Helu 9351/827: The Claim of Kauakahilau

Claimant: Kauakahilau
Location: Ili of Poohilo
Recorded at: Honouliuli
Date:  Oct. 11, 1847
Status: Awarded; Royal Patent 1084¹

Native Register To the honorable Commissioners who Quiet Land Claims of the Hawaiian Islands. Aloha to you.  I hereby tell you of my land claim.  It is there at Poohilo in Honouliuli, Ewa, Island of Oahu. Here are its boundaries: towards the North, the land of Hinaa; towards the east, the land of Oni and the house of Kekuahilo; towards the South, the land of Oni; towards the West, Hopenui.

Here is my second land claim. Here are its boundaries: toward the North, a cliff; towards the East, the land of Hinaa; towards the South, the land of Hinaa; towards the West, the pa Aina of Poohilo.

Here is my house claim: towards the North, Hopenui; towards the east, Hopenui and the land of Manaole; towards the South, the house of Kawahaea; towards the West, the pa Aina of Poohilo.

I am with appreciation, your obedient servant. By Kauakahilau X²

Native Testimony Kaekuna sworn and stated. I know this place, there at Poohilo in Honouliuli, at Ewa, Oahu. The boundaries of the land are: toward Honolulu, the land of Hinaa and Oni; Mauka, the stream; also towards Waianae; Makai, Oni’s land.

2. The boundaries of the house lot, land of Hopenui are: Mauka the pa aina at Aumakua [Kaaumakua]; Makai, Hopenui. Kauakahilau received the land from Kealiiahonui, perhaps about 1834, and he has lived there to this time. The pa aina is the only wall at this place. There is one house for Kauakahilau there.

Kawahaea Sworn on the Holy Bible and stated. I know this place and particulars exactly as Kaekuna has stated. I have seen no one else who has a claim there.³

Foreign Testimony Kaekuna, sworn, I know this place called Honohulihuli [Honouliuli] in Ewa, consisting of a house lot & kalo land.

1. bounded: Honolulu side by Hinaa & Oni’s land; Mauka by the brook separating it from Hopenui’s place; Waianae side by the same stream separating it from Nakai’s; Makai by Oni’s place. The above is relating to the kalo land.

2. House lot is bounded: Honolulu by place of Hopenui; Mauka by a land fence erected for cattle; Makai by Kaumakua [Kaaumakua] between which & this land is Hopenui’s land; Makai also by a stream dividing it from Hopenui’s.

Claimant received these lots from Kealiiahonui in 1834 and has lived there ever since without  dispute.

It is partly fenced and has one house belonging to claimant.

Kawahaea, sworn, What the other witness has said is what we all know. I know of no counter claimant.

Note. The witnesses were confused in their account of the land on account of its shape which the surveyor will rectify.⁴

¹See Helu 9351.

²Book 2, p. 456–457, Oct. 11, 1847.

³Book 2, p. 588, March 27, 1848.

⁴Book 2, p. 250–251, March 27, 1848.

The native tenant land claims from the Native Register for lands in Honouliuli can be found here. The claim number or helu is given, followed by the name of the claimant, and the name of the land area. The Native Register contains the claims submitted by the person who occupies the land. This includes a description of the location of the land, as well as what has been developed on the land—houses, taro patches, gardens, etc. The native testimony and foreign testimony contain statements from residents in the area which verify the statements of the claimant made in the Native Register. A few of the claims were not awarded. Click the Category link for Land Commission Award below to see the claims for Honouliuli.

The accompanying images are of two kinds. The first kind is the notes of survey which formed the records of the Mahele Award Books. They include metes and bounds and plot plans of the parcels surveyed for native tenants. The specific land names and parcels, plot plan maps, and, if provided, additional notes (e.g. names of people and places, or descriptions of features) which supplement the register and testimony volumes are cited.

The second kind of images included are the Royal Patents issued on Mahele Aina Awards. Upon agreement of the land areas to be awarded, surveys were conducted and recorded. The king issued Royal Patents in confirmation of the land areas to awardees. The original documents are presented. The figure captions include the royal patent number (Palapala Sila Nui Helu), the LCA number (Kuleana Helu), the awardee, land area and description, date, signatory parties, and source. The documents are not transcribed, but may be read from the original patents. In some instances, additional place names which were not identified in the earlier records were also cited in the claims; those place names are cited in the land description from each patent. Click the Category link for Royal Patent to see those issued for Honouliuli.

The notes of survey and Royal Patent associated with a Land Commission Award can be navigated to through links under Related Images on each Land Commission Award page.

The Hoakalei Cultural Foundation (HCF) seeks to provide the public with access to the rich history of Honouliuli Ahupuaa—bringing traditional and historical documentation that has time depth, and that is factual, to the attention of all who care for this land. The research is being conducted in a wide range of archival collections, and incorporates primary—first account—documentation from both Hawaiian- and English-language resources.

As a part of that research, Kepa Maly and Onaona Pomroy Maly completed a review of all the original land title records of the Hawaiian Kingdom recorded during the Mahele Aina (Land Division) between the years 1847 and 1855. For the first time, all of the Mahele records have been compiled in one collection, and the original Hawaiian-language documents of the Native Register and Testimony collections were translated by Kepa Maly for this program. This work was conducted over a five-week period between July and August 2012. The results provide readers with significant documentation coming from those who lived on and knew the land in a traditional manner. The Mahele documents describe land use, residency, and the practices of the families of Honouliuli and its smaller land subdivisions. With this information, we are able better to understand the history and cultural landscape of Honouliuli. While much has changed in the last 170 years, the spirit of place, the named places, and lives of those who came before us are still present on the land. Their history adds value to our own lives and community.

All told, 436 Mahele documents were found for Honouliuli; no additional Mahele claims for Honouliuli are known to exist. This total can be broken down, as follows:

105 Native Register (NR) Claim records registered by 99 native tenants;
80 Native Testimony (NT) Claim records;
99 Foreign Testimony (FT) records;
77  Mahele Award Book records; and
75  Palapala Sila Nui (Royal Patent) records.

Of the 106 native tenant claims and one chiefly claim identified from Honouliuli, 74 were awarded to the claimants or their heirs and 33 were denied.

In compiling this collection of historical land and family records from Honouliuli, we have attempted to ensure the accuracy of all citations. The original records though, are challenging. Being all handwritten, the writing is at times illegible. At other times spelling of personal and land area names vary from one record to another. We have done our best to compare the various records and maintain the highest accuracy possible. The records are organized by Helu—the original numerical sequence assigned at the time of recording the information. Also, certain important classes of information such as place names, personal names, subsistence practices, types of features, and cultural and natural resources are called out in tables and summary form for easy access to the historical information.