Place Names | Page 99 | Images of Old Hawaiʻi

May 25, 2019 by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

Kawainui Marsh

Ko‘olau volcano started its life as a seamount above the Hawaiian hotspot around 4-million years ago. It broke sea level some time prior to 2.9-million years ago.

About 2-million years ago, much of the northeast flank of Ko‘olau volcano was sheared off and material was swept more than 140-miles north of O‘ahu and Moloka‘i onto the ocean floor (named the Nu‘uanu Avalanche) – one of the largest landslides on Earth.

Following a period of dormancy, Ko‘olau eruptions about 1-million years ago (known as the Honolulu Volcanic Series) created landmarks such as Diamond Head, Hanauma Bay and Punchbowl Crater. Ko‘olau’s eroded remnants make up the Ko‘olau Mountain Range.

About 6,000 years ago and before the arrival of the Hawaiians, Kawainui (“the large [flow of] fresh water”) and Ka‘elepulu (“the moist blackness”) were bays connected to the ocean and extended a mile inland of the present coastline. This saltwater environment is indicated by inland deposits of sand and coral.

A sand bar began forming across Kawainui Bay around 2,500 years ago creating Kawainui Lagoon filled with coral, fish and shellfish. The Hawaiians probably first settled along the fringes of this lagoon.

Gradually, erosion of the hillsides surrounding Kawainui began to fill in the lagoon with sediments.

About 500 years ago, early Hawaiians maintained the freshwater fishpond in Kawainui; the fishpond was surrounded on all sides by a system of canals (‘auwai) bringing water from Maunawili Stream and springs to walled taro lo‘i.

In 1750, Kailua was the political seat of power for the district of Ko‘olaupoko and a favored place of the O‘ahu chiefs for its abundance of fish and good canoe landings.

Kawainui was once the largest cultivated freshwater fishpond on Oahu. Rimming the wetland are numerous heiau (temples.)

Farmers grew kalo (taro) in the irrigated lo‘i (fields) along the streams from Maunawili and along the edges of the fishponds. Crops of dryland kalo, banana, sweet potato and sugarcane marked the fringes of the marsh. Fishermen harvested fish from the fishponds and the sea.

In the 1880s, Chinese farmers converted the taro fields of Kawainui to rice, but abandoned their farms by 1920. Cattle grazed throughout much of Kawainui.

The marsh drains into the ocean at the north end of Kailua Beach through Kawainui Canal (Oneawa Channel.)

The marsh attracts migratory seabirds and is home to four species of endangered waterbirds: the Hawaiian stilt (aeʻo), the Hawaiian coot (ʻalae keʻokeʻo), the Hawaiian gallinule (ʻalaeʻula) and the Hawaiian duck (kōloa maoli).

In 1979, the US National Registrar for Historic Places issued a “Determination of Eligibility Notification” finding that Kawainui Marsh area is eligible for listing in the National Register for Historic Places.

According to the determination, “Kawainui Marsh is important as a major component of a larger cultural district which would include … the ponding/wet agricultural area … remains of extensive terracing systems, ceremonial sites, burial sites, and habitation areas associated with this agricultural complex”.

In 2005, the Kawainui and Hāmākua Marsh Complex was designated as a Wetlands of International Importance and added to the Ramsar List (Ramsar site no. 1460.)

The Convention on Wetlands (Ramsar, Iran, 1971) – called the “Ramsar Convention” – is an intergovernmental treaty that embodies the commitments of its member countries to maintain the ecological character of their Wetlands of International Importance and to plan for the “wise use”, or sustainable use, of all of the wetlands in their territories.

Kawainui Marsh also functions as a flood storage basin to protect Kailua. As part of flood control measures, the Oneawa Canal and levee started in 1950 and were completed a few years later. When flood waters over-topped the levee and flooded Coconut Grove in the December 31, 1987-January 1, 1988 flood, the levee was raised and floodwall added.

Projects are underway to restore waterbird habitat, as well as care for some of the historic sites. DLNR has plans for visitor center and trails around the wetland – they have been on the books for a long time, it would be nice to see those community visions come to fruition.

Lots of good work is being done by lots of dedicated folks in helping to restore Kawainui Marsh, including ‘Ahahui Mālama I Ka Lōkahi (led by Doc Burrows,) Kailua Hawaiian Civic Club and others.

When I was a kid, we referred to this area as the “swamp” – many of the old maps referred to it as such. Auto parts shops lined the road at its edge; the dump was nearby. Times have changed.

Follow Peter T Young on Facebook

Follow Peter T Young on Google+

Follow Peter T Young on LinkedIn

Follow Peter T Young on Blogger

Kailua-Aerial-(2667)-UH_Manoa-USGS-1951

Kailua-(Levee_and_Oneawa_Channel-under_Construction)-Aerial-(2442)-UH_Manoa-USGS-1952

Kawainui_Marsh_(Forest & Kim Starr)

Kawainui-general_area_for_waterbird_habitat_restoration_Forest-Kim-Starr

Kawainui_(Forest & Kim Starr)

Ulupo_Heiau

Kawainui_Flood-1951

Kawainui-levee_(Forest & Kim Starr)

Kawainui-levee-coconut_grove_(Forest & Kim Starr)

Oahu-Island-HawaiiGovernmentSurvey-Reg1380 (1876)-portion

Mokapu_USGS_Quadrangle-Mokapu-Kailua-1928-(portion)

Kawainui-200-years_ago_(State_Parks)

Kawainui-6,000-years_ago_(State_Parks)

Kawainui_Marsh_Map

Kawainui_Map

May 22, 2019 by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

It Was a Real Estate Deal

Although the park was initially touted to create “a tract of land in the vicinity of Honolulu as a place of public resort,” where “agricultural and stock exhibitions, and healthful exercise, recreations and amusements” could occur, its literal purpose was far from it.

On the dedication day in 1876, King Kalākaua and James Makee (Kapiʻolani Park Association’s first president) stressed the public space, which they said was needed for a modern city to be civilized, to allow “families, children, and quiet people” to find “refreshment and recreation” in the “kindly influences of nature,” and to be a “place of innocent refreshment.”

However, when Kapiʻolani Park was first conceived, the motivation wasn’t about creating a public place. Kapiʻolani Park began as a development project, run by the Kapiʻolani Park Association.

The association was founded with a two-fold purpose: (1) building residences for its stockholders along the ocean at Waikiki and on the slopes of Diamond Head and (2) laying out a first-class horse-racing track as a focal point of this new suburb.

Scotsman Archibald Cleghorn, Governor of Oʻahu and father of Princess Kaʻiulani, was the park’s designer. Vice-president and later president of the Kapiʻolani Park Association, Cleghorn planned the park’s landscaping, including the ironwood trees along Kalākaua Avenue.

200 shares were sold at $50 each. (King Kalākaua was a shareholder.) Every owner received the right to lease a beachfront house lot in the park, and as a result a number of residences were built along the park’s shores and around the race track during the 1880s.

The McInerny home and estate (founder of the McInerny retail stores) is where the New Otani Kaimana Beach Hotel now stands.

Samuel Northrup Castle family’s three-story beachfront home “Kainalu” became a prominent landmark in Waikīkī, as well as the landmark for the takeoff at Castles surf-spot. The mansion was razed in 1958 to build the Elks Club.

William Irwin’ home is where the 1927 World War I Memorial Natatorium now stands.

At the time, the park contained both arid spaces and wetlands, and the association focused on making the site usable and attractive. They soon distributed lots and established a prime racetrack complete with grandstands and stables.

All of this cost a considerable amount and the association was in debt in less than ten years. The legislature granted appropriations throughout the 1880s, and while there were some calls for transparency on the spending of public funds, the association generally slid by without much scrutiny.

The public funds did not increase public access, either, and the ocean remained blocked to the public. Later, moves were afoot to bring the public into the focus of the picture.

In 1896, an understanding was reached and later consummated between (1) the Kapiʻolani Park Association, which held a little over nine acres of land in fee, and a larger area on lease from the Republic, as a park, (2) William G. Irwin, who owned 19 waterfront lots and (3) the Republic of Hawaii. Irwin ended up with 18-mauka lots, known as “Irwin Tract.”

Beginning with the deeds of July 1, 1896, Kapiʻolani Park was a public charitable trust, and the park commissioners were its trustees.

The Legislature of the Republic of Hawaiʻi passed Act 53, which placed Kapiʻolani Park and its management to the Honolulu Park Commission, which was created specifically to manage this park.

Act 53 provided that the park was to be “permanently set apart as a free public park and recreation ground forever.” The commission had no authority to lease or sell land in the park, a prohibition that still governs the park trust and would be key to the preservation of the park and later battles about it.

The understanding was that lands used for park use would become a free public park and that a commission formed to oversee the park had an express provision that “[t]he said Commission shall not have authority to lease or sell the land comprising the said park or any part thereof[.]”

Facing the same kinds of constraints we see today, the commission worked with budgetary constraints and labored with little public clout, but they continued to construct the park and then in 1904, first facility for the public was erected, a small aquarium.

The Territorial Legislature passed Act 103 in 1905 “to declare certain lands as public parks.” This led to the final acquisition of the oceanfront land along Kapiʻolani Park as the leases on the land to homeowners were allowed to expire, and in 1907, Kapiʻolani Park became a beach park for the first time.

In 1913, the Territory of Hawaiʻi transferred administrative authority to the City and County of Honolulu, which still manages the park.

Later park improvements include, the Honolulu Zoo (1915;) the Waikiki War Memorial Natatorium (1927;) the Eastman Kodak Company was given permission to stage a Polynesian review at Sans Souci Beach (1937;) the Waikiki Shell was completed and opened (1954;) in 1969, the Kodak Company moved to the area adjacent to the Waikiki Shell.

Kapiʻolani Park’s racetrack closed in 1926, but approximately half the infield area of the racetrack remained in open space.

Lots of good stuff in this post came from the Kapiʻolani Park Preservation Society website. This group continues to monitor and protect the public activities at Kapiʻolani Park.

Follow Peter T Young on Facebook

Follow Peter T Young on Google+

Follow Peter T Young on LinkedIn

Follow Peter T Young on Blogger

Kapiolani_Park_Association-Stock_Certificate-(kapiolani_park-a_history)

Kapiolani_Park_Horse_Race_Ad

Kapiolani_Park_Horse_Race_Ad-April 30, 1881

DH-track

Horse races were a popular activity at Kapi‘olani Park-(waikikivisitor-com)

Kapiolani_Park-1900

Kapiolani-Park-Racetrack

Man riding a bike on the Kapi‘olani race track-(waikikivisitor-com)

Observation balloon being readied for flight at Kapiolani Park, c1921-1923

People in the stands at a horse race-(waikikivisitor-com)

Overlooking lilly pads from one of Kapi‘olani Park’s bridges-(waikikivisitor-com)

AlfredMitchellHouse(right-foreground)-IrwinHouse(center-background)

Waikiki-Kaneloa-Kapiolani_Park-Monsarrat-Reg1079 (1883)

May 18, 2019 by Peter T Young 2 Comments

‘Īao

Some might feel the point of establishing a State Monument at ‘Īao Valley is to call attention to the much-photographed ‘Īao Needle – it was traditionally known as Kūkaemoku (literally ‘broken excreta.’)

The 1,200-foot-tall ‘Īao Needle (“cloud supreme”) is a basaltic core that remained after the valley’s heavy rainfall washed away the weaker stones surrounding it.

Actually, what people see is a bump on a side-ridge on the right-side of ʻIao Valley with a large protrusion that sticks up on top; it looks like a ‘needle’ of rock, but really isn’t (it’s part of the ridge).

Rainfall from Pu‘u Kukui, the summit of West Maui – at nearly 5,800-feet in the back of ‘Īao Valley, has an average annual rainfall of 364-inches per year.

Of course, this natural feature is interesting and important; but here are some other pieces of history that make ‘Īao even more important in the history of Hawai‘i.

First, the distance past.

From the highest peak of Pu‘u Kukui to the shoreline of Kahului Bay, the ahupua‘a (land division) of Wailuku was a favorite place of Ali‘i and a ruling center of Maui. ‘Īao Valley is part of the ahupua‘a.

For centuries, high chiefs and navigators from across the archipelago were buried in secret, difficult-to-access sites in the valley’s steep walls.

‘Iao Valley became a “hallowed burying place for ancient chiefs” and is the first place mentioned in the historical legends as a place for the secret burials of high chiefs. (Thrum)

Because this was sacred ground, commoners were not permitted to enter the valley, except for the Makahiki festival.

Some suggest the last burial was in 1736, with the burial of King Kekaulike.

Then, in the late-1780s into 1790, Kamehameha conquered the Island of Hawai‘i and was pursuing conquest of Maui and eventually sought conquer the rest of the archipelago.

At that time, Maui’s King Kahekili and his eldest son and heir-apparent, Kalanikūpule, were carrying on war and conquered O‘ahu.

In 1790, Kamehameha travelled to Maui. Hearing this, Kahekili sent Kalanikūpule back to Maui with a number of chiefs (Kahekili remaining on O‘ahu to maintain order of his newly conquered kingdom.)

After a battle in Hana, Kamehameha landed at Kahului and then marched on to Wailuku, where Kalanikūpule waited for him.

The ensuing battle was one of the hardest contested on Hawaiian record. The battle started in Wailuku and then headed up ‘l̄ao Valley – the Maui defenders being continually driven farther up the valley.

Kamehameha’s superiority in the number and use of the newly acquired weapons and canon (called Lopaka) from the ‘Fair American’ (used for the first time in battle, with the assistance from John Young and Isaac Davis) finally won the decisive battle at ‘Īao Valley.

Arguably, the cannon and people who knew how to effectively use it were the pivotal factors in the battle. Had the fighting been in the usual style of hand-to-hand combat, the forces would have likely been equally matched.

The Maui troops were completely annihilated, and it is said that the corpses of the slain were so many as to choke up the waters of the stream of ‘l̄ao – one of the names of the battle was “Kepaniwai” (the damming of the waters.)

Maui Island was conquered and its fighting force was destroyed – Kalanikūpule and some other chiefs escaped over the mountain at the back of the valley and made their way to O‘ahu (to later face Kamehameha, again; the next time at the Battle of Nu‘uanu in 1795.)

After the battle at ‘Iao, Kamehameha received Keōpūolani as his wife. Kamehameha left for Moloka‘i to secure it under his control, before proceeding to O‘ahu.

Then, in 1795, Kamehameha moved on in his conquest of O‘ahu.

Today, ‘Iao Valley State Monument is operated under DLNR’s State Parks system. It is at the end of ‘Iao Valley Road (Highway 32.) Free parking for Hawai‘i residents, $5 per car for others (open 7 am to 7 pm.)

A paved walking trail provides a scenic viewpoint of Kuka’emoku; a short paved loop trail meanders through an ethnobotanical garden adjacent to ‘Iao stream.

“‘lao stands without rival, as the loveliest spot in these tropical isles placed in the midsummer sea, or as Mark Twain has lovingly called it, ‘The loveliest fleet of islands that lie anchored in any Ocean’ …”

“… for seek throughout the four corners of the lands of the Kamehamehas, you will never find a place with such incomparable environment of lofty peaks, giant lehua trees, with blossoms of rosy hues glistening in the glare of the noonday sun, and deep canyons through which the mighty waters run down, as here in lao.” (Field)

Follow Peter T Young on Facebook

Follow Peter T Young on Google+

Follow Peter T Young on LinkedIn

Follow Peter T Young on Blogger

Iao Valley from Wailuku-1900s

Kukaemoku-(mknbr)

Iao-Stream

Iao_Valley_forest_trail

Iao_Stream

Iao_Needle

Iao_Needle and Profile

May 15, 2019 by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

Māhā‘ulepū Heritage Trail

Māhā‘ulepū is an ahupua‘a (historic Hawaiian land division) and watershed running from the Hā‘upu mountain range to the shoreline on Kauai’s southeast coast.

The whole coast was populated by native Hawaiians when the first westerner, explorer Captain James Cook, sailed through Kauai waters to land in Waimea in 1778.

Cook’s arrival set the stage for an influx of newcomers from around the world and catalyzed a dramatic transformation of Hawai‘i’s land use and demographics.

By 1850, American entrepreneurs launched large-scale sugar plantations in southeast Kauai. Their efforts heralded the beginning of Hawai‘i’s plantation era, which lasted into the late 20th century.

Kauai’s South Shore coastline features a fascinating hike along the Māhā‘ulepū Heritage Trail, a 4-mile round trip stretching from Keoneloa Bay to Kawailoa Bay.

A range of natural and cultural resources reflect the state’s evolution through the periods of Hawaiian settlement and expansion, Western contact, and plantation life. The following summarizes some of them.

1. Keoneloa Bay – “Long Sand, Long Beach”

This is a long stretch of sandy beach on the far eastern end of the Po‘ipū resort area, fronted by The Grand Hyatt Kauai Resort & Spa and a county park facility.

It is also known as Shipwreck Beach, named for the wreckage an old, wooden fishing boat on the beach back in the 1970s (that has long since disappeared.)

2. Makahuena – “Rough Face” & Makawehi – “Calm Face”

The unusual cliff formations were formed from sand dunes that have been weathered by wind and surf over the centuries. These ancient limestone sea cliffs have been virtually sandblasted by a combination of wind, salt and water.

Today Makawehi point is being undercut by continual wave erosion. The huge blocks of limestone that lie at the base of these cliffs are examples of that erosion.

3. Pā‘ā Dunes – “Fence of Lava Rock” or “Dry and Rocky”

About 8,000 years ago, dunes began forming atop Makawehi as sections of the sandy shoreline accumulated a reddish fossil soil overlay.

The tradewinds blowing from the northeast or mauka (mountain) side of this area have had the most dominant influence determining the shape of the dunes along this section of coast, with kona winds from the southwest having a minor influence.

4. Pinnacles

Sandstone-limestone pinnacles are usually formed by rain-water washing down along vertical fractures in the limestone. Pinnacles can be seen in stark formation to the right of a small bay just before the climb to the golf course.

5. Heiau Ho‘ouluia – “Fishing Temple”

This site is thought to have been a place of worship where fish were offered to the god of the sea, to ensure good fishing.

6. Punahoa – “To Bind or Lash”

Punahoa is composed of a very thick accumulation of coastal sand dunes that formed around 350,000 years ago. They are the oldest sand dunes of this region, carved by the tradewinds which formed all the dunes of this coast.

Along this area are short pieces of pipe anchored into the lava rock to hold fishing poles. This shoreline has been popular for centuries among local fishermen, catching primarily shoreline game fish such as ulua, papio (juvenile ulua) and oio.

7. Makauwahi Sinkhole – “Fear, Break Through”

The Makauwahi Sinkhole is a small portion of the largest limestone cave found in Hawaii. Paleoecological and archaeological excavations of the sediment that has filled the pond in the sinkhole put its age at some 10,000 years, and have revealed at least 45 species of bird life.

More importantly, the findings of this study show how the first humans that inhabited Kauai affected the pre-human natural environment. It is one of only a handful of sites in the world that show such impact.

8. Māhā‘ulepū Beach-“And Falling Together”

Māhā‘ulepū’s name comes from a legendary battle that occurred in the 1300s when Kalaunuio Hua, a Big Island ruler, made an attempt to take over all the Hawaiian islands.

By nightfall, it was evident that Kalaunuio Hua had lost the battle and became a prisoner to Kukona. Thus began the historical distinction of Kauai as an island that was never conquered.

9. Wai‘ōpili Petroglyphs – “Water Against”

In 1887, Kauai resident JK Farley discovered carved drawings or petroglyphs on a rock at Māhā‘ulepū Beach near the mouth of the Wai‘ōpili Stream. The carvings are normally covered by beach sand, but if tides and ocean conditions are right the petroglyphs can occasionally be seen.

North of Māhā‘ulepū Beach is a large petroglyph boulder which contains two cup-like carvings at the top. One of the carvings contains a pecked out groove from the cup and runs along the edge of the boulder.

The Māhā‘ulepū Heritage Trail is a project of the Po‘ipū Beach Foundation.

Follow Peter T Young on Facebook

Follow Peter T Young on Google+

Follow Peter T Young on LinkedIn

Follow Peter T Young on Blogger

Māhā‘ulepū Village as drawn by Hiram Bingham-1824

1-Keoneloa Bay

2-Makawehi

3-Paa Dunes

4-Pinnacles

5-Heiau Hoouluia

6-Punahoa

7-Makauwahi Sinkhole

8-Mahaulepu Beach

9-Waiopli Petroglyphs

Mahaulepu_Heritage_Trail-Map

May 7, 2019 by Peter T Young 1 Comment

Kapihaʻā Village Interpretive Trail

He Wahi Pana O Lānaʻi – A Storied Place of Lānaʻi – the Kapihaʻā Interpretive Trail is an approximate one-mile round trip. The Kapihaʻā preservation area contains at least fifteen distinct sites, made up of more than 60 features, by which we may see how Hawaiians lived, worked and worshiped on Lānaʻi.

Interpretive signs found along the trail identify several different types of sites, including agricultural fields, residences, ceremonial sites and lithic (stone) workshops.

Sign 1 – ”Wahi Pana” are storied and sacred places on the Hawaiian landscape.
Walking the trail from this point, you will step back in time, and glimpse life on Lānaʻi prior to the arrival of westerners in 1778.

Sign 2- Kapihaʻā: Life Along The Leeward Shore Of Lānaʻi
Close to 800 years ago, native Hawaiians settled along sheltered areas of the coast line on Lānaʻi, and then extended inland where extensive dry land agricultural fields were developed.

Because water resources were limited even then, most agricultural pursuits were in the form of dry land crops planted upon the kula (plains) and under the canopy of now reduced forests that collected fog drip.

Along the trail there is evidence of permanent and temporary dwellings, agricultural plots, lithic (stone) workshops and ceremonial sites, and the ancient setting of Kapihaʻā Village.

Sign 3 – Puʻupehe Islet
Native lore describes the platform with an upright stone in it as either a burial place for a woman who bore the name of Puʻupehe, or as a shrine dedicated to the god of bird catchers.

In traditional times, sea birds were an important part of the Hawaiian diet, and koʻa (shrines) were placed on “bird islands to sustain the land with plenty of birds.”

Sign 4 – Heiau (Temple) of Kapihaʻā Village
This heiau is a significant architectural feature on the cultural landscape of Kapihaʻā. There are five features associated with the heiau, which include a walled platform, terraces and an ʻahu (altar or cairn).

The prominence of this site, and the fact that it commands an imposing view of the ocean and surrounding lands, suggests that it was a temple associated with prayers and offerings to promote the abundance of the fisheries, or perhaps to pray for rains and sustainable growth of crops on land.

Sign 5 – Dry Land Agricultural Terraces
Because of the arid nature of Lānaʻi, most of the crops grown here were adapted to the kula (open flat lands), and planted in kīhāpai, and moʻo (walled fields or shallow terraces). Passing showers born by the nāulu (southerly) breezes and the early morning kēhau (dew born upon mountain breezes) provided enough water for the plants to grow.

Both natural terraces, some of which were modified, and formal terraces, in which mulch was developed to support plant growth, may be found in this area. Crops such as ʻuala (sweet potatoes), uhi (yams), hue (gourds), lau ki (ti plants) and clumps of kō (sugarcane) could be grown here.

Sign 6 – Kauhale and Hale Pāpaʻi House Sites, Temporary Habitation Sites and Shelters
On the leeward side of Lānaʻi, Kapihaʻā and neighboring villages of the Hulopoʻe-Mānele vicinity supported a population of at least several hundred people at any given time.

The small house sites were basically shelters from bad weather, with most activities – such as making fishing gear, working on stone tools, and food preparation – occurring outside.

Poles of wood, gathered from the uplands, would have been placed upon the stone foundations of these house sites and shelters as support posts, beams and purloins. Thatching of native pili grass, leaves of loulu (pritchardia) palms, niu (coconut fronds), and leafy branches from shrubs would then be lashed to the poles on narrow cross pieces, thus providing protection from rain, cold and heat.

The house foundation has multiple terraces and separate leveled areas, each of which would have served a special use in domestic life. Generally the highest area on the upslope side was reserved for special functions associated with family worship.

Sign 7 – Koʻa, a Fisherman’s Shrine and Triangulation Station
A significant wealth of this part of Lana’i lay in its fisheries, as marine resources supplied protein for the native Hawaiian diet. In addition to fish, various pūpū (shellfish), papaʻi (crabs), and several varieties of limu (seaweeds) were also collected along the shore and from the sea. These fishery resources, together with crops from the uplands sustained the residents of Kapihaʻā over many generations.

A significant Hawaiian ceremonial site, a koʻa or fishing shrine, lies to the west of this trail, perched on a promontory overlooking the ocean and the fisherman’s trail. Portions of the koʻa have collapsed, but the large mound of coral set upon the stone foundation is symbolic of the god Kūʻula and makes this koʻa one of the most unique sites of its kind anywhere in Hawai’i.

Fishermen sought protection during fishing trips and continued abundance of the fisheries through offerings of fish, urchins, and shell fish to the gods and ʻaumakua (guardians). Offerings would again be made upon return from fishing expeditions to thank the gods for their successful catch and safe return.

Sign 8 – The Kapihaʻā Preservation Area and Interpretive Trail (Coastal Section)
Sections of the Fisherman’s Trail along this coast follow a traditional ala hele (trail) traveled by ancient Hawaiian residents of Lānaʻi for generations.

The ala hele linked coastal communities together, and provided residents with access to various resources. The ala hele that turns mauka (upland) at this point enters the ancient village site known as Kapihaʻā. (Information on the Kapihaʻā interpretive trail is from Lānaʻi Culture & Heritage Center, prepared by Kepā Maly, Kumu Pono Associates LLC.)

Follow Peter T Young on Facebook

Follow Peter T Young on Google+

Follow Peter T Young on LinkedIn

Follow Peter T Young on Blogger