Palapala Sila Nui Helu 6935, Kuleana Helu 5950, to Pihana for Puniawa

Claimant: Pihana
Location: Ili of Kamoku, Kahui, Kamalua, and Kailikahi
Recorded at: Honouliuli
Date: Jan. 6, 1848
Status: Awarded; Royal Patent 6935

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. This land is there at in Kamoku in Honouliuli, Ewa, Island of Oahu. Here are its boundaries: towards the North, the Auwai and the Cliff; towards the East, the moo land of Kahalewai; towards the South the Estuary; towards the West, the land of Kamanu and the Poalima.

Here is my second land claim in the land of Makue. Here are its boundaries: towards the North, the loi of Makue; towards the East, the land of Kalauli. Towards the South, Makue; towards the West, the land of Kahalewai.

Here is my house claim. Towards the North a kula parcel; towards the East, a kula parcel; towards the South, Pa Aina; towards the West, a Pa Aina.

By Pihana X¹

Native Testimony Pihana’s case.

Keliipulu Sworn. I know his land, the mooaina of Kahui with 3 loi and kula land. Parcel 2, 1 loi, Kamalua is the name, in the ili of Kamoku, Honouliuli, Ewa, Oahu. Parcel 4 is the house lot on the kula of Kailikahi.

Parcel 1. Moo aina of Kahui, 3 loi and a kula parcel.

M. auwai of Kahui and the kula of Kailikahi.
H. moo aina of Kahui for Kahalewai
Mk. muliwai of Makaii
W. mooaina of Kamoomuku for Kalauli.

Parcel 2. 1 loi at Kamalua.

M. loi of Makue at Kekee
H. loi of Kalauli
Mk. mooaina of Kalauli
W. loi of Kahui.

Parcel 3. House lot in the ili of Kailikahi.

M. the kula of Kailikahi
H. the kula of Kailikahi
Mk. the Pa aina, and the kula of Kailikahi
W. laau kalakala (Opuntia megacantha or prickly pear cactus).

His land was from Puniawa in the time of Kaahumanu. No one has opposed him.

Naholowaa Sworn. His testimony is the same as mine. There is nothing wrong with his testimony.²

Foreign Testimony Keliipulu, sworn, says the land of Clt. consists of 3 apana. 1st one called Kahui, a mooaina of 3 lois & a kula. 2d a loi called Malua in the moo of Kekee, ili of Kamoku, Honouliuli, E. O. 3d a kula kahuahale in the kula of Kailikahi, Honouliuli, E. O.

Apana 1, the moo called Kahui, 3 loi & a kula in the ili of Kamoku, Hon. E. O. is bounded:

M. by the Auwai of Kahui & Kula of Kailikahi
H. by the mooaina Kahui of Kahalewai
Mk. by the muliwai of Makaii
W. by the mooaina Kamoku of Kalauli.

Apana 2, a loi called Malua, bounded:

M. by the loi Kekee of Makue
H. by the loi Kamalua of Kalauli
Mk. by the mooaina Kekee
W. by the loi Kahui of Manua.

Apana 3. Kahuahale bounded:

M. by the kula of Kailikahi
H. by the kula of Kailikahi
Mk. by the paaina
W. by the kula of Kailikahi.

Clt. received the land from Puniawa by gift in the year 1846, who received it from Kawaa in the time of Kaahumanu. Clt. succeeds to the rights of Puniawa, & has held it in quiet until this time

Naholowaa sworn, says the above testimony is true & is also his own.³

¹Book 5, p. 187, Jan. 6, 1848.

²Book 9, p. 287–288.

³Book 9, p. 141–142.

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.