An environmental map of Kaua‘i As colleagues we have been developing a base map to be used for planning representing environmental regions of Kaua‘i. Our goal is to respect the traditional Hawaiian system of Ahupua‘a and bring a time-tested perspective
An environmental
map of Kaua‘i
As colleagues we have been developing a base map to be used for planning representing environmental regions of Kaua‘i.
Our goal is to respect the traditional Hawaiian system of Ahupua‘a and bring a time-tested perspective to today’s effort of land management and governance.
In researching historic maps of Kaua‘i, we have found differing evidence of what was the “Hawaiian Way.” After some study, we realized that, like an onion, there are several nested layers of organization to the Hawaiian system:
Hawai‘i Nei – The entire inhabited island group
Mokupuni – The island groups (such as our current county system)
Moku – The major districts of each individual island
Kalana – The significant divisions within each Moku
Ahupua‘a – Individual watershed regions within each Kalana
Ili – functional subdivisions of an Ahupua‘a
What were Kaua‘i’s historic districts?
Today, convention lists five Moku regions of Kaua‘i: Napali, Halelea,
Ko‘olau, Puna, and Kona. However, this was not always so.
Maps from as far back as 1820 tell a different tale with as many as six Moku.
Some maps from the later 1800’s and early 1900’s show as few as three of them.
Evidently, there were either different understandings of what the districts were, and/or the districts changed with the political changes that have swept Hawai‘i. Perhaps when there was self-rule on Kaua‘i, a greater understanding of our ‘aina resulted in a greater diversity of regions, while external rulers, “consolidated” for the purpose of ruling from afar.
Also interesting is that the first map of Hawai‘i done by a Hawaiian, in 1837, shares a feature with several other early maps: The Moku districts do not extend “from makai to mauka” to meet at the center of the islands. They are mostly restricted to the coast. The central region of the island remains open and non-delineated. In our last column we wrote about these mountainous interior regions as Kua, or God’s country.
Perhaps as in today’s current forest conservation areas, this was considered a common area considered to be “out of bounds.”
Although there are many differences with the details of Moku on Kaua‘i, most maps consistently show four broadly descriptive district names: “Ko‘olau” – which means “windward,” and Napali, which means “the cliffs.”
Using the term “broadly descriptive,” we mean that these region names are not exclusive to Kaua‘i, but appear on more than one of the other Hawaiian Islands. Hawaiians quite simply “called ‘em like they saw ‘em,” with the windward area of the island, being called: “Windward.”
It’s hard to argue with that.
Fast forward to today
Today, Kaua‘i is chopped up into Tax Map Key districts by the logic of the marketplace. With the TMK the main intent is to identify who owns the land and how to collect its revenue. From a Hawaiian or environmental view, this is rather upside down – everything begins with the land.
For our map, we started with the five Kaua‘i Moku now widely accepted -—
Kona, Napali, Halelea, Ko‘olau and Puna — and harmonized with the contemporary political and social realities.
Because “Kona” is almost half of the island, and “Puna” has almost half the population, we feel that they would each be better managed and represented if divided into smaller districts, or Kalana. Although there are no historic maps that show a division of Puna into Kalana, there are maps that show Kona divided either from Mana or from the Koloa South Side area: Hence the Kalana of Mana, Waimea and Koloa.
We chose the southern border of the Wailua watershed to divide Puna. It seems a logical place and there are no existing communities that would be split. Of the eight districts, Napali is the only one virtually un-populated, but all are reasonably sized and separate in their distinct environments: The result, the Kalana of Kipu and Wailua.
These choices led us to a map that looks like the one here:
District
Name Sq. miles Residents
Napali 32 200
Halelea 91 4,000
Ko‘olau 43 7,000
Puna
Wailua 80 16,000
Kipu 56 13,000
Kona
Koloa 41 10,500
Waimea 149 12,000
Mana 63 2,500
Total 555 65,200
Looking to how the Hawaiians managed the land will be increasingly useful as we strive for a self-sufficient sustainable life on Kaua‘i. If the people of Kaua‘i keep a seven person County Council to manage the island, these seven populated districts could be the basis of Council representation, with Napali as a commonwealth area, shared by all. Future governance may even be by an Ahupua‘a Legislature representing the many individual watershed based communities of Kaua‘i.
We are not saying our suggestion is a “final answer” – it is an interpretation. Any new way of looking at Hawaiian tradition and county government will likely create turmoil. But look at them we must. Our hope is that a new and vital discussion begins, and that the ‘aina be a part of it.
We will be posting an evaluation map of Kaua‘i environmental districts and more detail on the smaller Ahupua‘a, as well as regional community centers on the Web site.
