Hauʻula

Koʻolauloa moku (district) is one of six district divisions of the Island of Oʻahu (Koʻolauloa, Koʻolaupoko, Kona, ʻEwa, Waiʻanae and Waialua.)

 Koʻolauloa or "long Koʻolau," along with Koʻolaupoko or "short Koʻolau" make up the koʻolau (windward) side of Oʻahu - encompassing the lands on, and reefs offshore of, the north and northeast-facing slopes of Koʻolau (one of two shield volcanos that formed the island.)

Historical documentation indicates that as early as the Voyaging Period (1000-1180 AD) during the reign of Laʻamaikahiki, Koʻolauloa, with its vast natural resources, was a preferred location for royal residence, second only to that of the Waikīkī-Nuʻuanu-Mānoa region

Numerous native oral traditions and foreign accounts from the late 1700s suggest that the various ahupuaʻa within the district were part of a larger and significant political and population center primarily sustained by a variety of wetland agricultural practices and aquaculture activity.  (DWS)

Between 1812 and 1830, the increased demand for sandalwood created a new trade that influenced and changed previous land tenure practices in Koʻolau Loa. The timber, cut from the upland slopes of the Koʻolau Mountains, was hauled down to Waialua Bay for transport and trade.  (DWS)

“The district of Koʻolauloa is of considerable extent along the sea coast, but the arable land is generally embraced in a narrow strip between the mountains and the sea, varying in width from one half to two or three miles.”

“Several of the vallies are very fertile, and many tracts of considerable extent are watered by springs which burst out from the banks at a sufficient elevation to be conducted over large fields, and in a sufficient quantity to fill many fish ponds and taro patches.”  (Hall, 1838; Maly)

Koʻolauloa moku is further divided into a number of ahupuaʻa – (north to south) Waimea, Pūpūkea, Paumalū, Kaunala, Waialeʻe, Pahipahiʻālua, Nāʻopana 1, Nāʻopana 2, Kawela, Hanakaoe, ʻŌʻio 1, ʻŌʻio 2, Ulupehupehu, Kahuku, Keana, Malaekahana, Lāʻie 1, Lāʻie 2, Kaipapaʻu, Hauʻula, Mākao, Kapaka, Kaluanui, Papaʻakoko, Haleʻaha, Kapano, Pūheʻemiki, Waiʻono, Punaluʻu, Kahana, Makaua and Kaʻaʻawa.

Hauʻula is the subject of this summary; it lies approximately midway in the extent of the Koʻolauloa moku.

Its name refers to a native hibiscus, the hau; it blossoms during the summer months. Its flowers are bright yellow when they open in the morning, but turn red by the time they fall to the ground. (Lit., red hau (flower.)) (Pukui)  By sunset in July and August, Hauʻula is ablaze with the deep red color of hau flowers.

“Hauula, twenty-eight and one-half miles from Honolulu, has some rice fields, and stock raising is carried on. There is a considerable native population.”  (Whitney, 1890; Maly)

“… we passed on to Hauula and examined two schools one of which consisted of sandal wood cutters from the mountains and exhibited on the slate. The scholars wrote down the alphabet both the capital and small letters; the letters were not very accurately formed; but the disposition to learn was commendable, and with a view of encouraging them to persevere, I gave each of them a spelling book.”  (Chamberlain, 1828)

In 1890, two prominent businessmen, James Campbell and Benjamin Dillingham, worked together to establish and expand lands for sugarcane production under the Kahuku Plantation Company and the development of the Oʻahu Railway and Land Company (OR&L.)  By 1903, the railroad between Lāʻie and Kahuku Sugar Mill was laid out. (DWS)

As early as 1904, the Territorial Government enacted legislation setting aside lands in Koʻolauloa as a part of the newly developing Forest Reserve program of the Territory.

The primary function of early forestry programs in the Hawaiian Islands was the protection of forest watersheds to ensure a viable water supply. The Kaipapaʻu Forest Reserve was one of the first established in the Territory. Public interest in the lands continued through 1918, when the larger Hauʻula Forest Reserve was established.  (Maly)

James Castle moved to connect the OR&L rail line in Kahuku with the proposed street railway system in Honolulu by way of the Windward Coast.

His plan was to extend his Koʻolau Railroad Co south of Kahana Bay through Kāneʻohe and Kailua, and on to Waimanalo where it would go through a tunnel and into Manoa Valley and connect with the Rapid Transit & Land Co.

By 1908 the Koʻolau Railway Company was running an eleven-mile rail circuit between Kahuku and Kahana.  (McElroy)  (Castle died in 1918, before the project into Koʻolaupoko could be completed.)

“At Hauʻula the train makes a short stay. This appears to be a station of growing importance. As at Kahuku, this depot embraces also the post office. The former agent made it also serve as the village inn, but the present incumbent has constructed a neat cottage directly opposite the station for the comfort and convenience of wayfarers. It stands a little distance off the road, its green sward giving it a cool and attractive appearance.”

“Near here is the noted valley of the celebrated Kamapuaʻa’s exploits, and residents of Hauʻula seldom fail to remind visitors of the fact and point with pride to Kaliuwaʻa gorge, where the demi-god escaped from his pursuers.”  (Thrum, 1911)

“For this a guide will have to be obtained. Almost any of the natives around will be willing to undertake the task. The valley is really a cleft in the mountains, with almost precipitous sides. The vegetation is very dense, showing varieties of almost every tree and plant found on Oʻahu.” (Whitney, 1890; Maly)

Two curious formations called by the Hawaiians waʻa, or canoes (hence the name, Kaliuwaʻa, the valley of the canoe,) are quite striking. They are semicircular cuts in the cliff, extending from the base to the top, like the half of a well.

In no other part of the islands is a similar formation found. The valley is sacred to Kamapuaʻa, a native demigod, half pig, half man.  (Whitney, 1890; Maly)

Kamapuaʻa was accused of eating ʻOlopana’s chickens.  ʻOlopana, chief of O`ahu, decided that he must apprehend the hog-thief, so he called to all of Oʻahu to wage war against Kamapuaʻa.  Kamapuaʻa heard of ʻOlopana’s plans and took his people to Kaliuwaʻa, where they climbed up his body to the safety of the cliff top.

In doing so, Kamapuaʻa’s back gouged out indentations on the cliff-side that can still be seen today.

Once his people were safe, Kamapuaʻa dammed the water of Kaliuwaʻa. ʻOlopana and his men arrived, and a battle ensued. Kamapuaʻa was nearly killed, but he released the dammed water, killing ʻOlopana and all but one of his men; Makaliʻi knew that Kamapuaʻa could not be killed and escaped to Kaua`i.  (McElroy)

Kaliuwaʻa (often called Sacred Falls) is regarded as sacred for its association with the deity Kamapuaʻa, but the name Sacred Falls is a relatively recent phenomenon. Forms of the name first appear in historical documents in the 1890s, where the valley is called Sacred Ravine.

Over the next ten years, this name evolved into Sacred Valley, and it wasn't until the 1950s that the name Sacred Falls appeared in the literature.  A fatal landslide on May 9, 1999 (Mother’s Day) forced closure of the park due to safety concerns. (McElroy)

The image shows the hauʻula, the native hibiscus for which Hauʻula is named.  In addition, I have added other related images in a folder of like name in the Photos section on my Facebook and Google+ pages.

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ʻĀina Haina (ʻIli of Wailupe)

Waikīkī (“water spurting from many sources”) ahupuaʻa lies between Honolulu (from the west side of Makiki Valley) and Maunalua (the east side of Wailupe) - essentially from Piʻikoi Street to the ʻĀina Haina/Niu Valley boundary.

It included several ʻili, subdivisions/portions of ahupuaʻa.  Wailupe is one of these ʻili; it is actually an ʻili lele (jumping ʻili) that includes the area we now call ʻĀina Haina and kalo (taro loʻi) lands in nearby Pālolo Valley.

From ancient times, we learn Wailupe is part of the tradition of Kamapuaʻa, a multi-formed deity.

The Hawaiian deity Kamapuaʻa, is a part of the Lono god-force, and possessed many body forms (kinolau), representing both human and various facets of nature. He was born in pig-form to Hina (mother) and Kahiki‘ula (father) at Kaluanui in the Koʻolauloa District of O‘ahu.  (Maly)

ʻOlopana, an Oʻahu Chief (and younger brother of Kahiki’ula,) was an adversary of Kamapuaʻa.  After several skirmishes and confrontations between them, Kamapuaʻa finally killed ʻOlopana and conquered Oʻahu.

When Kamapuaʻa started to divide the land, one of the notable aspects of the tradition of Kamapuaʻa is that, Lonoawohi, his priest, asked for and received the lands whose names begin with the word “wai” (i.e. Waikiki, Waianae, Waiawa … and Wailupe.  Thus, the priests of the Lono class received the “wai” lands.  (Maly)

In Hawai‘i and essentially in all cultures – water meant life and growth. In Hawai‘i - “Wai” - fresh water - is a life force – it meant abundance and wealth and was a consistent theme in native traditions, practices, land use and historical accounts.

Wailupe (literally, “kite water”) suggests this was one of the prescribed places to fly kites, some suggesting the land was named “for a kite-flying woman (he wāhine hoʻolele lupe.)”

Another name for the area was Kekaha (“the place”) and is noted in the names of the winds the canoes could expect while sailing along the southeast coast of Oʻahu:
Puuokona is of Kuliʻouʻou
Ma-ua is the wind of Niu
Holouhā is of Kekaha (Wailupe)
Māunuunu is of Wai‘alae
The wind of Lēʻahi turns here and there …

There are three gulches forming the valley; the main Wailupe Gulch follows the lower Wailupe Stream and a branch to the northwest. The northeast branch follows Laulaupoe Gulch, which is named for a round (poe) type of leaf package (laulau) used for food and for presentations.

Above, there is a third gulch called Kuluʻī, which is named for a type of tree/shrub.   On early maps, a second small stream is shown on the western side called Waialiʻi (probably “water of the chiefs.”)  (Cultural Surveys)

What we know today as Wailupe Peninsula is the former Wailupe Fishpond. The Hawaiian term for the pond was Loko Nui o Wailupe, “big pond of Wailupe.”

Just mauka of the fishpond (makai of the main coastal trail, now covered by Kalanianaʻole Highway) was a spring called Puhikani. There was a second spring, which fed a fishpond of the same name, on the west side of Wailupe Pond called Punakou, which means “kou tree spring.”

Kawaikuʻi Beach Park is named after a freshwater spring in this area that was the only source of drinking water for the coastal residents. Kawaikuʻi means “the united water” (named either because of the salt and fresh water “united” at the spring or because Wailupe residents once came to wash their clothes on flat rocks near the spring and to gather limu - thus the population congregated or “united” at this spot.)

In 1826, the missionary Levi Chamberlain took a tour of the island of O‘ahu, traveling through the southern coast of O‘ahu westward from Makapuʻu. He recorded a settlement of eighteen houses at Maunalua, with three additional settlements between Maunalua and Wai‘alae. These settlements were probably at Kuliʻouʻou, Niu and Wailupe. At Wai‘alae he stopped at a settlement with a schoolhouse.  (Cultural Surveys)

The land of Wailupe was reportedly distributed to the father of Kamaha by Kamehameha the Great following the Battle of Nuʻuanu in 1795.

At the Māhele, Kamaha, konohiki (land manager) of the land, received Wailupe, retaining half and returning half.  (The King accepted “the large Fish pond (Wailupe Pond) and one acre of Kula land in the Ili of ‘Wailupe’ Oʻahu;” Kamaha received the remainder of the land and all of the smaller fishponds.)  (Cultural Surveys)

In Wailupe, 57 claims were made and 37 were awarded, indicating that there was substantial settlement in the area. The claims were mainly for kula lands with sweet potato, coconut, orange, hala, ipu and pili grass with no mention of taro being grown. Lots averaged 1.5-acres with two kula patches. The majority of lots were adjacent to major streams within the valley.

In 1924, Robert Hind purchased 2,090-acres and established the Hind-Clarke Dairy.  The Hind-Clarke Dairy was a favored stop along the road, as noted in a 1930 visitor’s guide: “The Hind-Clarke Dairy, a short way ahead and to our left with a large sign over the entrance, is not to be passed unnoticed. The dairy is a model of its kind and well affords an opportunity to see dairying in its most scientific form. The cottage cheese on sale is, perhaps, the most delicious you have ever tasted.”  (Cultural Surveys)

In 1946, Hind sold his dairy operation to Creameries of America, and soon after that began to develop the remainder of his land for residential use.  The former cattle pasture was subdivided into lots to form a new residential community called ‘Āina Haina (which means, “Hind’s land.”)

Soon after this the Hawaiian Dredging Company filled in the old Wailupe Fishpond, forming the Wailupe Circle subdivision. A deep channel (depth of approximately 12 to 20 feet) was dredged around the pond, as well as a channel through the reef to the open ocean) and dredge material filled in the pond.

The ‘Āina Haina Shopping Center was built in 1950 (Hawaiʻi’s first McDonald's opened there on November 2, 1968.)  (The Hind Clark Dairy operation occupied the area now used as ʻĀina Haina Shopping Center and ʻĀina Haina Elementary School.)  (Lots of information here from Maly and Cultural Surveys)

The image shows a 1925 map if the ʻili of Wailupe (note the LCA properties along the stream.)  In addition, I have added other related images in a folder of like name in the Photos section on my Facebook and Google+ pages.

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Keolewa Heiau

Keolewa Heiau is situated along the Hā‘upu ridge line on the peak of Hāʻupu on Kauaʻi.

According to chants, Keolewa can only be seen as a bird in the sky (above the clouds).   “Me he manu la Keolewa i ka laʻi,” “Like a bird is Keolewa in the calm.”

Hā‘upu in the Hawaiian language means a sudden recollection; the mountain is known for its ability to jolt a memory, or alternatively, open a view to the future.

The phrase Hā‘upu mauna kilohana i ka la‘i (Hā‘upu, a mountain outstanding in the calm) honors the mountain itself, and is also a description for someone who achieves outstanding things.

The small heiau atop Mt. Hā‘upu is dedicated to Laka, the goddess of the forest and patron of hula, whose kinolau (embodied form) lives in the wild and sacred plants of the upland forest that are used by hula practitioners.

Both the heiau and the wooded area at Hā‘upu’s summit are known by the place name Keolewa, which appears in a variety of prayers, chants and oral traditions.

Beckwith calls her "the goddess of love." The name laka means "gentle, docile, attracted to, fond of," and there are old chants asking Laka to attract not only love, but wealth.

Of very different origin, she was nevertheless incorporated into the Pele religion. Due to her associations with the forest she represents the element of plants.

“Laka is the child of Kapo (Pele’s sister,) ‘not in the ordinary sense but rather as a breath or emanation.”’ The two as ‘one in spirit though their names are two.’”

“Laka and Kapo therefore must be thought of as different forms of the reproductive energy, possible Kapo in its passive, Laka in its active form, and their mother Haumea as the great source of female fertility.”  (Beckwith)

Hā‘upu Ridge is also revered as a dividing line between and meeting place where the powerful fire-goddess Pele made passionate love with the demi-god Kamapua‘a.

The Kōloa region south of the ridge was controlled by Pele; its dry and rocky landscape reflects her harsh, impatient and dominant personality.

The lusher Līhu‘e side of the ridge was home to the pig god Kamapua‘a, who is associated with “taro, fertility and the creation of fertile springs necessary to sustain life,” and who is known to excel as a lover.

According to tradition, “Pele and Kamapua‘a are believed to have been involved in a tumultuous love affair with each other in the vicinity of Hā‘upu and the topography of the area is believed to have been shaped by the fury of their love-making.”

“Hā‘upu Ridge is the dividing line between the two areas controlled by Pele and Kamapua‘a and Hawaiian religious practitioners believe these gods continue to dwell there.”

“In times of drought, the fertile and lush domain of Kamapua‘a is said to be inhabited by Pele, whereas in times of heavy rains the dry and arid domain of Pele is said to be inhabited by Kamapua‘a.   It is at these times that their love affairs are believed to continue.” (NPS - OHA)

The image shows the summit of the Hā‘upu Mountains, site of Keolewa Heiau.

© 2013 Hoʻokuleana LLC