Na ka Pueo kahi ke aloha
Nēnē ‘au kai o Maui
Kōwelo kō hae Hawai‘i
Ma ka ‘ilikai a‘o Māmala
Mālama ‘ia iho ke aloha
I Kuleana na‘u e hiki aku au
Ha‘ina ‘ia mai ka puana
Nā ka Pueo kahi ke aloha
The Pueo is my one love
The seafaring gull of Maui
The Hawaiian flag flutters
Over the surface of Mamala Bay
Take care of my love
That’s mine until I return
The story is told
Of the ship, Pueo that I love
(Na Ka Pueo – by Samuel Kalani Kaea)
Na Ka Pueo, a song which was perhaps written by a sailor, tells of a ship named Pueo-Kahi, a cargo vessel which sailed between Hāna and Honolulu harbors during the end of the monarchy period and during the republic.
The Pueo-Kahi was named for a place near Hāna, Maui. It is an earlier name of what we now call Hāna Bay and near the birthplace of Queen Ka‘ahumanu. ‘Pueo-Kahi,’ which could be translated as ‘Lone Owl,’ was named for the owl (pueo) demigod of that area. (Hau‘oli)
Ship, boat or canoes in Hawaiian mele were used as a poetic reference to woman. Owls were also family aumakua (ancestral gods).
“[T]he ‘aumakua was represented in marine life such as great fish, mano (shark), puhi (moray eel), mo‘o (lizard), honu (turtle), and land animals such as pueo (owl).”
“Many of [the people] looked for appearances by their ‘aumakua. For example, one informant shared that at a family funeral, his ‘aumakua, the pueo, appeared to lend support to his family.”
“The family knew where their ‘aumakua could be found and always made efforts to nurture or never harm them. … Pueo is symbolic of Wisdom and the whole universe, light and enlightenment. It is an ‘aumakua or ancestral guardian spirit.” (Matsuoka, etal)
Hāna is located on the eastern most point of Maui, approximately 60 miles from the population centers of Wailuku and Kahului. Hāna, or Kapueokahi, “the single owl”, is considered one of the most beautiful and historically important areas of Maui.
Prior to the unification of the Hawaiian Islands by King Kamehameha, Hāna was used as a staging ground for battles between warring chiefs on Maui and the island of Hawaii. (AECOS)
Alenuihaha Channel, between the southeast and south coast of East Maui and ‘Upolu Point (the northwest tip of Hawaii) could easily be crossed in either direction in a couple of hours when a trade wind was blowing.
As a sanctuary, both in wartime and peacetime, Hāna was an ideal seat for ruling ali’i of either island, as well as a much pleasanter and more beautiful place in which to live.
“Hana is called ‘a land beloved of chiefs because of the fortress of Ka‘uiki [a high rocky hillock by the bay] and the ease of living in that place.’”
“In time of war the hill was reached by a ladder of ohia poles bound together with withes. On the summit was spread a springy plant to serve as bed. Fishponds below furnished unlimited stores of fish. Heaps of ‘awa root ‘delighted the nostrils of the dear firstborn chiefs’”. (Beckwith; Handy, Handy & Pukui)
The sugar industry transformed the ecology of Hāna beginning in 1860 with the Ka‘eleku Sugar Company that formed the backbone of Hāna’s economy until sugar production ceased in the early 1930s.
Paul Fagan bought the sugarcane plantation, converting the area into cattle ranching, and in 1946, built the exclusive Hotel Hāna Ranch, historically known as Hotel Hāna Maui and today as Travaasa Hāna.
The pier at Hāna Bay (also historically known as Kauiki Bay ca. 1920, and as Kapueokahi Bay ca. 1882) was completed in the first half of 1921.
It replaced an earlier landing located near the foot of Keawa Place, on the shore of Hāna Bay, about 250 yards to the west. Here, a series of landings, jetties, and a pier had been in use since at least 1882.
When the 1921 structure was built, it was referred to as “Hāna Wharf”, not as a pier (as it is known today). As such, the historical context that follows uses the historically accurate terms “wharf” and “Hāna Wharf” to describe what is now known as Hāna Pier. (AECOS)
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