Images of Old Hawaiʻi

by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

Manokalanipō

Poetically Kauai is reportedly called, “Manokalanipō”, or “Kauai a Mano” after the ancient chief who was largely responsible for elevating Kauai’s ancient society to sophisticated heights of advancement and productivity. (NativeKauai)

Independent chiefdoms were ruled by a supreme chief, or aliʻi ʻaimoku (chief possessing an island or district); at times referred to as aliʻi-nui (great chief) to distinguish him from lesser chiefs.

Typically this position was attained by inheritance, as holder of highest rank among the nobility; however it could also be gained by force by a relative, lesser chief or outside invader.

The aliʻi-nui had complete control over his lands and production, as well as the lives of his subjects. He derived these rights from his familial relationship with the Hawaiian gods.

Poʻipū, Kauai was a Royal Center for the southern shoreline of Kauai. Here resided high chiefs Kukona (7th aliʻi ʻaimoku) and Manokalanipō (8th) when on the south-side; and they were kept in paramount chiefly control until the last Prince Keliiahonui, son of Kaumualiʻi (23rd) in the 1830s.

Manokalanipō has the characteristic honor of having had his name as a nickname to the island over which he ruled, and in epical and diplomatic language it was ever after known as “Kauai-a-Manokalanipō.”

Manokalanipō was noted for the energy and wisdom with which he encouraged agriculture and industry, executed long and difficult works of irrigation, and thus brought fields of wilderness under cultivation. The wife of Manokalanipō was Naekapulani. He was son of Kukona.

Kukona (7th aliʻi ʻaimoku (high chief or king) of Kauai), whose name in Hawaiʻi became a symbol of the very highest ideals of chivalry in battle, was born in Kōloa and fought his defining battle at Poʻipū. His year of birth is estimated at around 1405.

In the first part of the 15th century, Kalaunuiohua, the ambitious chief of Hawaiʻi who had already conquered three other islands, tried to seize Kauai. He was accompanied into battle by the combined armies and chiefs of Maui, Molokai and Oʻahu. The war is known as the War of Ka-welewele.

When the armada of Kalaunuiohua, touched the shores of Kauai, they were met by an army of only 500 men who were the defenders of Kauai.

Kukona had not even bothered to attend; he sent Manokalanipō. A small and greatly outnumbered force of Kauai warriors had decisively beaten the combined armies of all of the other islands. (Fornander)

Kukona captured all four chiefs of Hawaiʻi, Oʻahu, Maui and Molokai.

He had the opportunity to kill them all and assume leadership over the islands. However, he preferred peace and allowed them to return safely home with a promise that they never again make war on Kauai.

As noted by Fornander: “The war with the Hawaiʻi chief, and the terrible defeat and capture of the latter, as well as Kukona’s generous conduct towards the four chiefs who fell into his hands after the battle, brought Kauai back into the family circle of the other islands, and with an éclat and superiority which it maintained to the last of its independence.”

This peace lasted for four hundred years; the peace was called ka lai loa ia Kamaluohua (The Long Peace of Kamaluohua – named for the captured Maui chief who, while Kukona was sleeping, stated to the others, “Let us do no hurt to Kukona, because he has been kind to us. Here we are in his hands, but he has not put us to death. Let us then treat him kindly.” (Malo))

No foreign wars disturbed Kukona’s nor Manokalanipō’s reign, and it is remembered in the legends as the golden age of that island. (Fornander)

Today, people of Kauai proudly proclaim that their island was never conquered over the centuries, even when larger armies attempted to do so.

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by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

Invasion of Waikiki

“From the Waikiki Inn to the Seaside Hotel the beach and all available space back of it was occupied by spectators. … There were hundreds of tourists hailing from the four corners of the earth and representatives of almost every race on the globe in the crowd.” (Hawaiian Gazette, February 25, 1913)

This was Hawaiʻi’s first pageant, part of the 1913 Mid-Winter Carnival, commemorating the conquering of Oʻahu by Hawaiʻi’s first King.

“Plunging across sunlit billows and riding swiftly upon the crest of the reef-combed rollers of Waikiki Bay yesterday, a fleet of war canoes brought the conquering army of Kamehameha the Great to Oahu, the first scene in the first historical pageant ever staged in the territory.” (Hawaiian Gazette, February 25, 1913)

“Kamehameha and his warriors were late landing. It was at first intended that the canoes bearing the brown soldiers should reach the beach between the Outrigger club grounds and the Moana hotel at o’clock, but one delay after another came up …”

“… the greatest of which was the tardy arrival of, the Pacific Mail steamer Mongolia, aboard of which were 134 passengers who had come all the way from San Francisco on purpose to witness the pageant.” (Star-Bulletin, February 21, 1913)

“In all there were in the flotilla about forty canoes, big and little, and as they paddled away in the gloom of the early morning each canoe was loaded to the guards.”

Palenapa, of the Honolulu police force, portrayed Kamehameha. Seventy Kamehameha Schools boys, a large delegation from the Kamehameha Aquatic club and several other organizations took part.

“Not a phase of the old conflict had been forgotten and as many of the features that made the flotilla of Kamehameha the Great unique had been placed aboard the canoes as could be got together in the short time allowed the manager of the pageant.”

“There were the tabu sticks, carried by the Puloulou, or custodian of the sacred things, there were the feathered tufts or the kahilis, sign of royalty, there: were the pauas or bows, and the puas or arrows, the deadly little poisoned darts”. (Star Bulletin, February 21, 1913)

“Probably over seven thousand people were at Waikiki to see the spectacle.”

“It is to be regretted that there were no grandstand accommodations and I am afraid that many or our visitors did not Vet a very good view of the picturesque ceremonies carried on. I hoe that if anything of the kind is attempted again, arrangements will be for more seating.” (Chillingworth, Star-Bulletin, February 21, 1913)

“All credit to John H. Wise, chairman of the regatta committee, and his lieutenants for making the affair the undoubted success it was despite the manifold difficulties with which they found themselves confronted at every stage of the preparations.”

“All credit to Director (Charles) Chillingworth, who stood behind his assistants, directing the work, fitting the multiplicity of detail into beautiful, harmonious whole.”

“Immediately after the ceremony of landing most of the crowd returned to town, though a large number gathered on the beach around the army of natives and were awarded by witnessing the hula dance.” (Star Bulletin, February 21, 1913)

Carnival events in 1913 included the Landing of Kamehameha, special productions at the Opera House, Horse Races, Military Parade, Floral Parade, Hawaiian luau and other events around town. Publicity on the mainland is credited for bringing in more than 2,000 tourists for the activities.

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by Peter T Young 1 Comment

Waihou Spring

Under the reign of Kaka‘alaneo, Maui was divided into twelve moku (districts.) These included Ka‘anapali, Lahaina, Hāmākuapoko, Hāmākualoa, Koʻolau, Hana, Kīpahulu, Kaupo, Kahikinui, Honua‘ula, Wailuku and Kula.

The twelve ancient districts of Maui were later reduced to four under the Civil Code of 1859, which consolidated all East Maui districts into one.

Later the Session Laws of 1909 regained two districts, which established a total of six districts. Under the Session Laws of 1909, Hāmākualoa and Hāmākuapoko were joined to make the modern district of Makawao (‘forest beginning.’)

Makawao consists of four traditional Hawaiian political districts: Honua’ula to the south, along the leeward slopes of Haleakala; Kula, which overlooks the Wailuku District and the Isthmus lands; and Hāmākuapoko and Hāmākualoa along the windward slopes of Haleakalā. (Cultural Surveys)

In traditional times, the area would have been covered in native forest including koa, ʻōhiʻa lehua, ti and kukui. Logging in the mid- to late-1800s resulted in the elimination of majority of the forest trees, which was later followed by cattle.

Clearing of the forest trees for sugarcane by Europeans in the mid- to late-1800s had altered the environment. Ranching was to eventually dominate all land use in the upland slopes of Haleakala.

Clear cutting and burning of sandalwood continued well into the mid-1800s, which greatly impacted the landscaping of the area.

By the 1870s, the Waihou Springs (‘new water’) area was probably cleared pasture land, with little to no native vegetation. The only tree indicated in the vicinity of Waihou is a ‘lone koa tree.’

The Makawao Forest Reserve was established in 1908. The forest reserve was sanctioned off for watershed protection and included approximately 2,093 acres.

The introduction of gorse as hedging material in the early-1900s added to the rapidly declining native forest. Gorse is a spiny, evergreen exotic shrub which can grow up to 15-feet tall and 30-feet in diameter.

In a single gorse plant, there can be hundreds of pods which eventually burst and expel thousands of gorse seeds. By the mid-1950s, the gorse had spread uncontrollably, killing the majority of the remaining native plants.

In an effort to eliminate the gorse, a state territorial prison camp was also established in 1953 located near the present Olinda Homesteads. Low security prisoners were brought to Maui from overcrowded O’ahu prisons, with the primary purpose of clearing the overgrown gorse areas.

The Olinda prison facility was located on 114 acres of Haleakala land and initially housed approximately 30 prisoners. In addition to clearing the gorse, prisoners grew vegetables for shipment to Honolulu.

In the early-1950s, Olinda prisoners had also undertaken the job of linking the road to Kahakuloa with the highway that extends beyond Lahaina, making it possible to circle clear around the West Maui block of mountains.

By the mid-1950s, the majority of the gorse had been eliminated. (The old Olinda minimum-security prison was transformed in the late-1980s to a refuge for endangered endemic birds.)

Unlike most Forest Reserves established by Hawai‘i’s Territorial government in the early-20th century, the land that was set aside for Waihou Spring Forest Reserve in 1909 was open grazing land rather than forested land.

The Territorial Government initially set aside land for the Forest Reserve on June 5, 1909, the object of which was to protect the sources of Waihou Spring, cited at the time as “one of the very few permanent springs on the western slope of Mt. Haleakalā”.

Even though the Reserve was created to protect the source of the spring at Waihou, the spring had already been tunneled and its water was being piped to the lower reaches of the adjacent Haleakalā Ranch to water livestock.

Once bare pasture land and in response to the declining remnant forest, the State Forestry folks began a tree-planting program. Haleakalā Ranch was contracted to build cattle fencing for the Reserve in 1913 and the Maui Agricultural Company began tree planting in 1919.

Tree planting consisted primarily of eucalyptus, various pine and tropical ash. As a secondary measure, the tree planting also served to keep the gorse weed down by shading it out of existence. It is now well forested with both native and non-native tree species.

The ‘ōpe‘ape‘a (Hawaiian hoary bat) is commonly seen both within the boundaries of Waihou Spring Forest Reserve and also in the area surrounding the Reserve. This species roosts in trees and has often been associated with non-native.

Forest birds that may be seen in the area include the ‘amakihi, ʻapapane, ‘alauahio and occasionally ‘i‘iwi. Historical records of sightings within close proximity of the Forest Reserve include two endangered forest birds: ‘ākohekohe and ‘ō‘ū.

Today, the major agricultural activities in up country Maui and are livestock grazing, truck farming, flower production and orchard crops. The forest reserve has been used in recent time for recreation and hunting.

Pig hunting is still popular within the forest reserve, although the number of pigs have declined in recent years as a result of residential developments.

Additionally, changes in weather conditions over the last fifty years have affected the flow of water in the area and majority of the gulches and natural springs are dry.

At approximately 186 acres, Waihou Spring Forest Reserve is relatively small but is a popular day-use area. It is close to residential neighborhoods and has a well-used hiking trail. (Lots of information here is from Cultural Surveys and DLNR.)

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by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

Tax Maps

The earliest known tax records, dating from approximately six thousand years B.C., are in the form of clay tablets found in the ancient city-state of Lagash in modern day Iraq, just northwest of the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers.

The king used a tax system called bala, which meant “rotation.” The assessors would focus on one area of the city-state, assessing and taxing one area each month, thereby breaking down the arduous task into more manageable components.

Ancient Egypt had a thriving culture that began around 5,000 B.C. and lasted thousands of years. Taxes were levied against the value of grain, cattle, oil, beer and land. (Carlson)

Hawaiʻi is geographically an archipelago. It consists of eight main islands, plus a chain of islands extending 1,100-miles to the northwest. Johnston Atoll (Kalama), Palmyra Island and Kingman Reef to the south of Hawaiʻi were part of the Kingdom of Hawaiʻi, but the Admission Act excluded these from the geographical boundaries of the State of Hawaiʻi. (Van Dyke)

Papahānaumokuākea (Northwestern Hawaiian Islands) consists of all islands, atolls, reefs and shoals in the Hawaiian Archipelago northwest of Kauaʻi and Niʻihau.

All islands, atolls, reefs and shoals in the Hawaiian Archipelago, except for the Midway Islands, are included in the State of Hawaiʻi under the Admission Act, the State Constitution and the Hawaiʻi Revised Statutes.

The origin of county government within the American context is found in the Organic Act (June 14, 1900) which created the Territory of Hawaiʻi and which gave it the authority to establish municipalities.

The Territorial Legislature made a first attempt at creation of the four counties in 1903 (Act 31;) however, in 1904, the Territorial Supreme Court voided that effort on procedural grounds. The Legislature’s second attempt in 1905, “The County Act” (Act 39,) was successful, though it required an override of a veto by the Territorial Governor. (Konishi)

The City and County of Honolulu consists of the island of Oʻahu, all other islands not included in any other county and adjacent waters thereto. (Legislative Reference Bureau) Essentially, this means the City and County of Honolulu (“Honolulu”) covers all of Oʻahu (and its surrounding islets) plus the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands (except Midway.)

A mapping effort was initiated in 1917 with the appropriation Act. A Branch was created for the purpose of making maps for the use of the tax assessors.

In 1932, a comprehensive plan for a coordinated mapping system was adopted. Its project included the mapping of the entire land area of the Islands, drawing all tax maps on sheets of uniform size and the creation of a key system.

The key system provided for the accounting of all properties based on location, boundaries, area and ownership identified through its Tax Map Key. (In Hawaiʻi roads are not given Tax Map Key (TMK) designations.) (kauai-gov)

The state was divided and numbered into four tax districts (effectively each County) – First: City & County of Honolulu (Island of Oʻahu;) Second: Maui County, including Molokai, Lānaʻi, Kahoʻolawe (Kalawao County, though a County, is not recognized as a tax Division;) Third: Hawaiʻi County; and Fourth: Kauai County, including Niʻihau, Lehua, Kaula. (Only the main Hawaiian Islands have Tax Maps.)

Each district is divided and numbered into zones (there are up to 9 zones in each district;) tax map zones are divided into sections (there are up to 9 sections in each zone – earlier mapping had the section represented by respective ahupuaʻa;) sections are divided into plats; finally, individual parcels are identified in each plat. (Soehren)

Generally, there is a pattern that the zone numbering follows relative to each Island. For instance in Hawaiʻi County, the zone numbering starts in Puna (Zone 1,) and the numbering is counter-clockwise around the perimeter of the Island (Zone 2 is South Hilo, Zone 3 is North Hilo, Zone 4 is Hāmākua, etc.)

Likewise, generally, the sections follow a numbering pattern starting with Section 1 at zone boundary nearest the prior numbered zone and section numbers sequentially increase across the zone to the next zone common boundary.

The Tax Map Key is a sequence of numbers representing the respective district – zone – section – plat and parcel (with subsequent legislation and creation of condominiums, these are followed by the assigned condominium unit number.)

While driving in rural areas, you might notice the multiple digits in hyphenated street addresses – two digits, a hyphen separator, followed by up to four digits.

The preceding 2-digits represent the zone and section (respectively) of the tax map that the property is situated in. I grew up at 44-453 Kāneʻohe Bay Drive on Oʻahu – that means the property is in zone 4, section 4 of the First District.

The property Tax Map Key is typically written as: (1) 4-4-006:014 (District 1; Zone 4; Section 4; Plat 6; Parcel 14 – if this was a condominium, the sequence would be followed by the assigned tax map unit number.)

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by Peter T Young 1 Comment

Matsumoto Shave Ice

It is referred to in different ways, depending on where you are from … in Hilo it’s Ice Shave; lots of folks outside the Islands call it Sno-Balls, SnoCones (or Snow Cones) or even Shaved Ice … most, here, call it Shave Ice.

Shave ice exists all over the world today and is known as Gola Gunda in Pakistan, Juski in India, Ice Kachang in Malasia & Singapore where it is served with red beans and other fruits, Raspa, Raspado, or Raspadillo in Mexico and Peru (Raspar means “scrape” in Spanish.) (Stever)

In 1956, five years after Matsumoto Grocery Store first opened their doors to the public, a family friend suggested that the store sell cones of shave ice to help make up for slow business.

Mamoru and Helen soon purchased a hand-crank shave ice machine from Japan, attached an electric motor and started making shave ice cones at a nickel a piece. (Nemoto)

Whoa … we are already getting ahead of ourselves. Let’s look back …

Born in Hawaiʻi, Mamoru Matsumoto’s family returned to Hiroshima-ken when he was a toddler, and they struggled to survive. He worked as an apprentice at a sake factory and other odd jobs, but the income was insufficient.

Through friends and relatives he met his wife, Helen Momoyo Ogi, and they were married at the Haleiwa Jodo Mission. Mamoru worked long hours while Helen became a seamstress. They dreamed of opening their own business and purchasing a home for his family in Japan and for themselves.

Mr Kazuo Tanaka gave them the opportunity to open their own grocery store, M. Matsumoto Store Inc (founded February 13, 1951) in the previous Tanaka Store in Haleiwa. (Matsumoto)

Although grateful for the spot they now call home today, they “struggled” at first and had to work “really hard” in order for the family business to stay afloat. (Nemoto)

At first, Mamoru peddled his wares on a bicycle, until he was able to afford a panel truck. He went from camp to camp, taking orders and delivering the goods, while Helen manned the store and did some sewing. (Matsumoto)

“My dad had a panel truck,” says the second-generation Matsumoto. “He used to go around the community trying to sell canned goods in the back.” (Nemoto)

In 1956, the family expanded the business to include the frozen treat that’s known as kakigori (shave ice) in its place of origin, Japan. “The Japanese immigrants moved here with ice shavers. The equipment works like a wood planer.” (Washington Post)

This was before the present big wave surfing on the North Shore. 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.

But North Shore surfing caught on, so did the requisite stop at Matsumoto’s for shave ice.

When son Stanley Matsumoto took over in 1976, he bumped the canned goods to make space for the growing shave ice (and Matsumoto T-shirt) enterprise, which had been garnering attention from the Japanese media and visiting celebrities from both sides of the Pacific. (Washington Post)

In the busy summer season, the shop makes 1,000 ices a day; when school’s in session, the number drops to 500. “My father would be so happy with how the store has gotten so big,” said Matsumoto, whose father died in 1994 at age 85. (Washington Post)

“If they were alive right now they would be so happy to see how the store is today,” Matsumoto says. “They would be so proud to see everyone come to the store and have a nice time.” (Nemoto)

Shave ice is a local specialty found throughout the islands, but Matsumoto’s stands out for being the oldest continuously run operation on Oahu, going back more than half a century. (Washington Post)

Kamehameha Schools redeveloped the area. In all, the 28,000-square-foot retail complex spans a 0.1-mile section of Kamehameha Highway between Mahaulu Lane and Kewalo Lane.

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