Names of Residents in Honouliuli Ahupua‘a, ca. 1800–1855

Another important facet of the records compiled as a part of the Mahele Aina are the place names of Honouliuli. Some 182 place names were cited in the claims, testimonies, and surveys of native tenants lands in Honouliuli. The names are often descriptive of i) the terrain, ii) an event in history, iii) the kind of resources a particular place was noted for, or iv) the kind of land use which occurred in the area so named. Sometimes an earlier resident of a given land area was also commemorated by place names.

The named localities extend from the shore to the mountain slopes. In some instances the place names identify a specific site on the land, while others describe regions or strips of land such as in the name Honouliuli, which comprises some 43,250 acres. Other parcels of land identified in the records include ili, kula, moo aina, loi, or kihapai. These parcels of land were established as smaller subdivisions or management parcels which might include a quarter-acre parcel for a single house site or garden plot, or which might include thousands of acres like the ili of Puuloa, which contained 2,610 acres.

While the list of place names identified in the claims of native tenants of Honouliuli provides us with a rich collection of notable places on the landscape, it will be seen that some notable place names are found along the south-facing shore of Honouliuli, the area where the Hoakalei Cultural Foundation is directly based. No identifiable reference to Oneula, Kalaeloa, Kaolina (Koolina), or the nearshore kula lands was recorded. Along the coast, the nearest references are found in the ili of Puuloa at Keahi, and in the ili of Waimanalo. The lack of cited place names is reflective of the impacts on the Hawaiian population and environment following western Contact. The exact locations of many places which are found in traditions and historical accounts cannot be accurately identified in historic surveys mapping work.

*Boundary location.
^†Place and person.
^‡Cited in boundary.

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.