Palapala Sila Nui Helu 1082, Kuleana Helu 869, to Pue

Claimant: Pue
Location: Ili of Maui
Recorded at: Honouliuli
Date: Oct. 11, 1847
Status: Awarded; Royal Patent 1082

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 there at Maui, in Honouliuli, Ewa, Island of Oahu. Here are it boundaries: towards the North, the house of Koi and the house of Kuhiena; toward the East, the land of Koi; towards the South, the land of Koi; towards the West, the land of Koi.

Here is my second land claim. Here are its boundaries: towards the North, the land of Koi; towards the East, the land of Koi; towards the South, the land of Koi; towards the West, the land of Koi.

Here are my house claims: towards the North, the land of Koi; towards the East, the land of Koi; towards the South, the pa Aina; towards the West, the pa Aina. Koi gave me these properties.

I am with appreciation, you obedient Servant. By Pue.¹

Native Testimony Kikala sworn and stated. I know the land of Pue at Honouliuli, Ewa, he has a moo aina, some kula and house lot. The boundaries of the house lot are: Mauka, Koi’s land; towards Honolulu, also his land; Makai, Kuhiena’s land; towards Waianae, Koi’s land. There are two houses at the place, the second house being for Puali, the parent-in-law of Pue. There is no wall there.

2. The boundaries of the kula place are: Mauka, Puali’s land; towards Honolulu, Kua’s land; Makai, the pa aina; towards Waianae, the house lot of Pue.

The boundaries of the moo land are: Mauka, Koi’s land; his also is towards Honolulu; Makai, Kuhiena’s land; towards Waianae, Koi’s land also.

Pue received the land from Koi. Its name is Maui. Pue received the land in 1842. Pue has lived there in peace. Koi received the land from Kealoha.

Laamaikahiki sworn and stated. I know the place of Pue, exactly like Kikala.²

Foreign Testimony Kikala, sworn, This land is in Honolulu [Honouliuli] in district of Ewa. Moo aina - consisting of 4 pieces: 2 kalo, 1 kula, 1 house lot.

1. House lot is bounded: Mauka by Koe’s [Koi] land; also on Ewa side & Waianae; Makai by Kuhiena’s. There are 2 houses on it. 1 is claimants & 1 Puali’s, his father-in-law.

2. Kula land is bounded: Mauka by Puali; Ewa by Kua’s; Makai by “Paaina”; Waianae by claimant’s 1st lot.

3. Kalo land, lois together and is bounded: Mauka by Koe’s land, Ewa also Makai by Kuhiena’s Waianae by Koe’s land. The name of these lands is “Maui.” Claimant got them from Koe; the time in 1842. I know of no counter claimant. Koe [Koi] got them from Kalehu.

Laamaikahiki, sworn, confirmed all the previous testimony.³

¹Book 2, p. 490, Oct. 11, 1847.

²Book 3, p. 141–142, July 14, 1848.

³Book 2, p. 378–379, July 14, 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.