Hawaii | Page 241 | Images of Old Hawaiʻi

February 24, 2020 by Peter T Young 1 Comment

Ali‘i Letters

Hawaiian Mission Houses Historic Site and Archives (Mission Houses) collaborated with Awaiaulu Foundation to digitize, transcribe, translate and annotate over 200-letters written by 33-Chiefs.

The letters, written between 1823 and 1887, are assembled from three different collections: the ABCFM Collection held by Harvard’s Houghton Library, the HEA Collection of the Hawaii Conference-United Church of Christ and the Hawaiian Mission Children’s Society.

These letters provide insight into what the Ali‘i (Chiefs) were doing and thinking at the time, as well as demonstrate the close working relationship and collaboration between the aliʻi and the missionaries.

As an example, the following are translations of three letters written by chiefs that specifically relate to that positive, collaborative working relationship.

Chiefs’ Request for More American Teachers

The first was sent August 23, 1836 to the American missionaries; the Hawaiian chiefs asked that more American teachers be sent to the Islands.

“Salutations to you, our friends in America.”

“Here is our proposition for the improvement of the lands here in Hawai‘i. Give us more instructors like those you have in your land, America. These are the types of instructors we are considering.”
“A carpenter
A tailor
A house builder
A cobbler
A wheelwright
A paper maker
A make of lead printing type
A farmer who knows the planting and care of cotton and silk, and sugar refining
A clothier, and
Carriages suitable for heavy work
A teacher for the chiefs in matters of land, comparable to what is done in foreign lands
And if there are others appropriate for those endeavors, those as well.”
Also whatever other teachers would be of value to us”

“If you agree and send these teachers when we will protect them when they arrive provide the necessities to make their professions viable and support those efforts that we will.”

(The letter is signed by 15-chiefs, including Kauikeaouli (King Kamehameha III.)

In response to the Chiefs’ request, shortly after, the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions (ABCFM) sent the largest company of missionaries to the Islands, that included a large number of teachers. The Eighth Company left Boston December 14, 1836 and arrived at Honolulu, April 9, 1837 on the Mary Frazier from Boston. Among the missionaries were:

• Physician Seth Lathrop Andrews (1809–1892) and wife Parnelly Pierce (1807–1846)
• Teacher Edward Bailey (1814–1903) and wife Caroline Hubbard (1814–1894)
• Rev. Isaac Bliss (1804–1851) and wife Emily Curtis (1811–1865)
• Samuel Northrup Castle (1808–1894) and first wife Angeline Tenney (1810–1841)
• Rev. Daniel Toll Conde (1807–1897) and wife Andelucia Lee (1810–1855)
• Amos Starr Cooke (1810–1871) and wife Juliette Montague (1812–1896), (Later asked by Kamehameha III to teach the young royals at the Royal School)
• Rev. Mark Ives (1809–1885) and wife Mary Ann Brainerd (1810–1882)
• Teacher Edward Johnson (1813–1867) and wife Lois S. Hoyt (1809–1891)
• Teacher Horton Owen Knapp (1813–1845) and wife Charlotte Close (1813–1846)
• Rev. Thomas Lafon (1801–1876) and wife Sophia Louisa Parker (1812–1844)
• Teacher Edwin Locke (1813–1843) and wife Martha Laurens Rowell (1812–1842)
• Teacher Charles MacDonald (1812–1839) and wife Harriet Treadwell Halstead (1810–1881)
• Teacher Bethuel Munn (1803–1849) and wife Louisa Clark (1810–1841)
• Miss Marcia M. Smith (1806–1896), teacher
• Miss Lucia Garratt Smith (1808–1892), teacher, later married to as his second wife Lorenzo Lyons
• Teacher William Sanford Van Duzee (1811–1883) and Oral Hobart (1814–1891)
• Teacher Abner Wilcox (1808–1869) and wife Lucy Eliza Hart (1814–1869)

Chiefs’ Request for American Missionaries to Teach the Chiefs’ Children

The second letter, sent in 1839, was signed by three chiefs, Kamehameha III, Hoapili Wahine and Kekāuluohi; it was directed at the missionaries, specifically Amos Starr Cooke (teacher) and Gerrit Parmele Judd (physician).

The missionaries were asked by the King to teach and care for the next generation of the highest-ranking chiefs’ children of the realm and secure their positions for Hawaiʻi’s Kingdom.

“We ask Mr. Cooke to be teacher for our royal children. He is the teacher of our royal children and Dr. Judd is the one to take care of the royal children because we two hold Dr. Judd as necessary for the children and also in certain difficulties between us and you all.
Kamehameha III
Hoapili Wahine
Kekāuluohi”

This resulted in the formation of O‘ahu’s first school, the Chiefs’ Children’s School (The Royal School.) Seven families were eligible under succession laws stated in the 1840 Constitution of the Kingdom of Hawai‘i; Kamehameha III called on seven boys and seven girls to board in the Chiefs’ Children’s School.

The Chiefs’ Children’s School was unique because for the first time aliʻi children would be brought together in a group to be taught, ostensibly, about the ways of governance.

The School also acted as another important unifying force among the ruling elite, instilling in their children common principles, attitudes and values, as well as a shared vision. No school in Hawai‘i has ever produced so many Hawaiian leaders in one generation.

In this school were educated the Hawai‘i sovereigns who reigned over the Hawaiian people from 1855, namely, Alexander Liholiho (King Kamehameha IV,) Queen Emma, Lot Kamehameha (King Kamehameha V,) King Lunalilo, King Kalākaua and Queen Lili‘uokalani.

In addition, the following royal family members were taught there: Princess Bernice Pauahi Bishop, Princess Elizabeth Kekaʻaniau Pratt, Prince Moses Kekūāiwa, Princess Jane Loeau Jasper, Princess Victoria Kamāmalu, Prince Peter Young Kaeo, Prince William Pitt Kīnaʻu, Princess Abigail Maheha, Prince James Kaliokalani and Princess Mary Polly Paʻaʻāina.

“The missionary success cover decades and decades becomes sort of this huge force where people feel like the missionaries got off the boat barking orders … where they just kind of came in and took over. They got off the boat and said ‘stop dancing,’ ‘put on clothes,’ don’t sleep around.’”

“And it’s so not the case ….” (Nogelmeier)

The third letter is from Kalanimōku to Hiram Bingham, written in 1826; that letter translates to, “Greetings Mr Bingham. Here is my message to all of you, our missionary teachers.”

“I am telling you that I have not seen your wrong doing. If I had seen you to be wrong, I would tell you all. No, you must all be good.”

“Give us literacy and we will teach it. And, give us the word of God and we will heed it. Our women are prohibited, for we have learned the word of God.”

“Then foreigners come doing damage to our land. Foreigners of American and Britain. But don’t be angry, for we are to blame for you being faulted. And it is not you foreigners, the other foreigners.”

“Here’s my message according to the words of Jehovah, I have given my heart to God and my body and my spirit. I have devoted myself to the church and Jesus Christ.”

“Have a look at this letter of mine, Mr Bingham and company. And if you see it and wish to send my message on to America to our chief (President,) that is up to you. Greetings to the chief of America. Regards to you all, Kalanimōku.”

The Ali‘i Letters is an exciting new project of Mission Houses and is part of the initial activities related to the Hawaiian Mission Bicentennial. As these and other letters demonstrate, there was a very good working relationship between the chiefs and the missionaries.

Click HERE to view/download Background Information on the Ali‘i Letters

(This includes links to the letters and discussions about them.)

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Chiefs to Mission (Send Teachers-Farmers) Aug 23 1836-400

February 23, 2020 by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

Mākaha Surfing

Although no one knows for sure exactly where and when surfing began, there is no doubt that over the centuries the ancient sport of “heʻe nalu” (wave sliding) was perfected, if not invented, by the kings and queens of Hawaiʻi, long before the 15th century AD.

“Surf-riding was one of the most exciting and noble sports known to the Hawaiians, practiced equally by king, chief and commoner. It is still to some extent engaged in, though not as formerly, when it was not uncommon for a whole community, including both sexes, and all ages, to sport and frolic in the ocean the livelong day.” (Malo)

One of the early (if not first) written descriptions of surfing in Hawaiʻi (Kealakekua Bay:) “The surf, which breaks on the coast round the bay, extends to the distance of about one hundred and fifty yards from the shore ….”

“Whenever, from stormy weather, or any extraordinary swell at sea, the impetuosity of the surf is increased to its utmost height, they choose that time for this amusement … twenty or thirty of the natives, taking each a long narrow board, rounded at the ends, set out together from the shore.”

“… As soon as they have gained … the smooth water beyond the surf, they lay themselves at length on their board, and prepare for their return. … their first object is to place themselves on the summit of the largest surge, by which they are driven along with amazing rapidity toward the shore. …”

“The boldness and address with which we saw them perform these difficult and dangerous manoeuvres, was altogether astonishing, and is scarcely to be credited.” (The Three Voyages of Captain James Cook Round the World, Vol. VII, 3rd Voyage, March 1779, pp 134-135)

“The surf-riders, having reached the belt of water outside of the surf, the region where the rollers began to make head, awaited the incoming of a wave, in preparation for which they got their boards under way by paddling with their hands until such time as the swelling wave began to lift and urge them forward.” (Malo)

“(T)hey resorted to the favorite amusement of all classes – sporting on the surf, in which they distinguish themselves from most other nations. In this exercise, they generally avail themselves of the surf-board, an instrument manufactured by themselves for the purpose.” (Bingham)

“The inhabitants of these islands, both male and female, are distinguished by their fondness for the water, their powers of diving and swimming, and the dexterity and ease with which they manage themselves, their surf-boards and canoes, in that element.” (Bingham)

One reporter on an early OR&L rail ride wrote a glowing story of the railroad trip to Waiʻanae at its opening on July 4, 1895: “For nine miles the road runs within a stone’s throw of the ocean and under the shadow of the Wai‘anae Range.”

“With the surf breaking now on the sand beach and now dashing high on the rocks on one side, and with the sharp craigs and the mountains interspersed with valleys on the other, patrons of the road are treated to some of the most magnificent scenery the country affords.” (Cultural Surveys)

Until the 1930s, modern surfing in Hawaiʻi was focused at Waikīkī; there the waves were smaller. Then, in 1937, Wally Froiseth and John Kelly, reportedly on a school trip witnessed the large break at Mākaha and later surfed its waves. They were later joined by George Downing and others.

Riding at an angle to the wave, rather than the straight to shore technique, on the new “hot curl” board, with narrower tails and V-hulled boards, allowed them to ride in a sharper angle than anyone else.

Mākaha became the birthplace of big wave surfing. Even before Oʻahu’s North Shore, Mākaha was ‘the’ place for surfing – especially big-wave surfing.

In January 1955, the first Mākaha International Surfing Championships was held and for the next decade was considered the unofficial world championships of surfing.

While that contest faded away, in 1977, Buffalo Keaulana, a living legend of Mākaha (and Mākaha International champion in 1960,) started the Buffalo Big Board Surfing Classic (featuring canoe-surfing, tandem surfing, bullyboarding (oversize tandem bodyboards), bodysurfing and longboards) and it has been held every year since.

By doing this he has helped sustain and promote the old ways and pass on this knowledge to the keiki. This will help the children of today and tomorrow understand their cultural background so strongly rooted in nature.

For these reasons, it is vital to preserve this natural class room so that the kūpuna can pass on their manaʻo and keep the Hawaiian culture alive. (Cultural Surveys)

Rell Sunn, the ‘Queen of Makaha,’ in 1976 began the Rell Sunn Menehune Surf Contest; children 12 and under compete in body board, long board and short board, and each event is broken into age and gender categories. In 1983, Sunn was diagnosed with cancer; she died in 1998.

When asked where his favorite place to surf is, Buffalo said, “…right here in Mākaha. Mākaha is the best place to surf, you have the channel and the wave comes from that end you see the white water going on that side coming that way.” (Cultural Surveys)

Today, surfing is thought of as a lifestyle in Hawaiʻi, it is part of the local culture. As an island state, the shore is the beginning of our relationship with the ocean – not the edge of the state line. Surfing expands our horizon, refreshes, rejuvenates and gives hope. It has helped people find harmony in one’s self and the vast ocean. (Hawaiʻi Quarter Design)

As former Hawai’i State governor, George Ariyoshi, stated, “Those of us fortunate to live in Hawaiʻi are extremely proud of our state and its many contributions to the world. Surfing certainly is one of those contributions.”

“It is a sport enjoyed by men, women and children in nearly every country bordering an ocean. Surfing was born in Hawai’i and truly has become Hawaiʻi’s gift to the world of sports.”

Missionary Hiram Bingham, noted (rather poetically,) “On a calm and bright summer’s day, the wide ocean and foaming surf … the green tufts of elegant fronds on the tall cocoanut trunks, nodding and waving, like graceful plumes, in the refreshing breeze …”

“… the natives … riding more rapidly and proudly on their surf-boards, on the front of foaming surges … give life and interest to the scenery.”

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Buffalo Keaulana at Makaha (SurfingHeritage)- Dec. 15, 1962

Buffalo Keaulana documentary by Tommy Moore

Bob Simmons (center) and Flippy Hoffman (right) at Makaha - 1953

Fred Hemmings, Senior Men’s champion, Makaha, 1966. Hemmings recently announced that he will not run for reelection to the Hawaii State Senate, where he served since 2000.

Greg_Noll-Makaha-(AlbyFalzon)-December 4th, 1969

Greg_Noll-(same_wave)-Makaha-(AlbyFalzon)-December 4th, 1969

Makaha International Surfing Championships held the day after Christmas, 1967-(star-bulletin)

Makaha International Surfing Championships, 1965. George Downing, 1st place winner, Senior Men’s Division, receiving trophy from Queen Leimomi. Photographer unknown.

Fred Hemmings, Chinn Ho, Duke Kahanamoku and Butch Van Artsdalen

Makaha, 1965. Top finishers in senior men’s division: George Downing, center; Fred Hemmings, right, in sun glasses; and Mike Doyle. John Lind, announcing, at far left. Photographer unknown.

Makaka International Surfing Championships, Junior Men’s winners receiving awards. 1965. Photographer unknown.

Tandem Makaha style. Photo by Bernie Baker

Wally Froiseth. Date on back: Sep 1, 1955. Waikiki Surf Club photo.

February 22, 2020 by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

Moseying Along

Throughout the years of late-prehistory, AD 1400s – 1700s, and through much of the 1800s, the canoe was a principal means of travel in ancient Hawaiʻi. Canoes were used for interisland and inter-village coastal travel.

Most permanent villages initially were near the ocean and at sheltered beaches, which provided access to good fishing grounds, as well as facilitating convenient canoe travel.

Although the canoe was a principal means of travel in ancient Hawaiʻi, extensive cross-country trail networks enabled gathering of food and water and harvesting of materials for shelter, clothing, medicine, religious observances and other necessities for survival.

These trails were usually narrow, following the topography of the land. Sometimes, over ‘a‘ā lava, they were paved with water-worn stones.

Back then, land travel was only foot traffic, over little more than trails and pathways.

June 21, 1803 marked an important day in the history of Hawaiʻi land transportation and other uses when the Lelia Byrd, an American ship under Captain William Shaler (with commercial officer Richard Cleveland,) arrived at Kealakekua Bay with two mares and a stallion on board.

Before departing to give these gifts to Kamehameha (who was not on the island to accept them,) the captain left one of the mares with John Young (a trusted advisor of the King, who begged for one of the animals.)

Shaler and Cleveland then departed for Lāhainā, Maui to give the mare and stallion to King Kamehameha I.

Hawaiʻi had a new means of transportation (as well as a work-animal to help control the growing cattle population (gifts from Captain Vancouver in 1793.))

Until the mid-1800s, overland travel was predominantly by foot and followed the traditional trails.

In 1838, a major street improvement project was started. Honolulu was to be a planned town. Kinaʻu (Kuhina Nui Kaʻahumanu II) published the following proclamation: “I shall widen the streets in our city and break up some new places to make five streets on the length of the land, and six streets on the breadth of the land… Because of the lack of streets some people were almost killed by horseback riders …”

By the 1840s, the use of introduced horses, mules and bullocks for transportation was increasing, and many traditional trails – the ala loa and mauka-makai trails within ahupua‘a – were modified by removing the smooth stepping stones that caused the animals to slip.

A few remnants of the early uses of horses to get around can be seen. Circular indentations in curbs adjoining streets show the location of hitching rings used to tether horses outside businesses.

Typically, the evidence is iron stubs that fastened the rings to the curb. In Hilo, some curb rings can still be seen; along the curb of Kamehameha Avenue are two-inch rings spaced at intervals.

There is also evidence on Alakea Street, between King and Merchant, in Honolulu, fronting the Wolter Building (site of the former Occidental Hotel.)

Today, Hawaiʻi remains strong in the ranching tradition. Remnant hitching posts can be found outside of some businesses and homes. Rodeo grounds can be seen on most of the islands.

In 1868, horse-drawn carts operated by the Pioneer Omnibus Line went into operation in Honolulu, beginning the first public transit service in the Hawaiian Islands.

Honolulu resident HP Baldwin is credited with having the first automobile back in October 1899 (it was steam-powered.) The first gasoline-powered automobile arrived in the Islands in 1900.

In November of 1900, an electric trolley (tram line) was put into operation in Honolulu, and then in 1902, a tram line was built to connect Waikīkī and downtown Honolulu. The electric trolley replaced the horse-mule-driven tram cars.

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Horse tethering ring-Hilo town along the curb of Kamehameha Avenue

Horse_tethering-marking-King_and_Alakea-Wolter_Building

Mamalahoa_Trail_as_horse_trail-1900s-(HMCS-NPS)

Waipio

Buggies on Mt. Tantalus, Honolulu, 1900s.

Records of the Fire Dept show horses were used as early as April 1886. On Aug 15, 1891 a new steam engine arrived for Engine Co 1. The members of the company received the horses from merchants and tranined them for connection to the engine. Horses were not

Horse_drawn_tramcars,in_front_of_Aliiolani_Hale-Honolulu-1901

Horse_Drawn_Trolley_and_Horse_Drawn_Carriage_Passing_on_Street-1900

Fashion_Stables_at_Corner_of_Hotel_and_Fort_Streets-1880

Honolulu and Vicinity-Dakin-Fire Insurance- 03-Map-1906-Occidental_Hotel

February 21, 2020 by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

Kaluakauka

In 1793, Captain George Vancouver gave a few cattle to Kamehameha I; when Vancouver landed additional cattle at Kealakekua in 1794, he strongly encouraged Kamehameha to place a 10‐year kapu on them to allow the herd to grow.

In the decades that followed, cattle flourished and turned into a dangerous nuisance. Kamehameha III lifted the kapu in 1830 and the hunting of wild cattle was encouraged. The king hired cattle hunters from overseas to help in the effort.

By 1846, 25,000-wild cattle roamed at will and an additional 10,000-semi‐domesticated cattle lived alongside humans. A wild bull or cow could weigh 1,200 to 1,500-pounds and had a six‐foot horn spread. Vast herds destroyed natives’ crops, ate the thatching on houses, and hurt, attacked and sometimes killed people.

In addition to traditional practices in the forests (i.e. bird feather collecting, harvesting koa and ʻōhiʻa, etc,) wild cattle were hunted for consumption, as well as provisioning ships with salt beef, and hides and tallow to the growing whaling fleets replenished their stocks.

Hunting wild cattle in the upper forest where they roamed was dangerous. Bullock pits were dug to trap the animals (they were about seven or eight feet long, and four feet wide and were walled up and covered with fragile brush;) they were near established trails; cattle were also drawn to the area by adjoining water holes. When animals fall in the pits, they were unable to climb out the steep sides.

On July 12, 1834, the pits proved they can be a peril to people, too. Douglas was killed by a wild bullock at Keahuaʻai (a knoll at the top of Laupāhoehoe near the boundary of Humuʻula and Laupāhoehoe (now called Kaluakauka or Douglas Pit.)) (Maly) “In the forest under the shadow of Mauna Kea I have seen the bullock pit where the dead body of the distinguished Scottish naturalist, (David) Douglas”. (Coan)

Douglas was born at Scone, near Perth, Scotland, in 1799, and started his career, there; he was a botanist. He was affiliated with the University of Glasgow and served as botanical collector for the Horticultural Society of London. He was hired by the Hudson’s Bay Company to do a botanical survey of the Oregon region.

In mid-August 1823, Douglas was in Philadelphia looking at the plants brought back by Lewis and Clark that even then were flourishing in some American, as well as European gardens. By September Douglas was in the Northwest, looking as always for seeds and cuttings of fruit trees, as well as wild woody plants.

Even though first Menzies (1790, while sailing with Captain Vancouver) and then Lewis and Clark (1804, through the expedition through the Louisiana Purchase and to the Northwest) had collected plants in the area, they had found only the obvious. Almost every day Douglas was in the field he was finding curious plants that proved to be new to science.

One of the collections he sent back to England with a home-bound ship was the dried branches and needles of what he called “Oregon pine,” that today is known as Douglas Fir (his namesake that is now a common wood in construction, as well as the festive and adorned Christmas tree.)

For 4 years, he travelled approximately 8,000-miles throughout the Northwest, cataloging and collecting samples. He returned to England in 1827. He achieved fame in Europe for his collection, and has been referred to as “one of the founding fathers of the British forestry industry as it exists today” by one biographer.

He returned to the Northwest in 1829 hoping to convince the Hudson’s Bay Company to finance a trip to Alaska and beyond. They refused, so David Douglas sailed to Hawaiʻi, arriving here just before Christmas of 1833.

Douglas was a gifted collector, but in the field he was often in trouble. He once fell on a nail that penetrated his leg under the kneecap. He nearly drowned in a glacier-fed river, and was weeks away from civilization with little but his wet clothes. He grew blind in one eye, and his vision was slowly failing in the other.

In January 1834, he set out to “to ascend and explore Mauna Kea, as soon as possible” Having completed his trek to both Mauna Kea and Mauna Loa, Douglas also visited Kilauea and then returned to O‘ahu.

In July of 1834, Douglas returned to Hawai‘i for a second trip to Mauna Kea. This trip was made via the Waimea-Laumai‘a mountain trail.

“Douglas left the vessel at Kawaihae to cross over by land, engaged a foreigner for a guide and several natives to take along his baggage. The guide accompanied him till they passed all the pit falls dug to entrap wild cattle on the north side Mauna Kea, he then left him to return.” (Lyman, Greenwell)

On July 12, 1834, while exploring the Island; “Douglas, a scientific traveller from Scotland, in the service of the London Horticultural Society, lost his life in the mountains of Hawaii, in a pitfall, being gored and trampled to death by a wild bullock captured there. (Bingham)

“This has been one of the most gloomy days I ever witnessed. … Soon after Mr. Douglas went back a short distance for something and in retracing his steps fell into a pit (into which a bullock had previously fallen) and was found dead a short time afterward. This was Sat. Morning.”

“Sunday he was taken the shortest distance to the sea side, wrapped in a hyde, put on board a canoe and brought here as he was taken from the pit. His close are sadly torn and his body dreadfully mangled. Ten gashes on his head.” (Lyman, Greenwell)

Some have suggested it was not an accident. “(T)he dead body of the distinguished Scottish naturalist, Douglas, was found under painfully suspicious circumstances, that led many to believe he had been murdered for his money.” (Coan)

While examination at the time suggested death by the bullock – “On the 3rd instant the body was brought here (Oʻahu) in an American vessel. I immediately had it examined by the medical gentlemen, who gave it as their opinion that the several wounds were inflicted by the bullock.” (Charlton, British Consul) – many remain skeptical.

As Titus Coan noted (1882,) “A mystery hangs over the event which we are unable to explain.”

David Douglas was buried in the Kawaiahaʻo Church Cemetery. A plaque on the wall of Kawaiahaʻo Church and a stone marker at Kaluakauka (near where the pit was located) commemorate David Douglas’s death.

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David Douglas_Memorial-Kaluakauka

David_Douglass-c1834

David Douglas_Memorial-Kaluakauka

David Douglas sign-Cathedral Grove, MacMillan Park-Canada

Pseudotsuga_menziesii_cone-From a tree grown from seed collected by David Douglas

Sketch_of_Cattle_Pit_Diell’s_Letter

David-Douglas-memorial-Vancouver.

David-Douglas-Memorial-Perthshire-Scotland

February 20, 2020 by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

Nā Pōhaku O Hauwahine

The place name “Kailua” means “two seas,” according to Pukui et al, which may refer to the presence of two currents, although some have suggested that use of this Oʻahu place name refers to the two inland ponds, Kawainui and Kaʻelepulu.

The earliest settlement of the Kailua area may date back to between 1,000 and 1,500 years ago; by the 15th and 16th centuries, the makai portion of Kailua had become a favorite settlement locale of chiefs.

Traditional history describes Kailua as the residence of many prominent O‘ahu ruling chiefs. There is ‘Olopana, “who with his brother Kahiki‘ula came to O‘ahu from Kahiki … He is said to have established several heiau in Kāne‘ohe and Kailua”.

One of the earliest great chiefs to reside in Kailua was the 16th-century ruler Kakuhihewa, who built himself a great house at ‘Ālele in Kailua.

At approximately the same time, another prominent chief, Kuali‘i, born at Kalapawai, Kailua and raised in Kualoa and Kailua, had his navel-cutting ceremony at the heiau of Alāla (present-day Lanikai Point); and, after heroically succeeding in many battles, became the high chief of O‘ahu.

In early historic times, the conquering chief Kahekili, followed by Kamehameha I, resided in Kailua for a time.

There are legendary accounts of the prominent Mount Olomana, which is named after a great mythological giant and/or chief.

Tradition also says Kawainui was inhabited by a mo‘o called Hauwahine, whose name literally means “female ruler.” Her residency at Kawainui follows Haumea’s, the earth-mother goddess whose name literally means “red ruler.”

She ensured that all the people of the ahupua‘a shared in the pond’s wealth but punished those who were greedy.

Oral history notes that the stones overlooking Kawainui on Pu‘u o ‘Ehu are sacred to Hauwahine and her companion.

This interpretation is connected to the ancient Hawaiian notion that the channel/canal beneath Pu‘u o ‘Ehu connects Kawainui and Ka‘elepulu.

Kawainui Marsh was considered male, and Ka‘elepulu Pond, female. They mated at Kawailoa, according to Hawaiian tradition.

Mele and oli about Kailua frequently mention the two fishponds, which were famous for their ‘ama‘ama (mullet) and awa (milkfish). They also praise the taro gardens of the area. A few of these chants and legends are those of Hi‘iaka, Kahinihini‘ula, the Mākālei Tree and Ka‘ulu.

The famous mythological tree, Mākālei, had the power of attracting fish. Moʻo purportedly lived in her grove of awa by the Mākālei tree near where the waters drain from Kawainui Marsh to Hāmākua.

Hauwahine’s companion moʻo, named Kilioe, lived at the opposite end of Hāmākua near where Kawainui Stream enters Ka’elepulu Stream.

Nā Pōhaku o Hauwahine is the given name of a 12-acre piece of state property under the Department of Land and Natural Resources (DLNR), Division of State Parks and part of the Kawainui State Park Reserve.

The parcel is located along Kapa‘a Quarry Road in Kailua (O‘ahu) overlooking Kawainui Marsh.

‘Ahahui Malama i ka Lokahi is the curator for this sacred site.

Over the years, the group has been planting the 12-acres with native plants to recreate a dryland forest ecosystem. Brush removal and trail construction has revealed ancient Hawaiian terraces that align the massive rock outcrops.

They are also working in the marsh, to restore a wetland bird habitat. Check out their website for service project information, as well as educational programs: www.ahahui.net

Image shows Doc Burrows at Nā Pōhaku o Hauwahine, overlooking Kawainui Marsh. (Much of the information here is from reporting by Cultural Surveys Hawaiʻi.)

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