“Raheina Roadstead Mowee” (1798)
In between 1792 to 1794, Captain George Vancouver and crew visited the Hawaiian Islands three times. Each time things which would change Hawaiian existence forever occurred. Besides leaving behind diseases which further impacted the native population—since the 1778-1779 visits by Capt. James Cook (also attended by Geo. Vancouver)—cattle and other ungulates were left behind as a protein source for visiting western sailors, with no thought on the environmental impacts of such “gifts.” One notable occurrence was that Geo. Vancouver had the decency to not accept the offer made by Kamehameha I to make his new Kingdom of Hawai‘i a subsidiary of the British Empire. Among Vancouvers’ crew was midshipman, Thomas Heddington, who sketched out the “Raheina Roadstead Mowee” (the sheltered Lāhainā Anchorage) for western ships. A portion of Heddingtons’ sketch is cited below, and provides us with a glimpse into the verdure of “Lele” which later became Lāhainā Town and Harbor. Hale (houses) are seen interspersed between groves of niu (coconut trees), and the extensive groves of ‘ulu (breadfruit trees), which gave rise to the epithet “Ka Malu ‘Ulu o Lele” (Lele in the shade of the Breadfruit Trees). (Note: the missionary anniversary Indian Banyan—commemorating 50-years of occupation—
has no time depth in the biocultural landscape of Lele at Lāhainā).
“Restoration” of Lāhainā following the August 8th 2023 wildfires, and all that accompanies it must be informed by native history, customs and practices. The ‘ike and voices of Native Hawaiians whose ancestors rest in the kulaīwi of Lāhainā need to be leaders in all discussions. There should be no room for perpetuation of “disaster capitalism” in the actions that are to follow.
“O ka ‘ike Hawai‘i ka mua, a o ka ‘ike palapala ka lua!”
(Hawaiian knowledge is foremost, and the academic knowledge is second!)
E ola Maui Nui A Kama!
LĀHAINĀ: AN OVERVIEW OF NATIVE HISTORY AND EXTRACTIVE COLONIALISM
(For more information, see links to a detailed ethnohistorical study prepared in 2007 by Kumu Pono Associates LLC for lands of the Lāhainā region, see below.)
Lāhainā – Pehea lā e pono ai? (Lāhainā: How to make it Pono?) Kūpuna Hawai‘i were such incredible thinkers who stood against waves of insurmountable odds as described in 1837 by esteemed Native Hawaiian historian, Davida Malo, who wrote about what was happening in his nation and to his people with the surging foreign population and western economic development. He wrote to the Ali‘i nui (High Chiefs) urging vigilance lest the kingdom and native people be eaten up. In his own words Malo wrote his urgent warning using powerful metaphors:
…Eia ke kumu, ina i pii mai ke kai nui, e hoea ma no na ia nui, noloko mai o ka moana eleele, kahi au i ike ole ai, a ike lakou i na ia liilii o ka papau, e ai no lakou i ka ia liilii, pela no na holoholona nui, e ai no i na mea liilii, pela no, ua pii mai na moku haole, a ua hoea mai na kanaka naauao, no na aina nui mai, au i ike ole ai, ua ike lakou ia kakou, he lahui kanaka uuku, e noho ana ma keia aupuni uuku, ua makemake lakou e ai ia kakou, pela wale no a na aupuni nui, ua lawe wale i na aupuni liilii ma ka honua nei a pau.
…Here is the reason. If the rough sea arises, large fish will come from the dark ocean, things which you have never before seen, and when they see the small fish in the shallow waters, they shall eat the little fish. It is the same with the large animals, they eat the little ones. Now the ships of the foreigners have come up, smart people have also arrived from the great countries that you have never seen before, and they know ours is a small race, living in a small country. They desire to eat us up, that is how it is with the large nations, they consume all the small nations of the earth… [David Malo to Ka‘ahumanu II (E. Kīna‘u) and Mataio Kekūanāo‘a, Augate 18, 1837, F.O. & Ex. 402-4-76 Chronological File, 1790-1849. Hawaii State Archives. (Kepā Maly, translator)]
The hewa (guilt) of colonialism, corporate greed, and failure to steward resources in Hawai‘i is far reaching. The tragedy being witnessed in Lāhainā (August 2023) rests on the shoulders of those in power who failed to take action after years of warnings (including countless wild fires that occurred yearly since the closing of Pioneer Mill). The ‘ike (knowledge) and ‘ōlelo (words) of kūpuna (ancestors and elders) carry a wisdom that is still relevant today. And their words draw attention to the foundational causes of the misfortunes Native Hawaiians are experiencing today. One example of this from Lāhainā was written by Native Hawaiians of the region in 1867. In it, they describe and warned about the impacts that Pioneer Mill and other such business interests were already having on Native Hawaiians and their biocultural landscape.
A link to the original Hawaiian Text for the article translated below, is found to the right.
Apelila 13, 1867 (aoao 4)
Nupepa Kuokoa
“No ka Wi” (About the Famine)
(by D. Kahaulelio)
Introduction
In March 1867, a committee made up of D. Kahaulelio, S.W. Nailiili, M. Ihihi, and D. Baldwin (the mission station representative), was appointed to investigate and report on the causes of diminishing food supplies in Lāhainā. The committee’s report states that the food problem as well as many others were associated with the development of sugar plantations, which were fostering the abandonment of traditional subsistence practices of the native residents of Lāhainā and at other places across the pae ‘āina. The narratives describe the steady changes in the Hawaiian condition and health amongst the general population, and of the loss of resources.
[Translation]
Apelila 13, 1867 (aoao 4)
Nupepa Kuokoa
“No ka Wi” (About the Famine)
(by D. Kahaulelio)
Hail (Aloha) friends. As a result of the discussions which occurred at the assembly on the 12th day of March, concerning thoughts on the reasons for the famine in the district of Lahaina, at which assembly, I was elected to speak on that day. That task, having fallen upon me, I have the honor this day to do so.
My thoughts were filled with joy, that we might know the reasons for the famines in the district of Lahaina, and a committee was formed to investigate this matter… Famines have been known throughout history around the earth… Here are the thoughts of this Committee on some of the reasons for the famine in the district of Lahaina.
1. The many sugar mills in Hawaii nei, there are 33. They do not farm, but instead, they burn up the food of the kalo lands. Such as Honokohau, Halawa, Waipio, &c.
2. In Lahaina, there were many loi and dryland sweet potato fields before, but in these days, they have been turned over to planting cane.
3. There was plenty of water gotten by the people who farmed before, but in this time, the water has all gone to the sugar cane; and the foreigners are now making great efforts in places formerly cultivated by the people who planted taro, sweet potatoes, bananas, gourds, and such.
4. The high price gotten for sugar cane, causes those who cultivate taro, sweet potatoes, and gourds to consider it a waste, because they want more money, but there is not ample food, and that is the mistake.
5. There are 250 men who work the sugar mill in Lahaina. They work strongly in this work, but not in farming, and these words apply as well to the lands cultivated in sugar cane throughout all Hawaii; there is burden and hardship.
6. There are also many idle young people who dwell in Hawaii, thus the farming is left to the elderly people.
7. On Hawaii and Maui, many of the strong people have gone off to the work of gathering pulu (tree fern down), pepeiao (forest mushrooms), and such, to earn money, not food.
8. There are many people to eat the food in this time, as in the time of Kamehameha III, but, beware, the number of people cultivating the food is decreasing.
9. God is not the reason for this lack, nor is it because there is a lack of rain—instead it is the lack of thought by men. Those of Lahaina are quick to judge, they think that in putting their land to sugar planting, that they shall have paiai (thick slabs of taro mash, into which water is added to make poi). So this is what the committee finds is the problem of famine in the district of Lahaina.
Committee
Rev. D. Baldwin,
M. Ihihi,
S.W. Nailiili
(and) D. Kahaulelio
So your committee has set forth its findings, pertaining to the reasons of the famine, those which I’ve presented above… Therefore I set before you this day, some questions. “What are the reasons for the famine in the district of Lahaina?” After much careful and long thought to the correct answer to this question, I try to offer some brief thoughts.
1. The great increase of the sugar plantations in Hawaii.
2. The great many people who have gone into planting sugar cane.
3. The desire of people to earn money quickly.
4. Lack of careful thought by people of the living conditions.
Let us take the first reason for the famine in the district of Lahaina.
1. “The great increase of the sugar plantations in Hawaii.”
Perhaps I should offer an explanation: on the island of Maui, there were not many sugar plantations before, the sugar mills were at Haiku, Makawao and Ulupalakua, and there was no famine known in this district at that time. That was just five years before, and those of Na Waieha support the people who are busy at work at the mill, so they do not need the foods of Kahakuloa, Honokohau, Ukumehame, and Olowalu to feed those people. But the produce of those lands are often taken to Hilo and Kona aboard the Kilauea. With the arrival of the mills at Lahaina and Na Waieha, the people of those lands have gone to work for the mills, and the people have ceased to grow the produce of the lands above mentioned…
Here also is something, before, I never saw them bringing produce from Waipio, Hawaii to feed the people of Lahaina. But in this time, the hull of the schooner, Halawa, and other boats, is often filled with the produce of Waipio, to feed those of Lahaina…
2. “The great many people who have gone into planting sugar cane.”
This is something which is known from personal observation. With the arrival of the sugar mills at Lahaina, the men have devoted themselves to planting sugar cane. Thus, many of the people have left the planting of their Kuleana lands—the kalo, uala, maia, uhi, and such—with expectations that they shall satisfy their hunger by this work. Also, as a result of this work at the sugar plantations, much of the water of the streams has been taken, and the taro lands of the Kuleana are dry. They are as if nothing. In the year past, and in this year, there has arisen a great dispute between the Hawaiians and the foreigners, between Hawaiians and Hawaiians, women and their husbands, children and children, about the water. The reason for this dispute, is that the water now goes to the sugar cane, and the taro lands are without.
Also, because so many people have begun to plant sugar cane, a food which once protected (sustained) the people in times of famine has been mistreated.
It is the ulu (breadfruit). This food, is a food that was greatly loved by the off-spring of Lahaina, who would always glance to the breadfruit trees, looking to see if the breadfruit was ripe, ready to fall to the ground. In that way the children of Lahaina were sustained. But now, with the extensive planting of sugar cane, many of the bread fruit trees have been cut down and the wood become fuel for the mill… By my understanding, in ancient times, this cutting down of the breadfruit, would lead to one probably being cast away to some isolated land, just like Kaululaau who was banished to Lanai, because he had cut down the breadfruit trees. They (the breadfruit trees), are thus written about by the composers of chants:
“Halau Lahaina molale malu i ka ulu, Lahaina is like a long-house under
the shelter of the breadfruit trees,
Malu mai ka pea lau loha a The boundaries are sheltered and loved
ka makani, by the many winds,
I neo punohu maalo ke aka i kai, Not even the reflection of a patch-
rainbow, is seen to move across
the sea,
I ke kai waiho lua a ka lai o Lele, The sea of Lele which is doubly calm,
I unuhi a oki me he waa kialoa la, Is completely exposed like a long canoe,
Ka oili a ka pua i ka malie.” It rises up like a blossom in the calm
3. “The desire of people to earn money quickly.”
This is true, for when the people heard that the mills of Lahaina were ready, many people from Molokai, Lanai and the backcountry, came with the thought of entering into that work, with the thought that they would quickly earn money, for payment is made each week throughout the month. Perhaps that is how it is done at all the mills of Hawaii… As a result of the desire of receiving quick payments, the kuleana taro lands, the dryland sweet potato, are abandoned, and the lands perhaps even leased to the foreigners. In the year 1866, one owner of a sugar mill in Lahaina, has entered into leases for twenty years, thus the land owners get quick money, without any burden.
4. “Lack of careful thought by people of the living conditions.”
This is well known, because 38 cents worth of pai (taro paste-poi) is enough sometimes for a man and a woman, though not enough at other times, but they don’t really think about it. Here is perhaps the explanation, in the time of plenty of poi and fish, there is extravagance, for it is seen that there is a lot of food, and one eats often. Perhaps three times in the day light, and twice in the night. Sometimes, even more than that. The good rules about eating are not kept. But with the foreigners, it is not so, because they keep the rules…
So here is what we think about the eating of poi only. The thoughts don’t change, they don’t consider eating such foods as the bread, rice, beans, arrow root, and those things, like the foreigners.
I was on Lanai the 21st day of February, this year, in the days before that, there had been a famine, which was beyond compare on that island. But there had been many days of rain there. Because of the overwhelming storm, the boats could not bring the pai from Lahaina. They tried eating peas, rice and such, and they passed many days in hunger. I too was one who entered into those days of hunger. For a day and a half, it was only some tea and peas that could be found to eat and end the trouble of those days. If perhaps we thought of different foods like the foreigners, perhaps we would not have the troubles of famine, which we experience…
…Now some of you may think within yourselves, that there are no sugar mills found on Lanai, Molokai, or in Honolulu, but the famines occur in those places as well. I reply thus, about the famine on Lanai. It is this, that the people of Lanai, count on their food from Lahaina, therefore, if there is a famine in Lahaina, there is a famine on Lanai. It is the same with Molokai, and with Kona, Hawaii…
Thus, the reason for the famines in Lahaina is known, and it is perhaps the same for all the districts of Hawaii. So there only remains the means of ending these famines. “How shall the famines be ended?”
1. Fill the Kuleana Lands with all manners of planted foods.
2. Plant extensively the foods which we are accustomed to.
3. Keep the good rules about eating.
4. Be strong in doing that which is good for the body.
So here, let us think about the first item.
1. Fill the Kuleana Lands with all manners of planted foods.
When I was about nine years old, perhaps about the year 1846; I cannot forget, and perhaps you too cannot forget what it was like to live in Lahaina at that time. By my recollections, Lahaina was not a town, it was the food garden for the island of Maui. Because where the houses stood, there were planted mounds of sweet potatoes (pue uala), taro, bananas, squash, sugar cane, yams, gourds, &c. &c. These things kept the famine away from the land at that time. If Lahaina should once again be like that which is described above, then the famines of these days would end. There were also seen many garden planted with the foods which the foreigners had brought to Hawaii. The gardens were filled with fruits of every kind, and the result of that would be the ending of famines on the land. There on the island of Lanai, is residing a foreigner [Walter Murray Gibson] with his three sons. When I arrived there he welcomed me and gave me a place to sleep at his house. Before dinner, he took me to tour his cultivated field, when I saw the fields, there was growing, wheat, foreign potatoes, native sweet potatoes, onions and such. And in this time of famine on the Island of Lanai, the voices of the Hawaiians are heard crying out in hunger, but, this foreigner’s voice is not heard crying out, for his fields are full. And it is the same for all of the foreigners. Therefore this is a lesson.
2. Plant extensively the foods which we are accustomed to.
Before the building of the sugar mills in Lahaina, water was seen flowing through the streams of Kauaula, Kanaha and Kahoma. Taro was seen growing abundantly, and on the terrace banks, there was growing cabbage, bananas and such. The people of Lahaina were always seen planting taro. Thus it was known that the famines were set aside, and the abundance of the land made this clear… Thus it is right that the people of Lahaina, plant these foods, that they may end these famines…
“…The one who cultivates the land, shall be filled with the produce thereof. The shiftless one who counts on his food to come from other people, shall be filled with destitution.”
Therefore, the sources of the famine, and how it may be ended, are now explained. There are perhaps many other things that remain to me, and I ask you that if I have erred, forgive me. Here now, I shall end my message, with appreciation.
D. Kahaulelio. [Kepā Maly, translator]
Volume 1 (Part 1): He Wahi Mo‘olelo No Kaua‘ula A Me Kekāhi ‘Āina o Lalo (PDF)
A collection of traditions and historical accounts of Kaua’ula and other lands of Lāhainā, Maui. Part 1. June 1, 2007 (15 mb)
Volume 1 (Part 2): He Wahi Mo‘olelo No Kaua‘ula A Me Kekāhi ‘Āina o Lalo (PDF) – A collection of traditions and historical accounts of Kaua’ula and other lands of Lāhainā, Maui. Part 2. June 1, 2007 (15 mb)
Volume 2: He Wahi Mo‘olelo No Kaua‘ula A Me Kekāhi ‘Āina o Lalo (PDF) – A collection of traditions and historical accounts of Kaua’ula and other lands of Lāhainā, Maui. Oral History Interviews, November 15, 2007
On August 16, 2023, Naka Nathaniel, a native Hawaiian reporter who worked at the New York Times, submitted an Opinion Article in the Civil Beat regarding impacts (past and present) of colonialism in Hawai‘i. We share his article here.
Historic Maps Reveal the Underlying Biocultural Landscape of Lāhainā
The links below will open two historic maps from 1884 (Registered Map No. 1262, from the collection of the Hawai‘i State Survey Division), which document the layout of Lāhainā Town, the names of Native Hawaiians and other land owners, and features of the biocultural landscape at that time.
1884 Registered Map 1262 Lahaina Town and Neighboring Lands
1884 Registered Map 1262 Lahaina Town Portion Version 1905
The maps provide glimpses into the locations of many cultural-historic properties of Lāhainā. Among them are the details of Wai‘anae, Hāleu, Kilolani and Paunau Ahupua‘a, fronting old Lāhainā Landing (harbor), where the historic Court House (no reference to the Banyan tree cited), and the adjoining lot (later the Pioneer Inn) which was a lo‘i kalo (“Taro Patch”), behind the shore of Pā Pelekane. Until the Pioneer Mill Co. and other business interests began draining off the wet lands (often referred to by foreigners as “waste lands”), Lāhainā Village and neighboring lands were well irrigated, and the hoa‘āina (native tenants of the land) were able to grow the crops that fed their families and also support the well-being of their Ali‘i.
No laila, ke no‘ono‘o nei, pehea lā ka hana e ho‘opono ai iā Lāhaina? (Thus, one must think about what is needed to make Lāhainā right once again?) The voices of the native descendants of Lāhainā’s people of old must be heard, and the foundation of any “restoration” should be rooted in the Native Hawaiian world view.
“Na wai ho‘i ‘ole o ke akamai, he alanui i ma‘a i ka hele ‘ia o‘u mau mākua?”
Why shouldn’t I know, when it is a path often traveled by my parents (ancestors)? Spoken by Liholiho – Kamehameha II (M.K. Pukui, 1983:251, No. 2301)
We share the mana‘o below, out of aloha and respect for Lāhainā and the lāhui kānaka—also with hope that politicians and large land owners will acknowledge their role in this tragedy. It only takes a little time to look at native lore and the facts which abound in historical literature, to understand that “water-mania”* on the part of business interests has brought us to this place in modern history.
* The term “hydromania” used by the 1970s to describe Pioneer Mill Co.’s greed for the waters of West Maui,
and their efforts to draw every last drop of water they could into their irrigation system
(see, Bert L. Hatton, P.M. Co. Civil Engineer, Oct. 5, 1976).
Colonization and Control of Wai (Water)
Hawaiian history is filled with evidence that “colonialism” did not seek to elevate the condition of the Hawaiian people. Instead it implemented actions to subjugate them. It extracted their resources (‘āina, wai, kai, lewa, and living things), it demonized their traditional knowledge, customs, practices, beliefs, and all but stole their ability to sustain themselves.
We are currently hearing arguments by political leadership (from the governor on down), and from big companies-land owners that “flowing land water is a waste.” They need to continue taking more and more water to build more houses, fill more pools, keep resorts and resort communities with green, alien vegetation—“We’re making make more jobs,” all the while disenfranchise the kama‘āina and largely putting them in a role of servitude. It has been reported that there was not enough water to fight the wild fire that devasted the land, wahi pana, lives and livelihood of the people in Lāhainā and beyond. This is a bogus excuse made by those who seek to continue the steal.
Pehea lā e ho‘opono ai?
In reality, this could not be further from the truth. Stopping the steal, and restoring water-flow to the land, placing limits on the amount of high-end development and resort-type usage, will in itself deter the recurrence of wild fires. Good stewardship and restoration/stabilization of the lands above and around Lele and the larger Lāhainā District—Stabilization of the environment will be a generational initiative—but it will restore balance to the honua ola (living environment). In this global environment, it is also something that we must do, or find ourselves doomed.
Ke kāko‘o nei māua i ka hana pono a Kaleo Manuel! Hilahila ka hana a kēlā mau Hui Wai ‘imi kalā!
As kūpuna have shared “Ola ka ‘āina, ola ke kānaka!” (A healthy land makes for healthy people!) We can carry this forward to the present day by adding, a healthy land makes for healthy people, and additionally makes for a healthy community!
“The past cannot be changed. The future is yet in our power.” (Mary Pikeford)
E ola mau ‘oe e Lāhainā i ka Malu ‘ulu o Lele!
