Maui Hikina, Volume I

By Kepa Maly

Book Id: WPLBN0002097006
Format Type: PDF eBook:
File Size: 6.76 MB
Reproduction Date: 8/9/2011

Title:	Maui Hikina, Volume I
Author:	Kepa Maly
Volume:
Language:	Hawaiian
Subject:	Non Fiction, Education, Hawaiian Culture
Collections:	Authors Community, Education
Historic Publication Date:
Publisher:	Kumu Pono Associates

Member Page:	Hale Kuamoʻo Hawaiian Language Center
Citation APA MLA Chicago Maly, B. K. (n.d.). Maui Hikina, Volume I. Retrieved from http://gutenberg.cc/

Description
At the request of Garret Hew, Manager of East Maui Irrigation Company, Ltd. (EMI), Kumu Pono Associates conducted a two-phased study of cultural-historical resources in the lands of Hamakua Poko, Hamakua Loa, and Ko?olau, in the region of Maui Hikina (East Maui), Island of Maui (an area that includes some 73 individual ahupua?a or native land divisions). The study included— conducting detailed research of historical records in public and private collections (Volume I); and conducting oral history interviews with individuals known to be familiar with the cultural and natural landscape, and history of land use in the Maui Hikina study area (Volume II). This study was conducted in conjunction with the Water License Application of the East Maui Irrigation Company, Ltd., to the Board of Land and Natural Resources of the State of Hawai?i. The specific scope of the study sought to investigate and describe the wide range of issues related to Native Hawaiian and historic practices associated with na mea wai (water and its usage). In order to understand the cultural-historical context of water resources including — those uses which have been handed down from antiquity, and those which were both protected and permitted in 1876 by King David Kalakaua, and subsequently licensed by the Republic, Territory and State of Hawai?i — this study also looks at the larger cultural-historical landscape of Maui Hikina. The historical accounts and oral history interviews cited in the following volumes provide interested readers with foundational information for addressing cultural-historical values attributed to the land, water, sustainable resources, and traditional and customary practices. The study draws on many primary (first hand) literature sources written by — native Hawaiian writers (some not previously available in English); foreign visitors and residents; and quotes lengthy narratives in order to bring a wide range of important documentation into one collection. Also, in the process of conducting the oral history interviews, elder kama? aina residents of the Hamakua-Ko?olau region (with generations of residency upon ancestral lands of the study area), were sought out. The kama? aina interviewees shared a wide range of information pertaining to traditional and customary practices, as handed down from their elders; traditions of wahi pana (storied landscapes); practices associated with land and water use, and fisheries (including collection practices); historical descriptions of development and management of the East Maui Irrigation System, and water flow; past and on-going resource stewardship practices; and the relationship between regional communities and the East Maui Irrigation Company, Ltd. The interview records demonstrate remarkable continuity between descriptions of landscape, practices, sites and features, and those recorded in historical literature. Nearly all of the interviewees expressed the belief that in a traditional context, Hawaiian traditions, practices and beliefs, are directly tied to the health and well-being of the land or ? aina, and that wai (water) is that which sustains life upon the land. In regards to the specific issues of water rights and stream flow, the primary discussions and sentiments shared by all of the interview participants (on some level) was the thought that wai (water) is integral to all aspects of Hawaiian culture and life. Most of the interviewees expressed the belief that a balance needs to be reached by which — the health of the streams can be improved; the water needs of the kama?aina (native) families for cultivation of kalo (taro) and other crops, and water for domestic purposes can be sustained; and other reasonable uses can be met. It was also the observation of the interviewees, that in their life time, the landscape—noticeably the watershed forests, and thus the volume of water flow from mountain to sea—has undergone drastic changes. The forests have receded, the make up of the forest plant community has changed, and the waters no longer flow from mountain to sea in the streams, as they did when the elder interviewees were young.

Excerpt
The research and interviews conducted for this study were performed in a manner consistent with Federal and State laws and guidelines for such studies. Among the referenced laws and guidelines were the National Historic Preservation Act (NHPA) of 1966, as amended in 1992 (36 CFR Part 800); the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation?s “Guidelines for Consideration of Traditional Cultural Values in Historic Preservation Review” (ACHP 1985); National Register Bulletin 38, “Guidelines for Evaluating and Documenting Traditional Cultural Properties” (Parker and King 1990); the Hawai?i State Historic Preservation Statute (Chapter 6E), which affords protection to historic sites, including traditional cultural properties of ongoing cultural significance; the criteria, standards, and guidelines currently utilized by the Department of Land and Natural Resources-State Historic Preservation Division (DLNR-SHPD) for the evaluation and documentation of cultural sites (cf. Title 13, Sub-Title 13:274-4,5,6; 275:6 – Draft of December 1996); and guidelines for cultural impact assessment studies, adopted by the Office of Environmental Quality Control (November 1997).