Pohukaina – Downtown Honolulu’s ancient karst sea cave
Many people today don’t know that Pohukaina in downtown Honolulu is actually an ancient limestone karst cave. Honolulu, like Ewa Plains, and Pearl Harbor, is actually built over ancient karst sea caves
Pohukaina on the grounds of Iolani Palace is a sacred place of very considerable significance because the tomb site is actually a karst cave within Honolulu’s ancient limestone reef, and like the large caves still found in ancient Kanehili today.
The Sacred Mound (previously a coral limestone mausoleum) – Pohukaina – was constructed in 1825 to house the remains of Kamehameha II (Liholiho) and his consort, Queen Kamāmalu. Both had died of measles while on a journey to England the year before. Their bodies were brought back to Oahu in 1825 by the royal navy HMS Blonde.
A surveyor on board also made the famous maps of Ewa Honouliuli’s ancient native Hawaiian trailways and cultural landscape after sailing to West Loch. At the time, the village of Honouliuli was the royal, political and cultural capital of ancient Oahu’s largest native Hawaiian population.
For the next forty years, this royal tomb and the land immediately surrounding Pohukaina became the final resting place for the kings of Hawai‘i, their consorts and important chiefs of the kingdom.
"Their beautiful caskets are brought and placed in Kalanimoku's complex," Jim Bartels continues the story. "And after a time, a small eighteen-by-twenty-four foot, Western style, coral structure was built as a mausoleum. At that point, we begin to hear the name 'Pohukaina' spoken."
"So that became the royal tomb from 1825 up until the 1860s, and as each king and his family died, their coffins were put in this little house.”
Was there really a cave at Pohukaina? Stephen Kubota explains:
"In the distant past, Waikiki and all the areas up to the Manoa valley were underwater, and there are massive limestone formations, unlike lava tubes which are of volcanic origin, these are of coral. Geologists call these 'karst' formations. It's a kind of geologic formation, with vast underground reservoirs, caves with fresh water but also saltwater coming in, and even fish making their way in from the ocean. There are stories of blind mullet in Mo‘ili‘ili, and many stories of underground springs. The place names are very revealing: Punahou is a spring. Waikiki is 'the spouting waters'."
What of the name "Pohukaina"? Puakea tells us, "The land came to be called Pohukaina there, which gets translated as 'Pohu-ka-‘aina'– that 'the land is quiet and calm.' Remote from the hubbub of Waikiki, and from the roar of the sea."
Pohukaina
http://www.pacificworlds.com/nuuanu/native/native3.cfm
https://imagesofoldhawaii.com/pohukaina/
The Ancient Water Caves of the Ewa Plain and Pearl Harbor
Most people today in Ewa and around Pearl Harbor have little idea that the entire south Oahu coastline is an ancient coral reef. It is in fact a testimony to the fact that the ocean sea level does actually rise and when it retreats it leaves behind large limestone reef karst landscapes. Karst landscapes are also all over the Eastern United States and in fact all over Europe and Asia. Coastal water caves were very common in Puuloa-Pearl Harbor and were favorite homes for large friendly Ewa sharks.
And yes, residents of Ewa actually did ride them like horses. This is because the sharks were hand fed from pups and treated like members of the ohana (family)
Sleeping shark caves are a big diving attraction in Mexico where there are many of them. The phenomenon of sleeping sharks baffled marine biologists because sharks must be in constant motion in order to breathe, until it was discovered that the caves fed by freshwater springs had an extremely high amount of oxygen and reduced salinity making it easier for the sharks to breathe without moving.
Plunge Into Mexico's Flooded Caves (nationalgeographic.com)
10 Most Common Sharks In Hawaii: Facts and Pictures (outforia.com)
Mary Kawena Pukui – Ewa Mano (sharks) were beloved and cared for.
“Everywhere in Pu‘uloa is the trail of Ka‘ahupahau.”
(And Ewa residents fed and cared for their friendly protective aumakua sharks)
One of the native Hawaiian informants who recorded her recollections of the Ewa Honouliuli area was Hawaiian ethnographer and Bishop Museum employee Mary Kawena Pukui. Pukui shared her personal Ewa shark recollections and her experience with the ghosts on the plain of Kaupe‘a, around 1910:
At the age of twelve, I was taken to the cave of Ka‘ahupahau, Cloak-well-cared-for. Most of the cave was deep under water. A small plant laden with red berries hung over the entrance, and when I reached to pluck one, my uncle pulled my hand back quickly and chided me. Those belonged to Ka‘ahupahau.
Ka‘ahupahau had a brother Kahi‘uka, the smiting tail, whose stone form was a good distance away from the cave, lying deep in the water. Yet it was plainly seen from the surface. Ka‘ahupahau’s son, Ku-pipi, had his home where the (Pearl Harbor) drydock was built and sank about thirty years ago (1913 ). These were not the only sharks at Pu‘uloa, for like all members of royalty there were others to stay about and serve them. Ka‘ahupahau was the chiefess of sharks in the length and breadth of the Pearl Lochs, hence the old saying, “Alahula Pu‘uloa he alahele na Ka‘ahupahau,” “Everywhere in Pu‘uloa is the trail of Ka‘ahupahau.”
Her brother and she were born, not as sharks, but as human beings. One day a shark god saw them and converted them into sharks like himself. Every day they swam up a stream at Waipahu and there they were fed on ‘awa by relatives. ‘Awa was always the food of the gods. When they became too large to swim upstream, the offerings of food were carried to the lochs for them.”
`Awa (Piper methysticum)
`Awa is one of the plants brought in their sailing canoes by the earliest Polynesian voyagers arriving in Hawai`i. `Awa (Piper methysticum, pronounced ah-vah with the "w" as a "v" sound), a member of the pepper family, grows in the wild now and is also cultivated increasily throughout the Pacific Islands, where it is called Kava or Kava Kava. This plant grows well at low elevations where there is constant moisture and partial sun. More than a dozen varieties of `awa were known in old Hawai`i.
Canoe Plants of Ancient Hawai`i: `AWA
The air attack on December 7, 1941 wasn’t the US Navy’s only big Pearl Harbor disaster
Ewa Puuloa residents could ride their local pet sharks
as cowboys could ride horses
Because the sharks, though numerous, were not harmful within Pearl Lochs, the natives used to have fun mounting on their backs and riding them as cowboys ride horses. To turn them around, a little pressure was used just back of the eyes. Is this a tall fish story of men riding sharks? No, it is not. My uncle said that it was true and so did the historian Kamakau. [25:56–59]
Mary Pukui also learned stories about some of the special sites of the Pu‘uloa, Ewa Honouliuli area. This included how fond Ewa residents were of sharks
At the entrance [of Pu‘uloa] was a pond built out into the water in the shape of a tennis racket. This pond, called Kapakule, was said to have been the labor of the Menehune. At the time I last saw it in 1907, this altar was fenced in by Edwin P. Mikalemi, the caretaker of the place and brother-in-law of Akoni Kawa‘a [an uncle of Pukui’s] … There were times when the sharks were caught in the pond at low tide, but no Hawaiian there ever dreamed of molesting them. Never shall I forget the day when a haole guest of Mikalemi went to harpoon one of the sharks in the pond. My uncle shouted for him to get away from there and swore as I had never heard him swear before. Those sharks were as dear to him as a relative, and he did not want to see them speared any more than he wanted us to be hurt in the same way.
Hawaii Diver Swims With Record Breaking Largest Great White Shark
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XoqRcwBJxa8
Video: Giant Great White Shark Frolics With Divers : NPR
Ramsey's gloved hand caressed the shark. "What some don't realize is that sometimes sharks seek touch," she said.
Lowe said it makes sense that it would be Deep Blue because "female sharks usually swim out to the middle of the Pacific, sometimes as far out as Hawaii, for two years before they come back to California or Mexico to have their pups."
Ramsey urged the public not to try to engage with sharks, regardless of their size. She noted her years of experience and research, reminding the shark-petting hopefuls watching the video that great white sharks are apex predators capable of inflicting grave injury.
It seems the shark was in an especially playful mood, according to Ramsey, who noted that the apex predator was flanked by two rough-toothed dolphins "who danced around her."
Great whites "are not the mindless monsters they are portrayed as," she added in a separate post. But Ramsey urged the public not to recklessly jump into shark-infested waters regardless of the size of the animals. "They're capable predators who need and deserve respect."
Ewa Puuloa residents raised sharks from pups. They were hand fed and used to being stroked and cared for. Sharks are basically like ocean dogs. They have a great sense of smell over long distances. They can be wild and dangerous, or just like the family dog – part of the Ohana.
The cultural history of Ewa’s love of Mano (sharks) as companions and protectors
In 1870, native historian S. M. Kamakau wrote about several practices and beliefs pertaining to manō, sharks, in ancient Hawaiian life at Ewa Puuloa (Pearl Harbor).
For many people of a western cultural background the concept of swimming with and riding sharks sounds totally mythical and impossible. Everyone is taught that sharks are vicious killers. However, in Ewa Puuloa the community raised sharks from pups (baby sharks.) Sharks are really a lot like dogs and can be domesticated. Even when they get huge and powerful, sharks can be like obedient and faithful pets. (However, there are still wild killer sharks – so don’t try this at your local beach.)
Kamakau: One practice of note in the Pu‘uloa region was transforming deceased family members into manō as ‘aumakua. These family ‘aumakua would help relatives when in danger on the sea—if a canoe capsized or a man-eating shark was threatening an attack. Ewa Puuloa Hawaiians also worked with and tamed sharks so that one could ride them like a horse, steering them to where one wished to go.
Kupuna Mary Kawena Pukui shared that there were two basic classes of sharks—manō kānaka: sharks with human affiliations; and manō i‘a: wild sharks of the sea, man eaters. The manō kānaka were revered and cared for, while the manō i‘a were at times hunted and killed following ceremonial observances. The practice of chiefs hunting sharks using the flesh of defeated enemies or sacrificial victims as kūpalu manō (shark fishing chum), and of commoners using rotted fish as kūpalu manō are further described in several historical narratives.
Ke Awalau o Pu‘uloa, “the many bays of Pu‘uloa” (Pearl Harbor), are famed in traditional and historical accounts of manō. The traditions center around the several deified sharks, foremost of whom is the goddess Ka‘ahupāhau, then followed several others, including but not limited to Kahi‘ukā , Kūhaimoana, Komoawa, Ka‘ehuikimanōopu‘uloa, Keli‘ikau-o-Ka‘ū (Kealiikauaoka‘ū), and Mikololou. With the exception of Mikololou, all these shark gods were friendly to people, and dedicated to keeping manō i‘a, wild sharks of the sea, out of the Pu‘uloa- ‘Ewa waters and protecting people.
Traditions of Ke Awalau o Pu‘uloa tell us that one of the most important kānāwai governing manō was that they would not attack humans. This kānāwai was created by the shark gods themselves. In 1870, Kamakau wrote about the establishment of this kānāwai in a section titled “Alahula Pu‘uloa, he Alahele na Ka‘ahupāhau,” which means “The Swimming Trails of Pu‘uloa Are the Trails Traveled by Ka‘ahupāhau.”
10 Most Common Sharks In Hawaii: Facts and Pictures (outforia.com)
The kanawai was firmly established. This law—that no shark must bite or attempt to eat a person in Oahu waters—is well known from Pu‘uloa to the Ewas. Anyone who doubts my words must be a malihini there. Only in recent times have sharks been known to bite people in Oahu waters or to have devoured them; it was not so in old times.
Several place names commemorate the shark gods of Pu‘uloa. Among them are three recorded in the Saturday Press of December 29, 1883: Ke‘a‘ali‘i A cave in the sea at the entrance to Pu‘uloa harbor and known by the natives to have been formerly the home of a large shark called Komoawa, who has been generally credited as the watchman on guard at the entrance of Ka‘ahupāhau’s waters. The latter’s royal cave-dwelling was in the Honouliuli lagoon.
First, Make A Deal With The Shark God
http://www.microworks.net/pacific/bases/pearl_1912-1919.htm
Kaʻahupahau lived in an underwater cave in Honouliuli lagoon (West Loch.) Kahiʻuka lived in an underwater cave off Mokuʻumeʻume (Ford Island) near Keanapuaʻa Point at the entrance of East Loch.
The sharks had planned to make a circuit of the islands and perhaps later to visit Kahiki.
They stopped at Puʻuloa (Pearl Harbor)
Such guardian sharks, which inhabited the coastlines, were benevolent gods who were cared for and worshiped by the people and who aided fishermen, protected the life of the seas,
and drove off man-eating sharks.
“Mr. Hartman, assistant boss, found the backbone of a big shark, 14′ 4″ long. I came by where they were working when Mr. Hartman said to me, ‘You certainly got the shark. Here it is.’” (Richards, Navy-mil) (The Story of Mikololou is from Wiggins, Beckwith)
https://imagesofoldhawaii.com/ah-what-delicious-looking-crabs-you-have-here/
Ewa’s commemoration of their shark goddess was HIDDEN AWAY and many Ewa residents (except old timers) Don’t know where it is located
Bare-breasted sculpture dedicated at Campbell
Some parents and the school's principal opposed the statue
https://archives.starbulletin.com/2002/05/31/news/story7.html
Artist Kazu Fukuda draped a lei on his controversial sculpture, "Malama Ia Ka'ahupahau," yesterday at Campbell High School, moments after its unveiling. "I had to be true to the Hawaiians of the past," Fukuda said.
A bronze sculpture of a partially nude woman was dedicated yesterday at Campbell High School, overcoming objections by the principal and some parents, which delayed the unveiling by a year.
"There was some censorship, and I think the (important thing) is, the censorship did not prevail in this situation," artist Kazu Fukuda said after the dedication ceremony.
He said yesterday's ceremony was a victory for art as the 1,500-pound cast-bronze sculpture was unveiled as intended, bare breasted. The piece was inspired by the Hawaiian legend of a mother whose daughter, Kaahupahau, transformed into a shark and became the protector of the people of Ewa.
Early last year, an advisory committee made up of teachers, students, school and state officials decided in favor of allowing the sculpture on campus. Parayno said the participation of two community leaders -- Aunty Arline Eaton and Uncle Glenn Oamila -- in yesterday's ceremony is testament to community support and sends a message to others to embrace the artwork.
KA’AHUPAHAU – The Ewa History of where we paddle
http://www.kamahaocanoeclub.com/-story-of-karsquoahupahau.html
Hawaiʻi Sharks | Incident Graphs (hawaii.gov)
The ‘Aumakua — Hawaiian Ancestral Spirits by Herb Kawainui Käne
Hawaiʻi Sharks | Hawaiians’ Relationship with Sharks
https://dlnr.hawaii.gov/sharks/hawaiian-mythology/hawaiians-relationship-with-sharks/
There is an increased risk of being bitten by a shark during October through December. Early Hawaiians recognized this and cautioned against going in the water at that time.
Pearl Harbor Shark Caves, Shark Gods and Goddesses
HISTORIC AMERICAN ENGINEERING RECORD
U.S. NAVAL BASE, PEARL HARBOR, DRY DOCK NO. 1
(U.S. Naval Base, Pearl Harbor, Naval Shipyard, Facility No. S779)
https://memory.loc.gov/master/pnp/habshaer/hi/hi0700/hi0747/data/hi0747data.pdf
Luckily, workers were able to get out before the dry dock exploded, but four years of
construction lay in ruins. Moreover, all of the laborers were laid off, some 1,000 men in total.
The Navy's annual report noted this event as "the Naval disaster of the year," and the Hawaiians felt the shark goddess Ka'ahupahau and her son Kupipi had been angered by the construction.
In the older days of Pearl Harbor, US Navy and even Admiral Nimitz actually took Hawaiian beliefs seriously, because they learned the hard way…
The Beginning of Pearl Harbor By David Kanakeawe Richards, US Naval Institute
May 1944 Proceedings Vol. 70/5/495
Even Pearl Harbor Navy Admiral Chester Nimitz endorsed this USNI article:
https://www.usni.org/magazines/proceedings/1944/may/beginning-pearl-harbor
He seemed so worried about the whole procedure that I in turn asked him, “What are you doing over here?” And he replied that he had come to feed his aumakau, the Ka’ahupahau, a shark goddess.
The old man watched my men work and talked to them. Again, he came to me with tears in his eyes and begged me to stop digging until my boss came back. I explained we couldn’t do that. He stayed several hours, watching us all the time, and finally he said, “You people will be punished severely.” We laughed at him and thought no more about it. He and his friends left with the old man chanting all the time, attempting to quiet any disturbed spirits.
CULTURAL-HISTORICAL OVERVIEW OF ʻEWA
In ‘Ewa the akua manō named Ka‘ahupāhau is the most important. She is credited with the protection of the people in ‘Ewa from all man-eating sharks who sought to harm them. There are ‘ōlelo no‘eau (poetical sayings), stories, and songs that have forever immortalized her in the history of this place.
Alahula Puʻuloa, he alahele na Kaʻahupāhau. Everywhere in Pu‘uloa is the trail of Ka‘ahupāhau. Said of a person who goes everywhere, looking, peering, seeing all, or of a person familiar with every nook and corner of a place.
Ka‘ahupāhau is the shark goddess of Pu‘uloa (Pearl Harbor) who guarded the people from being molested by wild sharks. She moved about, constantly watching. (#105) Ho‘ahewa na niuhi ia Ka‘ahupāhau. The mandating sharks blamed Ka‘ahupāhau. Evil doers blame the person who safeguards the rights of others. Ka‘ahupāhau was the guardian shark goddess of Pu‘uloa (Pearl Harbor) who drove out or destroyed all the man-eating sharks.
(#1014) Mehameha wale no o Pu‘uloa, i ka hele a Ka‘ahupāhau. Pu‘uloa became lonely when Ka‘ahupāhau went away. The home is lonely when a loved one has gone. Ka‘ahupāhau, guardian shark of Pu‘uloa (Pearl Harbor), was dearly loved by the people. (#2152)
Pearl Harbor Shark Caves, Shark Gods and Goddesses
http://honouliuli.blogspot.com/2015/01/ewa-honouliuli-shark-caves-gods.html
Kaʻahupāhau's cave was located near West Loch, while her brother lived in an underwater cave near Ford Island. In 1913, when the U.S. Navy built a dry-dock just over her old home, it collapsed. This was because the guardian shark still inhabited that area and the Navy didn’t listen to the native Kupuna.
Caves and cave entrances have very high significance in Hawaiian culture and spiritual cosmology
In the ancient past Waikiki and all the areas up to Manoa valley were underwater and coral reefs formed. After the sea receded there became the massive limestone formations, and unlike lava tubes which are of volcanic origin, these are all of coral. Geologists today call these "karst" formations, a geologic limestone formation with vast underground channels and reservoirs, caves with fresh water but also saltwater coming in below the fresh water creating a freshwater lens.
These are still very apparent today on the Ewa Plain but also made up the ground and shoreline of early Honolulu before development and tidal areas being filled in. This is why iwi kupuna burials and bones are being found now along the HART rail route- because the shoreline then was not where it is today.
In areas around Honolulu and O’ahu before development, fish made their way in from the ocean through caves and channels below ground. There is the blind mullet in the still existing below ground water cave site in Mo‘ili‘ili, and the still existing freshwater springs, such as at Punahou school campus. Waikiki is 'the spouting waters' because of freshwater coming up through the ancient coral limestone but this fresh water today is largely diverted and buried.
Pohukaina on the grounds of Iolani Palace is a sacred place of very considerable significance because the tomb was on the site of a former cave, most likely of ancient limestone reef and like those still found out on the Ewa Plains today. "Pohukaina" is translated as 'Pohu-ka-‘aina'– 'the land is quiet and calm.'
Kanehili Cultural Hui visited a large karst cave restored by US Fish and Wildlife restocked with
endangered Holocaridinea rubra- Opae ula freshwater shrimp. Somewhat hidden at Campbell High School is the statue of the Ewa shark goddess Ka'ahupahau who represents the community's belief in sacred shark deities that protected swimmers in Puuloa - Pearl Harbor and the Ewa shore from the bad marauding ocean sharks that were man eaters.
The First Hawaiian Bank construction over a huge water cave illustrates why downtown HART Rail construction will be SUPER EXPENSIVE
Retired banker Walter Dods tells all in his 2015 released book titled:
"Yes! A Memoir of Modern Hawaii"
Dods spills the beans on how the "damn thing" was built -Honolulu's tallest building- which cost $45,000 an inch (in 1996 money, likely 2-3 times higher today) once construction hit the ground water table.
Construction for the First Hawaiian Bank building cost $175 million in 1996, also not counting the additional spectacular explosive demolition, and required huge amounts of concrete pouring due to the fact it was built in a very high ground water stream site near the harbor. Slab poured FHB office tower foundation "floats" and is tethered by cable anchors. Not anticipating sea level rise, the FHB downtown building could become unstable and either fall over or have to be demolished like the original building.
Some Honolulu buildings require water pumps in the basements because groundwater is extremely high. Every year the ground water creeps even higher and in less than two decades may be up to five feet higher. FHB employees may someday arrive to work on paddle boards and jet skis. Hopefully by then their office tower has not tipped over!
At a height of 429 feet, Honolulu's tallest building is built over an underground stream that runs through the ancient coral reef shelf and into Honolulu Harbor. Dods says in his book...
"So, you have a slab that is floating with cables that are embedded in the rock... and then there is enough weight to hold the slab in place... and then they turn off the pumps." Dod's reveals that it had never been done before in Honolulu and never done since.
The problem could be when sea level rises, the fact that the building never used deep piles may become a problem. Or saturated soil as the ocean rises and pushes the ground water table ahead of it. Time and rising water will tell if Honolulu's tallest building will still be around in the future - or maybe another spectacular explosive demolition will be required.
First Hawaiian Bank - Wikipedia
Blowing Up The Downtown FHB Building In 1994
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ph7HzxcLEkI
There are underground streams and springs all over downtown Honolulu because the city is built over ancient limestone reef karst caves and a massive swamp land once ideal for growing kalo (taro.)
They followed the concrete path until they saw a manhole cover. Randle lifted it. About 3 feet below was water. Not stormwater or sewage, but a stream, clean and crystal clear, packed by small fish, flowing south toward Kewalo Basin just a few hundred yards away.
Uncovering the Potential of Honolulu’s Hidden Streams
https://nextcity.org/features/honolulu-sustainable-development-auwai-howard-hughes
Retired Honolulu Board of Water Supply engineer Chester Lao was a Hawaii expert on ancient caves around Honolulu and Oahu. He provided Kanehili Cultural In 2013 Hui with leads, links to local stories other significant cave resources
Hi John,
Bill Halliday, an inquisitive speleologist along with a UH prof. explored all the open caverns on Oahu, including those on the Ewa plains, mostly on Navy or former Navy property, and those at the Waianae boat harbor. We were looking for and mapping the caves. In the Waianae sinkholes, we found brine shrimp indicating a connection to the sea nearby.
The old pond in the (Manoa) quarry, home of present fishes, is fed by springs at the base of the lava and by the limestone water. The broad expanse of the limestone led to discharge from the cavern area going towards Diamond Head and also to the Willows area. The Willows contained a pool famed for its Koi for many years. In an effort to preserve the pond, the State DLNR had the pool lined with concrete, so the present pool is no longer connected to the water table. Instead, the drainage ditch to Marco Polo and makai of the Willows parking lot across Hausten St. is the site of discharge of groundwater to the Ala Wai.
My mother-in-law, now 114 if still alive, remembers buying fish and watercress along ponds in the Keeaumoku area. The strong discharge of fresh water in Pearl Harbor Springs prevented or eroded the limestone from McGrew Point to West Loch. During the retreat of the seas, many marine organisms grew in the reef limestone including giant oysters, clams and other organisms still seen in outcrops of the reef limestone. With the drop in the water table in the reef limestone due to primarily sewer construction and filling of lowlands, the water lies below the surface not visible any longer except in the Moiliili caverns and at the Hausten ditch.
When the Ala Wai project of the 20's to create another Venice was constructed, this project created a pathway to drain the reef limestone. There are still life forms in the reef limestone but more restricted than formerly.
> On the follow up visit with Phil, a person from the Bishop Museum accompanied the group of four on paddleboards to as far as we could go which was short of King Street. While I have not done so, I am certain that articles written about the blind catfish and spiders found are in museum files.
> At the old Japanese restaurant, now a parking lot of the 7-11 store, there was a restaurant with holes in the floorboard. A guy I knew used to catch blind mullets when he was a boy.
> I contributed to a fascinating book written a few years ago about Moiliili a few years ago and available from the UH bookstore. In it, are information that I have gleaned over the years.
> Chester
Ala Wai Canal: Hawaii's Biggest Mistake?
Ala Wai Canal: Hawaii's Biggest Mistake? Archives - Honolulu Civil Beat
This Clear Water Has Been Flowing Under Kakaako Since The 1920s
https://www.civilbeat.org/2016/10/this-clear-water-has-been-flowing-under-kakaako-since-the-1920s/
2014 Haseko DEIS Master Plan - deleting Marina for Lagoon:
"Prior to the basin’s excavation an estimated 1.5 MGD (Million Gallons Per Day) of groundwater discharged into the marine environment along this shoreline."
Ewa Haseko Corp Digs A Big Giant Hole In The Ewa Karst And Then Fills It Back Up!
https://ewa-hawaii-karst.blogspot.com/2014/12/ewa-haseko-corp-digs-big-giant-hole-in.html
Evidence Of Large Karst Sinkholes In Ewa Gentry Community
https://ewa-hawaii-karst.blogspot.com/2014/12/large-karst-sinkholes-in-Ewa.html
William R. Halliday- History and Status of the Moiliili Karst, Hawaii. Journal of Cave and Karst Studies 60(3): 141-145.
A 1934 construction excavation intersected a previously unknown karstic master conduit at a depth of -7 m msl. Temporary dewatering of over 3.7 x 109 L caused considerable economic loss due to collapses and subsidence in a wedge-shaped area of about 1 km on each side. These outline a previously unrecognized dendritic karst drainage. Considerable retrograde flow of salt water also occurred. Subsequent urbanization again lowered the water table and dewatering phenomena are still occurring.
A section of Moiliili Water Cave is the only clearly karstic feature that remains available for study. It serves as a floodwater conduit. Surprisingly, its water quality has improved since 1983. Its protection should be a prototype for other Hawaiian karsts. Other sections of Honolulu also are underlain by reef limestone and may be at risk.
Stalactites and stalagmites in destroyed cave B6-139. August 1977
photo by J.K. Obota, courtesy Alan Ziegler
Cave B6-139: They also noted water level fluctuations of 40cm (16 inches) even though the cave is almost 2 km from the shore. However, it was left to archaeologist Aki Sinoto to provide details about the cave. He termed it "a unique flooded sinkhole'' and found that it measured 11 m in diameter. Fresh to brackish water filled 2/3 of parts of the cave. A nocturnal marine isopod, blue-green algae, and minute red shrimp - Holocaridinea rubra- Opae ula, were found in the waters. Also observed was the rich deposit of intact bones of subfossil and-extinct birds (Sinoto, 1978). Quarry operators deliberately tried to fill this cave before 1977 archaeological and palaeontological salvage studies (Sinoto, 1978, p. 45) but it was too large.
Morganstein and Childs examined and described several other karstic features in and near the (Kalaeloa) harbor-to-be: ". . . representative sinkholes. . and two major sinkholes (B6-78 and B6-1OOC)" which they excavated (Hawaii Marine Research, Inc., 1978). In 1955, the late Harold S. Palmer (Professor of Geology at the University of Hawaii) said he had seen a meter-long stalactite said to have come from a cave in the Ewa Karst (Halliday, 1955, 1958.)
Mōʻiliʻili water caves in lower Manoa
Many residents of the Mōʻiliʻili area (and beyond) may not be aware that just a few feet below their feet, cars, houses and businesses are remnant caverns and caves (and water) in the Mōʻiliʻili underground.
In 1934, a construction project downslope struck a master conduit of the karst. This caused massive water drainage of the upslope area; “for more than four months, an average of 3.8 x 107 L was pumped daily before the hole could be sealed and construction resumed.” The total amount pumped before the leak could be sealed was greater than one billion gallons of water.
The spring-fed ponds vanished within 24 hours. There have been several instances of collapses since the dewatering. One instance in 1952 involves the Standard Trading store falling through the ground into the karst below it. Another instance involves the emergence of a large cavern downslope from
the King-University intersection.
Mōʻiliʻili Karst (Mōʻiliʻili Water Cave)
http://totakeresponsibility.blogspot.com/2012/12/moiliili-karst-moiliili-water-cave.html
Huge calcite cave in Laie - since destroyed by developers
Dig For Hawaiian Calcite At The Laie Quarry 1998
http://www.oocities.org/edsawada/HI_Calcite_Laie.html
Honolulu City Council FREAKS OUT - Ewa Plains Karst Resolution Induced Complete Fear And Paranoia- NO KARST, NO, NO!
RECOGNIZING THE CULTURAL, HISTORIC AND SCIENTIFIC VALUE OF THE KARST WATER AQUIFER
ECOSYSTEM OF THE EWA PLAINS, WEST OAHU
In November 2012 this resolution (see link) was brought to the Honolulu City Council and created complete fear and paranoia in the Honolulu City Council, which would not even ALLOW a vote on it!
It struck very great fear in the hearts of the major Ewa Plain land developers who did NOT want the issue of karst and what it was, to be mentioned or even considered in a resolution which is basically an acknowledgement and not a BILL.
Some of the highly feared and dangerous freak words included:
WHEREAS, through the centuries, the Hawaiians used the Ewa Plains karst water-fed sinkholes for cultural purposes such as micro agricultural sites for bananas, gourds and ti leaves, and in otherwise arid areas, the underground waterways supported large groves of native Hawaiian trees and culturally important native plants; and
WHEREAS, complex Ewa Plains karst aquifers, channels, caves and cavern systems allow underground water streams to emerge and disappear as the water travels towards the sea, creating in some areas habitats for native Hawaiian shrimp; and
Yes! Major land developers, well drillers and HART Rail politicians FEARED THESE WORDS!
Lots of phone calls from land developers, well drillers and HART Rail politicians WARNED the City Council to NOT EVEN CONSIDER this resolution! This included the City's Corporate Counsel lawyers ALSO warning the City Council members to stay completely AWAY from this resolution!
Read it and find out why the study and acknowledgement of the Ewa Plain karst system is an extremely dangerous concept that must NOT be acknowledged or scientifically studied...
City Council Ewa Plains Karst Resolution Induced Complete Fear And Paranoia
https://ewa-hawaii-karst.blogspot.com/2014/12/council-fears-ewa-plains-karst.html
The HART Rail politicians and their City Council lackeys were very afraid and freaked out about this!
And HERE is likely WHY this was a freakout: NO, WE HAVE NO KARST CAVE SYSTEMS! NO, NO, They DON’T EXIST!
As ordered by the Hawaii state court, defendants have now completed all archaeological activities in Phases 1, 2 and 3, and the State Historic Preservation Office (SHPO) has reviewed and concurred on July 3, 2012. Only two TCP sites were identified in those areas as eligible
for the National Register, and pursuant to section 4(f) regulations (23 CFR 774.15(f)(1)), there will be no impact on either of those sites (This is because they TOTALLY LIED and never completed the first rail segment Ewa Plain West Oahu Farrington Highway Leina a ka uhane and Po’ohilo nominations as REQUIRED by the HART Rail Programmatic Agreement!)
Plaintiffs now raise, for the first time, a "late hit" – unsubstantiated claims of burials in the karst topography of the Ewa plain. But as previously found by the SHPO and the state Land Use Commission (LUC) in other cases, there is "no indication of karst caverns" and "no karst cave systems" (direct quote.)
EVEN MORE DANGEROUS NEWS: Subsurface geology and hydrogeology of downtown Honolulu with engineering and environmental implications
(The super expensive future HART Rail downtown construction nightmare)
https://scholarspace.manoa.hawaii.edu/items/ff333640-26f2-4a30-bc82-a7c6ac727d49
A 1996 study published by the Water Resources Research Center, University of Hawaii at Manoa, author Sure Ann Finstick, for her PhD-thesis, UH Manoa, collected and interpreted 2,276 soil boring logs from various consulting firms in Honolulu (who wished to remain anonymous), along with the Groundwater Index database and environmental databases from the State of Hawaii. The subsurface materials were classified into nine categories: fill, lagoonal (low energy) deposits, alluvial deposits, coralline debris, coral ledges, cinders, tuff, basalt, and residual soil or weathered volcanics. The study area is divided into 157 quadrangles (1000' X 1000'). The subsurface conditions within each quad described in detail, and nine cross-sections were presented for further clarification of the subsurface geology. Foundation bearing layers and buried alluvial channels were mapped. Environmental problems and groundwater data were summarized in the form of tables and maps.
2016 Email from Mike Mauricio, Ewa Honouliuli historian
John,
I know some of these karst sea caves can grow to impressive size. Back when I was in high school at Campbell, there was a clearing of the kiawe forest for the expansion behind the football field. Bulldozers uncovered a large cave which looked to be about twenty feet deep. At the bottom was what appeared to be sand, and smooth coral cobbles, a sign of a live, active sea cave. Since this cave was at least a half mile from the ocean, I can imagine similar caves in the coral cliffs of the Hoaeae area along West Loch.
Michael Mauricio
It was once not unusual to find a large Ewa shoreline sea cave
that contained large conch and cowries.
Around 2016 a visitor to the Barbers Point Riding Club stables who had lived in the now bulldozed base housing at former MCAS Ewa Field (now part of the Barbers Point Golf Course) recalled as a young military dependent (and back when they could ride their horses along the beach) that there was a really large sink hole sea cave along the Ewa shoreline. She described the cave as very big and deep, going inland and contained many large and beautiful conch shells and cowries.
The MCAS Ewa Field command history states that “ancient subterranean caverns” were found “large enough to house a freight car.” There are photos of a large D-8 bulldozer fallen into a large cave. Later NASBP BRAC remediation operations also reported large bulldozers falling into Kanehili area caves.
Caves and cave entrances have very high significance in Hawaiian culture and spiritual cosmology. And there is the important spiritual connection with the I’o and Pu’eo which act as spirit guardians.
Iolani Hawk, the high flight of the hawk signified Hawaiian Royalty
In areas around Honolulu and O’ahu before development, fish made their way in from the ocean through caves and channels below ground. There is the blind mullet in the still existing below ground water cave site in Mo‘ili‘ili, and the still existing freshwater springs, such as at Punahou school campus. Waikiki is 'the spouting waters' because of freshwater coming up through the ancient coral limestone but this fresh water today is largely diverted and buried.
Pohukaina on the grounds of Iolani Palace is a sacred place of very considerable significance because the tomb was on the site of a former cave in the ancient limestone reef and like those still found on the Ewa Plains today. "Pohukaina" is translated as 'Pohu-ka-‘aina'– 'the land is quiet and calm.'
The Hawaiian oral histories say that Pohukaina, where Hawaiian royalty are buried and best seen from the Hawaii State Library side on the Iolani palace grounds near King Street, is linked to a series of caves with openings in different parts of the Island of O'ahu. The cave, it is said, reaches to all areas of the island with interior waterfalls, streams, and with huge caverns. The oral histories say there are fingers of caves that go to different places with different burial chambers within. There is also an entry in Kalihi and in Moanalua. Pohukaina extends out to Kualoa, up to Kahuku point, and over to Waipahu, named because of the spring site there which still exists. Other connections are said to extend to the moku of Wai’anae with the Kaneana cave in that district- all tied into Pohukaina.
The highest chamber under the island of O‘ahu is supposed to be under Konahuanui in the Koolau mountain range. Therefore, Konahuanui is called “Kaupoko o ka hale,” the roof of the house because it’s the highest chamber in the cavern system of Pohukaina." While this is not scientifically documented, it makes up a very important belief within the Hawaiian spiritual cosmology and why all things above ground and below ground are seen as linked and contiguous.
Karst and Karst Cave References
CURRENT STATUS OF THE EWA KARST, HONOLULU COUNTY, HAWAII - William R. Halliday
Sourced from The Cave Conservationist, 1998 (Public copies no longer available but in the Kanehili Cultural Hui Archive: Ewa Karst - Halliday, The Cave Conservationist.pdf
Benson, Bruce. 1977. Harbor sites yield rare fossils. Honolulu Star-Bulletin and Advertiser, July 24, p. A-3.
Halliday, William R. 1955. Caves of Oahu and other Hawaiian Islands: an initial survey. Western Speleological Survey Misc. Ser. Bull. #1, W.S.S. Serial #5, November.
Halliday, William R. 1958. An initial survey of caves of the Hawaiian Islands. National Speleological Soc. Bull., vol. 20, p.58.
Halliday, William R. 1994. Karsts of Oahu. Hawaii Grotto Newsl. vol. 3 #3, p. 25. July-Dec. 1994.
Hawaii Marine Research, Inc. 1978. Geoarchaeological reconnaissance of Barbers Point. Appendix I of Sinoto 1978 cited below.
Kirch, P.V. 1978. Report on Recent and subfossil land mollusca from Barbers Point, Oahu. Appendix II in Sinoto 1978 cited below.
Macdonald, Gordon G.A. and A.T. Abbott. 1970. Volcanoes in the Sea. Honolulu, Univ. of Hawaii Press. Mills, M.T. 1979. The subterranean wonders of Hawaii. Privately published. 24 p.
Mylroie, John E. and James L. Carew. 1995. "Karst development on carbonate islands." Chapter 3 in: Budd, D.A., P.M. Harris and A. Saller, ed.s. Unconformities and porosity in carbonate strata. Am. Assn, of Petr. Geol.s Memoir 63, p. 55.
Sinoto, Aki. 1978. Archaeological and Paleontological salvage at Barbers Point, Oahu. Prepared for U.S. Army Engineer District, Pacific Ocean, Honolulu. Dept. of Anthropology, Bishop Museum, Honolulu, 72 p. March 1978.
Stearns, Harold T. and K.N. Vakevik. 1935. Geology and groundwater of the island of Oahu, Hawaii. Hawaii Division of Hydrography Bulletin 1, 479 p. Ziegler, Alan. 1970a. Testimony on S.R. 35/S.C.R. 38 and S.C. 36/S.C.B. 39, all relating to preservation of coral reef sinkholes on the Eva Plain, Oahu
before the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, 21 February 1990.
Ziegler, Alan. 1970b. Testimony on S.C.R. 50/S.R. 44: urging the Department of Land and Natural Resources to obtain sinkhole sites containing information relating to early Hawaiians. Before the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, 26 Feb. 1990.
http://www.microworks.net/pacific/bases/pearl_1912-1919.htm
https://www.gohawaii.com/stories/puuloa-guardian-sharks-oahu
https://imagesofoldhawaii.com/ah-what-delicious-looking-crabs-you-have-here/
https://imagesofoldhawaii.com/pohukaina/
https://www.thoughtco.com/pearl-harbor-us-navys-home-pacific-2361226
LEGEND: THE SHARK THAT CAME FOR POI
Hawaiʻi Sharks | Legend: The Shark That Came For Poi (hawaii.gov)
Many people today in Ewa don’t know where this famous statue is located!
THE SWIMMING TRAILS OF PU‘ULOA ARE THE TRAILS TRAVELED BY KA‘AHUPĀHAU
In Ewa, sharks were regarded as aumakua (guardians and protectors) such as shark goddess Ka‘ahupahau who had known underwater trails in the bays of Pu‘uloa (now known as Pearl Harbor), that led to her large cave resting place.
In addition to the traditions of Ka‘ahupāhau, two other accounts center around the nature of sharks in the ‘Ewa District, and battles that were fought to kill offending sharks. In the early 1820s, members of the Protestant mission station traveled to the ‘Ewa District and learned something about the shark gods of Pu‘uloa.
Hiram Bingham accompanied King Kamehameha II (Liholiho), the royal family, and attendants to ‘Ewa in 1823, where they stayed near the shore of Pu‘uloa. During the visit, the king and party, along with Bingham, visited the dwelling place of a noted shark god. The name of the god was not recorded in Bingham’s journal, though one must infer that it was either the goddess Ka‘ahupāhau or her brother, Kahi‘ukā. Bingham wrote:
I one day accompanied the King [Liholiho] and others by boat to see the reputed habitation of a Hawaiian deity, on the bank of the lagoon of Ewa. It was a cavern or fissure in a rock, chiefly under water, where, as some then affirmed, a god, once in human form, taking the form of a shark, had his subterraqueous abode. Sharks were regarded by the Hawaiians as gods capable of being influenced by prayers and sacrifices, either to kill those who hate and despise them or to spare those who respect and worship them. It had been held that, when a mother gave her offspring to a shark, the spirit of the child dwelt in it, and the shark becoming an akua, would afterwards recognize and befriend the mother on meeting her, though ready to devour others. [4:177]
Later, in January 1825, Elisha Loomis also traveled to ‘Ewa and stayed along the Pu‘uloa shore [31]. During his visit, Loomis learned the name of the shark goddess who protected the waters of the Pearl Harbor region, and also reported hearing about a war between the good sharks and those who sought to eat human flesh. It will be noted that due to his limited Hawaiian-language skills, Loomis apparently transposed she for he in his journal.
After supper I conversed with them for a long time on the subject of religion … during the conversation one of them mentioned that in former times there dwelt at Puuloa a famous shark named Ahupahau. He had a house in the hole of a rock. He was one of their gods. On one occasion a strong shark 3 or 4 fathoms long came into the channel to make war upon the sharks and upon the natives that dwelt there. Ahupahau immediately communicated to the native's information advising them to get a net out and secure him. They took the hint and spread their nets, and in a little time the stranger was captured.
In 1870, native historian S. M. Kamakau wrote about several practices and beliefs pertaining to manō, sharks, in ancient life. One practice of note in the Ewa Pu‘uloa region was the practice of transforming deceased family members into manō as ‘aumakua. These family ‘aumakua would help relatives when in danger on the sea—if a canoe capsized or a man-eating shark was threatening an attack. Hawaiians also worked with and tamed sharks so that one could ride them like a horse, steering them to where one wished to go.1
Kupuna Mary Kawena Pukui shared that there were two basic classes of sharks—manō kānaka: sharks with human affiliations; and manō i‘a: wild sharks of the sea, man eaters. The manō kānaka were revered and cared for, while the manō i‘a were at times hunted and killed following ceremonial observances.2 The practice of chiefs hunting sharks using the flesh of defeated enemies or sacrificial victims as kūpalu manō (shark fishing chum), and of commoners using rotted fish as kūpalu manō are further described in several historical narratives.
Ke Awalau o Pu‘uloa, “the many bays of Pu‘uloa” (Pearl Harbor), are famed in traditional and historical accounts of manō. The traditions center around the several deified sharks, foremost of whom is the goddess Ka‘ahupāhau, then followed several others, including but not limited to Kahi‘ukā , Kūhaimoana, Komoawa, Ka‘ehuikimanōopu‘uloa, Keli‘ikau-o-Ka‘ū (Kealiikauaoka‘ū), and Mikololou. With the exception of Mikololou, all these shark gods were friendly to people, and dedicated to keeping manō i‘a, wild sharks of the sea, out of the Pu‘uloa-‘Ewa waters and protecting people.
S. M. Kamakau, January 6, 1870; Pukui, translator, 1976.
2M. K. Pukui, personal communication to Kepā Maly, 1976.
3S. M. Kamakau; Pukui, translator, 1968:73.
4W. H. Uaua, “He Moolelo Kaao no Kaehuikimanoopuuloa,” Ke Au Okoa, Dec. 1, 1870, to Jan. 5, 1871.
5“He Moolelo Kaao Hawaii no Keliikau o Kau,” Home Rula Repubalika, January 6, 1902, p. 7–8.
6J. S. Emerson, 1892:10–11.
7Manu 1895.
8For additional background on the sharks of Pu‘uloa, see Pukui and Curtis, 1961 [27].
The classic “Pearly Shells” song may not be what you think it is about!
Pupu O Ewa is about the story of Ewa’s beloved shark goddess protector Ka‘ahupahau and her shark trails
Many locals and tourists learn to play on a ukulele the classic “Pearly Shells” song, and it is one of the most famous songs associated with Hawaii worldwide. The original words however are different.
One‘ula a.k.a. Hau Bush a.k.a. “Shark Country '' is a story of Ka‘ahupahau, the shark goddess and her grandmother. As a young girl, I loved to sing the song Pupu A O Ewa, not realizing that the song speaks of Ka‘ahupahau.
https://www.huapala.org/Pul/Pupu_A_O_Ewa.html
https://www.hawaiimusicmuseum.org/news/archive/2003/shells.html
Shells of ʻEwa throngs of people
Coming to learn
The news of the land
A land famous
From the ancient times
All of Puʻuloa, the path trod upon by
Kaʻahupāhauʻ
All of Pu`uloa, the path trod upon by
Kaʻahupāhau
Source: Nā Mele `O Hawaiʻi Nei by Elbert & Mahoe, the news of the land was the discovery of pearl oysters at Puʻuloa, the Hawaiian name for Pearl Harbor, that was protected by Kaʻahupāhau, the shark goddess.
From Hawai`i Island Legends, Pikoi, Pele and Others,
compiled by Mary Kawena Puku`i, retold by Caroline Curtis
Ke awa lau o Pu‘uloa The many-harbored seas of Pu‘uloa
Microsoft Word - Hālau o Puʻuloa_Community.docx (ksbe.edu)
Kamakau, in Ka Po‘e Kahiko, lists and describes other kinds of marine resources for which Pu‘uloa
was once famous: The transparent shrimp, ‘opae huna, and the spiked shrimp, ‘opae kakala, such as
came from the sea into the kuapa and pu‘uone fishponds. Nehu pala and nehu maoli fishes filled the lochs (nuku awalau) from the entrance of Pu‘uloa to the inland ‘Ewas. Other famous i‘a [food] of ‘Ewa, celebrated land of the ancestors, were the mahamoe and ‘okupe bivalves and many others that have now disappeared. (Kamakau 1991:84)
Without a doubt, ‘Ewa Moku’s greatest resource was its access to Pu‘uloa, where many loko i‘a (fishponds) was constructed (Figure 6). In Hawaiian traditions, Pu‘uloa consists of three distinct awalau, or lochs, including Kaihuopala‘ai (West Loch), Wai‘awa (Middle Loch) and Komoawa (East Loch). In addition to being known for producing high-quality awa (milkfish or mullet), ‘Ewa’s fishponds were also famed for deep-sea fish such as akule (scad varieties), as attested to by the name of one its fishponds (Ka-pa-akule, or “the-akule-enclosure”) in Honouliuli.
It is often stated that ‘Ewa Moku is watered exclusively by the leeward slopes of the Ko‘olau Range, but some of its westernmost ahupua‘a—including Honouliuli (by far the largest ahupua‘a in the moku), Hō‘ae‘ae and parts of Waikele—are actually watered from the southeastern end of the Wai‘anae mountains. Regardless, before the U.S. military’s takeover of Pearl Harbor about 100 years ago, Pu‘uloa was once famous for its rich abundance of marine resources, in particular, the pearl oyster, or pipi. Handy and Handy (1972:469)
Honolulu City Council Certificate Honoring Papakilohoku Michael Kumukukauoha Lee
Michael Kumukukauoha Lee is a Native Hawaiian Cultural Practitioner in Papakilohoku (Hawaiian astronomy) and has been teaching the importance of the Hawaiian night's starry significance in his religious rites and ceremonies to island communities to revive and encourage appreciation of the Hawaiian cosmology of planets and star constellations.
Michael Lee has just been featured in the award winning "Hana Hou!", inflight magazine of Hawaiian Airlines, December 2012 to January 2013 issue, as a Papakilohoku. In the featured article with beautiful color photography titled “Signs & Wonders - Light and Magic in Hawai'i Skies - A Journey through the Land of Rainbows,” Papakilohoku Michael Lee reveals six different rainbows and their Hawaiian cultural significance to the lives of the ancient Hawaiians.
Mr. Lee has shared his Papakilohoku knowledge on Olelo public access television and has given special nighttime lectures to the Hawaiian community in Lualualei, Waianae to teach the Hawaiian stars, religious rites and ceremonies. He has also given presentations of Hawaiian cultural practices of Hookupu at Puu Heleaka in Waianae for the past two years. Mr Lee was also invited by the National Park Service at Haleokeawe in Honaunau on November 27, 2012, to teach the Papakilohoku religious customary traditions of the annual Makahiki.
Mr. Lee has also been teaching Native Hawaiian prisoners at Halawa Correctional Facility through the Religious Ministry program, the rites and Hawaiian customary practices of the annual Makahiki ceremony and its connection to the stars, the rising of the Pleiades and the Hawaiian gods, especially Lono. The legend of Lono is associated with voyages to and from Tahiti, the traditional Hawaiian spiritual homeland.
Mr Lee has also been teaching the Papakilohoku religious rites and customary practices at the spectacular view plain located at One’Ula Beach Park in Ewa, Oahu. Near this site stood a Papakilohoku stone that was used to guide sailing canoe travelers to Tahiti, traditional homeland of Lono. The larger area was also known in ancient times as Kanehili and is associated with the special wahi pana (sacred place) of the Leina a ka uhane, a major sacred “spirit leaping” place for souls to return to the traditional homeland. Special ceremonial trails in the area provided access routes for annual Makahiki Lono processions and have also been associated with the po-kane (the night marchers) in Honouliuli, Oahu.
Mr. Lee was taught by his maternal grandfather Kino Guerrero as a boy of 4 years old and by his Auntie Alice Holokai who learned her knowledge from Queen Liliuokalani personally, and David Kali of Niihau, and continues the Hawaiian cultural practices he learned in his Hawaiian family's Chants of Kualii and the Kumulipo.
We congratulate and honor Papakilohoku Michael Kumukauoha Lee for keeping these rich Traditional Hawaiian Religious Cultural practices alive and generously sharing them with the communities of Ewa, Waianae and island wide.
