contiguous to one another.”)

After an initial brief visit in 1822 to Hawaiʻi, arrangement were made between the American Board of Commissions for Foreign Mission, London Missionary Society and local chiefs, Ellis returned to Hawaiʻi to join the American mission there.

On April 16, 1822, the schooner Mermaid, arrived at Honolulu from Tahiti; on board were Ellis, other English missionaries and Auna and Matatore, Tahitian chiefs and teachers. After providing support for a few months to the American missionaries in the Islands, they returned to Tahiti, giving up their original plan of visiting the Marquesas Islands.

February 4, 1823, Ellis returned to the Islands, bringing his wife with him as well as Tahitian teachers, including Tauʻā. (Ellis remained at this time for about eighteen months; then returned to England, with his family.)

Tauʻā, originally known as Matapuupuu, was born in about 1792 and was by birth a raʻatira or landowner.  He had been a principal Arioi (secret religious order of the Society Islands,) and succeeded his elder brother as chief priest of Huahine.  (Gunson)

In August 1813 he joined John Davies’s school at Papetoʻai, and later accompanied Ellis to Huahine, where he became a prominent church member and was appointed deacon. He was also appointed first Secretary of the Huahinean Missionary Society.  His speeches at prayer meetings and May meetings were reported with some pride.  (Gunson)

Shortly after Ellis and Tauʻā arrived in Hawaiʻi, the Second Company of American missionaries arrived, bringing the Reverend William Richards and the Reverend Charles Stewart (April 1823.)

About this time, Queen Mother Keōpūolani (mother of Kamehameha II and III) began to accept many western ways.  She wore western clothes, she introduced western furniture into her house and she took instruction in Christianity.

But her health began to fail, and she decided to move her household from the pressures of the court circle in Honolulu to the tranquility of Waikīkī. With her she took Hoapili (her husband) and Nahiʻenaʻena (her daughter.)

Each Sunday the missionaries walked across the hot plain from Honolulu to Waikīkī to hold divine service and to instruct the Queen Mother in Christian doctrine. Keōpūolani decided, however, that these Sunday meetings did not suffice; she asked that a religious instructor be attached to her household. Her choice was Tauʻā; the mission approved.  (Sinclair)

In May of 1823, Keōpūolani decided to make her last move, this time back to the island of her birth, Maui.  She chose Lāhainā, with its warm and sunny climate – another place traditionally a favorite with the chiefs.  (Sinclair)

Before leaving, Keōpūolani requested the Americans to assign teachers to go with her. She wanted a mission established in Lāhainā, and further instruction in reading and writing for herself; she also wished to have a man of God to pray with her. The Honolulu mission selected Charles Stewart and William Richards to accompany the queen.  (Sinclair)

Immediately on their arrival in Lāhainā, she requested them to commence teaching, and also said, “It is very proper that my sons (meaning the missionaries) be present with me at morning and evening prayers.”

They were always present, and sung a hymn in the Hawaiian language.  Often in conversation she would introduce the subject which had been discussed, and ask important questions respecting it.  (Memoir of Keōpūolani)

She became more attentive to the Gospel as she was resting. It was Tauʻā who became the teacher she relied on as perhaps they were able to converse with each other in the Polynesian language.  (Mookini)

Tauʻā proved a faithful teacher, and he did much to establish her in the Christian faith.  He answered several of her questions on the subject of Christianity.

She said to Tauʻā, “My heart is much afraid I shall never become a Christian.” He replied, “Why, what is in the way?”  She said, “I think I am likely to die soon.”  He replied, “Do you not love God?” She answered, “O yes, I love – I love him very much.”  Tauʻā then communicated farther instruction to her. At the close of the conversation she said, “Your word, I know, is true.  It is a good word; and now I have found, I have obtained a Saviour, and a good King, Jesus Christ.”

She asked him for advice about her having two husbands (at the time she was married to Kalanimōku and Hoapili.) Tauʻā  answered: “It is proper for a woman to have one husband, man to have one wife.”   She then said: “I have followed the custom of Hawaiʻi, in taking two husbands in the time of our dark hearts. I wish now to obey Christ and to walk in the right way. It is wrong to have two husbands and I desire but one. Hoapili is my husband, hereafter my only husband.”  (Memoir of Keōpūolani)

To Kalanimōku she said: “I have renounced our ancient customs, the religion of wooden images, and have turned to the new religion of Jesus Christ. He is my King and my Savior, and him I desire to obey. I can have but one husband. Your living with me is at an end. No more are you to eat with my people or lodge in my house.”  (Mookini)

She was asked, “How do you feel, as you are about leaving the world?”  She answered, “I remember what my teachers told me.  I pray much to Jesus Christ to be with me and take me to himself.  I am now about to leave my three children, my people and my teachers.  But it is not dark now.  It would have been, had I died before these good times.  You must pray for me, and all the missionaries must pray for me. I love you. I love them. I think I love Jesus Christ, and I trust he will receive me.”  (Memoir of Keōpūolani)

In Keōpūolani’s earnest inquiries after truth, and the increasing experience of its power on the heart, Mrs. Ellis had, in common with other members of the Mission, ever taken a lively interest, and she shared with her companions at Lāhainā in the hallowed joy which was felt by the growing meetness for heaven which the first convert in Hawaiʻi had manifested, as the signs of her approaching dissolution became more frequent and decisive.  (Mary Mercy Ellis Memoir)

In the presence of the royal family and the chiefs, Ellis delivered a short address to explain the meaning of baptism; he sprinkled Keōpūolani with water in the name of God – Ellis administered the rite of baptism to Keōpūolani. She had earlier chosen Harriet, the name of Mrs. Stewart, to be her baptismal name.  (Sinclair)

The King (Liholiho, her son) and all the heads of the nation listened with the most profound attention, and when they saw that water was sprinkled on her in the name of God, they said, “Surely she is no longer ours, she formerly gave herself to Jesus Christ.  We believe she is his, and will go to dwell with him.”  (Memoir of Keōpūolani)

The ceremony was performed at five in the afternoon of September 16, 1823; at six o’clock the Queen was dead.

The funeral ceremonies, after the Christian manner, were held two days later with chiefs, missionaries and foreigners surrounding the corpse. (Mookini)

It was a season of much spiritual enjoyment to all present, it was peculiarly solemn and impressive; especially from the number of native chiefs and others who were present, some of whom were among the most earnest inquirers after truth, and all of whom seemed much affected, and anxious to ask the meaning of an observance to them so new and strange.  (Mary Mercy Ellis Memoir)

After her death, Tauʻā joined the household of Hoapilikane and remained with that chief until his death in 1840. He then joined the household of Hoapiliwahine.  (Tauʻā died in about 1855.)

The image shows the initial burial tomb for Keōpūolani; she was later reburied there in Waineʻe Church cemetery (now known as Waiola Church) in Lāhainā.

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Kaʻalāwai

Along the coastal area between Lēʻahi (Diamond Head) and Kūpikipikiʻō (Black Point) several small neighborhoods are sometimes identified by the names of the main roads in the area Kaikoo, Papu Circle and Kulamanu. However, the historic name for this area of Oʻahu’s is Kaʻalāwai.

Kaʻalāwai literally means ‘the water (basalt) rock’ and is probably named for the springs on the beach and among the rocks at the east end of the beach.

It is a narrow, white-sand beach with a shallow reef offshore, which generally has poor swimming conditions. There are only a few scattered pockets of sand on the nearshore ocean bottom.  Lots go surfing outside.

At the east end of the beach near Black Point is a mansion turned museum, built by Doris Duke, the daughter of James Duke, the founder of the American Tobacco Company, and her husband, James Cromwell.  (It’s their name that is attributed to the “Cromwell’s” Cove and Beach references.)

In the late-1930s, Doris Duke built her Honolulu home, Shangri La, on five acres overlooking the Pacific Ocean and Diamond Head.  Shangri La incorporates architectural features from the Islamic world and houses Duke’s extensive collection of Islamic art, which she assembled for nearly 60 years.

Through an Exchange Deed dated December 8, 1938 between the Territorial Land Board of Hawai‘i and Ms Duke, two underwater parcels (totaling approximately 0.6-acres) were added to the Duke property.

At water’s edge below the estate, Duke then dynamited a small-boat harbor and a seventy-five-foot salt-water swimming pool into the rock.  The harbor was built to protect Duke’s fleet of yachts, including Kailani Lahilahi, an ocean-going, 58-foot motor yacht and Kimo, the 26-foot mahogany runabout that Duke sometimes used to commute into Honolulu.

Part of the deal was that the transfer gave the Territory (now State) a perpetual easement of a four-foot right-of-way for a pedestrian causeway along the coastline.  It’s a popular swimming area (ongoing media reports note the hazards here, so be careful.)

Today, Shangri La is open for guided, small group tours and educational programs. In partnership with the Doris Duke Foundation for Islamic Art – which owns and supports Shangri La – the Honolulu Museum of Art serves as the orientation center for Shangri La tours.

Another stretch of beach here had some other interesting ownership/use issues.

In the old days, a Beach Road ran right next to the water at Kaʻalāwai. When some of the private property mauka of the road was subdivided into seven lots and conveyed in 1885, the makai boundaries of these seven lots were specified “along the road”.

However, in 1959, folks adjoining the then-abandoned road soon made claims to it – most extended their landscaping (and even put in improvements (patio, walls, etc)) out over the old beach road.

Some of the abutting owners succeeded in their title claims and subsequent legal battles, obtaining declaratory judgments in their favor and they gained title to the road remnant real estate.  Subsequently, the Hawaiʻi Supreme Court ruled that the State owns the road.

The last property made application to the State to acquire the road remnant, however, after following discussions, they ended up seeking a long-term easement over the old roadway.

Oh, one more Kaʻalāwai story … following the overthrow of Queen Liliʻuokalani in 1893, the Committee of Safety established the Provisional Government of Hawaiʻi as a temporary government until an assumed annexation by the United States.

The Provisional Government convened a constitutional convention and established the Republic of Hawaiʻi on July 4, 1894. The Republic continued to govern the Islands.

From January 6 to January 9, 1895, in a “Counter-Revolution,” patriots of the Kingdom of Hawaiʻi and the forces that had overthrown the constitutional Hawaiian monarchy were engaged in a war that consisted of battles on the island of Oʻahu.

It has been called the Second Wilcox Rebellion of 1895 (named after Robert William Wilcox.)  In their attempt to return Queen Liliʻuokalani to the throne, it was the last major military operation by royalists who opposed the overthrow of the Kingdom of Hawaiʻi.

Wilcox’s headquarters was at Kaʻalāwai. (Daily Bulletin, January 19, 1895)  Shortly after the fighting began, losing the element of surprise and seeing no tactical importance in remaining at Diamond Head, Wilcox ordered his men to retreat to Waiʻalae.

Wilcox and his men then escaped to the Koʻolau up a trail on the precipice to the ridge separating Mānoa from Nuʻuanu. On that ridge his men dispersed into the mountain above; Wilcox and a few others crossed Nuʻuanu that night, eluding the guards.  They were later captured.

Queen Liliʻuokalani was put under arrest on the 16th, and confined in a chamber of ʻIolani Palace.  A tribunal was formed and evidence began to be taken on the 18th.  Nowlein, Wilcox, Bertelmann and TB Walker all pleaded guilty, and subsequently gave evidence for the prosecution.

Wilcox was court-martialed and sentenced to death, but the sentence was commuted to thirty-five years.    In January, 1896, he was given a conditional pardon and became a free man; in 1898, President Dole gave him a full pardon.  (Wilcox later served as the first delegate and representative of Hawaiʻi in the US Congress.)

Convicted of having knowledge of a royalist plot, Liliʻuokalani was fined $5,000 and sentenced to five-years in prison at hard labor. The sentence was commuted to imprisonment in an upstairs bedroom of ʻIolani Palace.

She spent 8 months in this room.  After her release from ʻIolani Palace, the Queen remained under house arrest for five months at her private home, Washington Place. For another eight months she was forbidden to leave Oʻahu before all restrictions were lifted.  Liliʻuokalani died of a stroke on November 11, 1917 in Honolulu at the age of 79.

The image shows Kaʻalāwai and Black Point area prior to development.  In addition, I have added others similar images in a folder of like name in the Photos section on my Facebook and Google+ pages.

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