Kanaloa and the ARCHAEOLOGICAL History of Mokapu Peninsula

Compiled by Kamuela Kuali'i Lindsey (March 3, 1996)

Excerpts taken from:
Sites of O'ahu, by E.P. Sterling and C. C. Summers, pages indicated below

Mokapu
Origin of Man (p. 216) 
There on the eastern flank of Mololani, facing the sunrise and near the 
shoreline, the soil is red earth mingled with very tark bluish black earth. 
There is where the first man was made. That place was called in the old times 
Kahakahakea, but in these days it is Pahuna. There Kane drew the image of a man 
in the soil; he drew the image in the soil after the likeness of the Gods, with 
head, body, arms, legs, just like themselves in form. 
When the image was drawn in the soil Kanaloa said, "You will not get your man; 
you have not the power; I am the person who has power. " Kanaloa therefore made 
an image of earth just like Kane's image. Kane and his companions said, "Let 
your earth become man, " but no man came forth; his dirt figure of a man 
remained Iying there and it turned into stone. 
Kane then said to his fellow gods, Ku and Lono, "Listen, you two, to my words 
and to the words I speak in answer and do you two preserve them and listen. " 
Then Kane said, "Come to life, " "Live," responded Ku and Lono "Come to life, " 
said Kane, "Live, " said Ku and Lono. Then the dirt became a living man. 
When the first man was made, the gods took the house name Hale-kou (House of kou 
wood) which they had made, and there the first man lived; but the woman was not 
made. The man observed how his shadow followed his body going outside the house 
and coming into the house, and he ran to the beach of Nu'upia and Oneawa and 
found to his surprise that his shadow stuck to him. 
Now when this man had fallen asleep, as he awakened suddenly a pretty woman was 
at his side and he thought it was his shadow that was sticking to his side and 
that God had changed his shadow into a wife for him. He therefore gave her the 
name of Keakahulilani (the shadow made of heaven). This means that God had 
turned the soil of the earth into man. In various genealogies we often find 
other names given to this man; in some genealogies he is named Kumuhonua, in 
others Kulipo, in others again, Kumuuli, and in some Hulihana. 
Kamakau
Moolelo o Hawaii (circ. 1840), Chap I

Sea around Mokapu
(p. 213) 
The sea around Mokapu peninsula was tabu in olden days. The right to fish was 
given only to the high chiefs and servants of the King. 
These fishing grounds were called ko'a. Fish ing was confined to certain types 
of fish native to certain sections of the ocean. Persons were assigned to areas 
with the task of feeding the fish two or three times a week. 
Seaweed would be gathered up in baskets and taken to the fishing grounds in 
canoes. It was hoped that by this treatment the fish would remain in the area, 
and be available for consumption wben needed. 
When an important person and his retinue were expected or a feast planned, 
selected fishermen would carry specially prepared food to the grounds. The food 
was a concoction of seaweed mixed with crushed candle nuts (kukui), a type of 
nut that has an extremely high laxative effect. Two days before the occasion, 
the fish were fed the mixture with the result they expelled all food matter from 
their systems. 
The next day, fishermen threw their nets and baited hooks over the sides of 
their canoes and were rewarded with schools of hungry fish. The fish were so 
hungry that placing a finger in the water was an invitation to having it bitten. 
This type of fishing is as old to the Hawaiians as their culture. 
Fiddler, Frank
Mokapu, A Study of the Land, p 2

Journying further back into history reveals the entire area was once on gigantic 
fishpond knowna as Kaluapuhi. It was the property of royalty who resided on its 
shores, and was strictly tabu to all others. 
Fiddler, Frank
Mokapu, A Study of the Land, p 13

Evidence of Hawaiian Villages (circ. 1917) 

(p. 205). . . the portion that most commanded our attention was the plain 
between us (Hawaii Loa Crater) and Pyramid Rock. 
As we scanned these brown and black volcanic sheets we perceived a scattering 
meshwork of low stone walls, irregu1arly spread over the plain, and in ruins. 
The longer we looked, the more extensive we found these ruins to be. Later in 
the morning we traversed this tract, and satisfied ourselves that in the days of 
ancient Hawaii, Mokapu had been the site of several villages . 
Maccaughey
A Footpath Journey
Mid-Pacific Magazine, Vol 14, 1917

Wonton Destruction by Foreigners
Site363-A. Akua stone probably located on the ridge between Kailua and Kaneohe. 
(p. 212) 
Description from Loomis Journal 
"On approaching the brow of a rocky hill we discovered a long black stone set 
upright, having several strips of tappah tied around at the top and bottom. 
This we knew to be an object of worship from the numerous fragments of grass, 
leaves, etc., which lay around it, while it afforded the melancholy evidence 
that Idolatry still exists among this ignorant and poluted people. 
I threw down this altar of abomination and proceeded on, but in descending the 
hill, we observed another idol which seemed to be more regarded than the 
first, being completely covered with painted tappers of various colours, and 
having a great abundance of offerings Iying around. 
Grieved to see these vestiges of idolatry I tore in pieces the covering and 
threw down the idol. Soon after, I observed a man who was coming towards me 
gathering spires of grass, etc., which 1 supposed were intended for the Idol I 
had just destroyed.
McAllister
Arch. of Oahu

(p. 203) Heiau site obliterated by Navy about 1941. Information throught K. 
Davis from David Kamakapele, 70 years old, 30 year resident of Kailua. A navy 
bbuilding was put up on the site. 
Barrere, D.
Informant
March 1, 1952

Ko'a Kane and Kanaloa destroyed. Area filled in with pohaku, part of runway. 
From Kamakapele. 
Barrere, D.
Informant
March 1, 1952

Inventory of Human Skeletal Remains from Mokapu Peninsula, Ki'ilau Poko 
District, Kane'ohe and He'eia Ahupua'a, O'ahu island, Hawai'i. E. Tatar 1994 (p 
55) 
Early surveys conducted by Thrum (1906) and MacAllister (1933) also identified 
sites that they interpreted as a fishing shrine (MacAllister Site 367, 1933:185) 
and a formal heiau dedicated to Hina and Ku (MacAllister Site 365, 1933:183). 
These shrines imply that fishing and agriculture were important activities on 
the peninsula. The sale of fishery leases along with land tracts during the 
early historic period point to the continued importance of Mokapu's offshore 
fisheries. 
Mokapu, Kaluapuhi Pond
Site: 364-A. (p. 214) Kaluapuhi is the pond on the east. It covers 24 acres and 
is connected with Kailua Bay by one Makaha, by means of which it can be flooded 
at high tide. It is separated from Nuupia by a wall. 
McAllister
Arch. of Oahu

Mokapu, Nuupia Pond
Site 364-B. (p. 213) Nuupia pond is 215 acres separated from Kaneohe Bay by a 
long wall. 
McAllister
Arch. of Oahu

Nuupia was the father and Halekou the mother of Puniakaia. The parents of 
Puniakaia were of the royal blood of Koolauloa and Koolaupoko.... 
Halekou after this went out accompanied by the chiefs, until they came to the 
pool where Uhumakaikai made its home. (Uhumakaikai was the parent of all fishes. 
) This pool is at Nuupia to this day. 
Fornander Collection
Legend of Puniakaia
Vol V, p 162

At one time, Nuupia fish pond was completely surrounded by groves of starch 
trees, from which it derived its name. These trees were actually huge plants, 
with large leaves, and bore a large bulbous, potato-like growth, about the size 
of a watermelon. The juice from this plant was extracted and used for the 
mothers of breast-fed infants. It stimulated the flow of milk from the mother's 
breasts. The remain der was used in the making of starch. 
Fiddler, Frank
Mokapu, A Study of the Land, p 14

Site 364 C: (p. 213). Halehou, the pond of fat fish. 
Huakai Makaikai i na Wahi Pana o Kini Kailua
Ke Au Hou, Aug. 9, 1911
Oahu Place Names

Halekou pond is 92 acres and separated from Kaneohe Bay by a long wall. 
McAllister
Arch. of Oahu

Halekou was the mother of Puniakaia. 
Fornander
Collection, Vol V, p 162

Mokapu, Heiau (destroyed )
Site 365: (p. 202) 
On the flat summit of this elevated part of the coast, several hundred yards 
inland, we found a veritable maze of old ruins--old walls in the form of 
enclosures and irregular patterns. Among the ruins are traces of a native temple 
or heiau. According to Thrum it was of the husbandry class, and Hina and Ku were 
its deities. 
Maccaughey, V., A footpath Journey, Mid. Pac. Mag. Vol. 14, Aug. 1917

On the elevation overlooking Kaneohe Bay 
A large heiau which became the site of a Catholic church. The ruins within the 
inclosure are those of the church, but the surrounding walls have the appearance 
of greater age, and may have been the walls of the heiau. These walls average 3. 
5 feet in height and width and approximate a rectangle 115 by 300 feet in 
extent. The name of the heiau is not known. Mahoe suggested Ulupau and Kalani 
suggests Kuau, both names of elevations in the vicinity. Thrum says, "A large 
heiau of husbandry class; Hina and Ku its deities. " 
McAllister
Arch. of Oahu
(No walls seen in 1952. C. C. S. )

Heiau site obliterated by Navy about 1941. Information (through K. Davis ) from 
David Kamakapele, 70 years old, 30-year resident of Kailua. A navy building was 
put up on the site. 
Darrere, D.
Informant, March 1, 1952

Mokapu, Pali Kilo
Sites 365 & 367 (p. 203): Two Temples once stood on the Pali Kilo bluffs. A 
small heiau was erected for worshippers to pray to the gods for the 
replenishment of the sea with fish. A larger one was devoted to the 
replenishment of the land with taro and pota toes and other food products. The 
entire area was a place for worship with the exception of a lookout tower which 
scanned the sea off-shore for fish as well 
These last remnants of Hawaiian culture were wiped out in 1939-40 to make way 
for concrete runways, the longest of which is 7, 700 feet. Along the Pali Kilo 
bluffs winds a road (with the same name) through ammunition storage bunkers. 
This is the land on which Hawaiians of old prayed to their gods for abundant 
catches and a land of plenty. 
Mokapu, Well.-Lu o wai o Kanaloa
Site 366: (p. 204) An old brackish well in the gully between Keawanui and 
Keawaiki, Mokapu Peninsula in Heeia. 
The water appears at the end of a lava tube, the top of which is now about 4 
feet below the soil level. The earth surrounding the mouth of the tube has been 
evenly faced in a semicircle with stones of various sizes. The well is 
approximately 10 feet deep, 4 feet of which is occupied by water. It is now used 
for washing and for watering the garden which surrounds it. As the seepage is 
slow, the level of the well is affected by rapid dipping and removing of water . 

McAllister
Arch. of Oahu

Lu o wai o Kanaloa: "nalowale" (disappeared) --information from Kamakapele. 
Barrere. D.
March 1, 1952

Keawanui Heiau
Site 367. (p 203) Fishing shrine, foot of Keawanui. A small platform on which 
the stones Kane and Kanaloa stand upright. The legend connected with this site, 
as told by John Bell and affirmed by Sam Kailiwai,is as follows: 
Keawanui and Keawaiki were two Hawaiians living at Mokapu. One day they were 
visited by two men, strangers who came from across the bay, one of whom was 
lighter in color than the other. While they were the guests of Keawanui and 
Keawaiki these two men built the small fishpond known as Paohua. This is a low 
line of stones completely covered at high tide which only partially incloses an 
area not more than 30 feet across. 
Once the ohua, the fish usually caught here during the spring months, enter into 
this area, they seem unable to get out, and today this is the most famous 
fishing place in the region. 
On the beach just above Paohua is a large rock with a shallow depression in 
which the fish are placed after being caught. It is said that they cannot flop 
out of this bowl. 
After being hospitably entertained by Keawanui and Keawaiki, the strangers took 
their departure; and as the hosts watched their guests leave they saw them walk 
out over the water into the distance. This was their first indication that they 
had been entertaining the gods, Kane and Kanaloa. The fishing shrine with the 
two stones, one lighter in color (Kane) than the other, commemorates this visit. 
(Ko'a not found in 1952) 
Inventory of Human Skeletal Remains from Mokapu Peninsula, Ki'ilau Poko 
District, Kane'ohe and He'eia Ahupua'a, O'ahu island, Hawai'i. E. Tatar 1994 
(p48) 
A ko'a (fishing shrine), McAllister's Site 367 (State site No. 50-8-11-367) 
McAllister 1933:83) is reported to have existed on Mokapu Peninsula (Sterling & 
Summers 1978:203). McAllister (1933:16) notes that his ko'a was the most 
elaborate of its type to be found on O'ahu. It consisted of a well defined 
rectangular platform with two raised platforms, one of which was a kuahu 
(alter). Placed upon the kuahu were two upright stones. Based on local 
informants interviewed by McAllister, the stones represented Kane and Kanaloa. 
Sterling & Summers noted that this sitewas not located in 1952 and was 
presumably destroyed or altered beyond recognition by construction activity. 
In 1939, J.F. Stokes, Bishop Mueseum ethnologist, collected a large, flat stone 
said to be a shark god (ethno. cat. no. D.1509) It was collected from an 
oval-shaped alignment of stones in the general vicinity of Site 367, according 
to a rough sketch map drawn by Stokes. Measuring 48 cm long by 28 cm wide, it 
has a circular depression at one end containing a small white rock, appearing 
like an eye. As Stokes describes it, the stone has a general appearance of a 
"..shark with open mouth" (Stokes, on accession document 1957.176) It is not 
surprising that a ko'a would be located somewhere on Mokapu. The peninsula is 
bound on the western perimeter by Kaneohe Bay, and is still well known for its 
fishing grounds. (Devaney 1982:124) 
Mokapu, Stones Ku and Hina
Site 367 (p. 204): In the vicinity of Paohua, (See site 367, Ko'a) about 75 feet 
from the beach, the stones Ku and Hina were formerly located. They are said to 
have been removed some years ago by George Moa and thrown into the water. 
Shortly after this act, according to the Hawaiians, Moa became insane and died. 
Both Ku and Hina, Iying on the beach though covered at high tide, were pointed 
out by Kalani after some search. Pohaku hauau a Kuau (disappearing stone of 
Kuau) is a rock which can only occasionally be seen, just off Kuau (Pyramid 
Rock). The two small elevations southwest of Kuau are known as Keawanui and 
Keawaiki respectively. 
McAllister
Arch. of Oahu

Kamakapele confirms story re George Moa. Ku and Hina were visible in 
McAllister's time, but since then the Navy dredging activities have changed 
conformation of area and Ku and Hina are no longer visible, being in deep water. 
(According to Kamakapele they still "live" because this is so. ) 
Barrere, D.
March 1, 1952

Site 367: 
1) platform 33.5 feet by 17.5 feet, less than 1 foot high, edged with 1-food 
stones and sand-paved, many raugh lava stones scattered an north end; 
2) platform, 17 feet by 3.3 feet, 1.3 feet high, edged with large stones, 
paved with small coral; 
3) smooth, dark-colored Stone, known as Kanaloa protruding about 1 foot above 
paving; 
4) smooth, light-colored stone, known as Kane, not so large as Kanaloa; 
5) platfonn 8 feet square and 1 foot high on southwest corner of platform 1. 
McAllister
Arch. of Oahu

(p. 203) Ko'a Kane and Kanaloa destroyed. Area filled in with pohaku, part of 
runway. From Kamakapele. 
Barrere, D.
Informant
March 1, 1952

Mokapu, Disappearing Stone of Kuau
Ko'a (destroyed) 
Near the base of the black headland, and back from the beach, we found the two 
stone "fish gods".... These ancient divinities appear to the untrained eye to be 
nothing more nor less than ordinary black lava blocks, each about two feet high, 
and each standing upright upon a low rude rock platform. 
Mccaughey
A Footpath Journey
Mid-Pacific Magazine
Vol 14, 1917

(p. 204) Hina and Ku bore two children, a son and daughter. Tiring of Mokapu, 
the gods went to Kona on the Big Island, taking with them, their son. The 
daughter, I named Kuau, remained, maintaining a lonely, watery vigil. The 
daughter came to be known as the disappearing stone of Kuau (Pyramid Rock) 
because it could only occasionally be seen. It gave birth to pebbles, which grew 
into larger rocks, and in this legendary manner, held back the sea from washing 
away Mokapu pensinsula. 
Fiddler, Frank
Mokapu, A Study of the Land, p 6

She (Mrs. Alana) mentioned Kuao, a female stone on Mokapu that "gave birth" like 
a human being. Every now and then a "baby" stone was born and dropped into the 
sea. Any one who found and carried a "baby" home was only able to keep it a 
short while. It would disappear at night and go back to Mokapu to be near its 
mother. (I had heard of this stone from William Kaioe of Waihee, Oahu, but he, 
too, did not know the legend). Mrs. Alana was almost eleven years old when she 
saw it last but she knows exactly where it can be found. 
Alona, Mrs. Charles
Informant, Sept, 29, 1939
Kailua-Waimanalo
Oahu Place Names

Pu'u HawaiiLoa
Site 368 (p. 218): Spring, once located near the top of Puu HawaiiLoa. From this 
spring the old Hawaiians obtained water. Kalani remembers going with one old 
Hawaiian who was a cowboy in that section and getting water from the spring, 
which he said was very difficult to locate. The ill took its name from the 
spring. 
Thrum lists a heiau in the vicinity, but now the site is not known. 
McAllister
Arch. of Oahu

Ulupau 
(p. 214) 
In her wanderings through the Hawaiian Islands Pele chose for her Oahu landing 
place, Ulupau, where she scooped out the crater before going elsewhere.... 
Literally, Ulupau means "fumes growing up, " or in other words, the actual 
eruption and fumes that followed. It is derived from two Hawaiian words. 
Fiddler, Frank
Mokapu, A Study of the Land, p 12

.... That place is Ulupa'u and was one of places where the Hawaiians went to 
gather salt 
Alona, Mrs. Charles
Informant, Sept. 29, 1939
Kailua-Waimanalo
Oahu Place Names




Birthplace of Kuali'i (p.190) 
...."Kuali'i was born at Kalapawai, in Kailua. " That is not correct, This is 
his birthplace was at Waiomuku at Waiahole and the place where he was reared was 
Mokoli'i; the place of his royal kapu and heiau kapu was Kalapawai in Kailua; he 
was trained in running at Alele, a long and wide plain. 
Where he was born was not exactly known and it was through a chant that it was 
made clear. When all the chiefs gathered at Kalapawai in Kailua in a large 
house, Kuali'i was among them. The chiefs shouted together in this manner, 
"Where were you born, nau-a?" they shouted two or three times in this way when 
Kuali'i replied in a chant thus, "At Waiomuku, land by the sea shore, nau-a." 
When the chiefs heard the answer of the high chief they were worried and asked, 
"Where is that place?" It is here in Waiahole. Therefore if I have made a 
mistake, answer me but do not grumble against me. 
Kaehuaea
Na mea Kaulana o Waiahole
Kuokoa, Sept. 16, 1865

The wanton destruction of Hawaiian archaeological sites by the United States 
military is a violation of U.S. and international law. Please contact the United 
States Commander in Chief ( Bill Clinton) or your U.S. Representative or Senator 
and put an end to these criminal acts. 

http://www.hawaiibusiness.com/hrl/mokapuhistory.html