Under Former Ewa Plantation Lands, Hoopili, And
HART Rail Stations
Are Tens Of Thousands Of Iwi Kupuna Burials
Kanehili Cultural Hui Report - John Bond
The Leina a ka ‘uhane And Association With Major Native Burials In West Oahu
“Maly reflected that, given the
history of the countryside, it would be more unusual not to find iwi than to
find them”. June 23, 2011,
Section 106 Programmatic Agreement (PA) Traditional Cultural Properties (TCP)
Study Meeting
— William Aila, Hui
Malama (before becoming DLNR Chair and now DHHL deputy.)
“People have estimated
that there were 800,000 to a million people living here when Westerners arrived
[in Hawaii in 1778]; some people estimate it was much higher—that’s one era,”
says William Aila, a board member of Hui Malama. “You have many generations
prior to that. A lot of people were born and died all over these Islands. They
don’t just disappear.”
Figures from:
IDENTIFICATION OF NATIVE HAWAIIAN TRADITIONAL CULTURAL PROPERTIES, Tuggles,
Maly, etc., March 2001. (more documents further below)
IDENTIFICATION OF
NATIVE HAWAIIAN TRADITIONAL CULTURAL PROPERTIES
by H.
David Tuggle, Ph.D. M.J. Tomonari-Tuggle, M.A. with the collaboration of Maria
E. Ka‘imipono Orr, Kepâ Maly Kumu Pono Associates, and Kalani Flores Mana
‘o‘i‘o Principal Investigator: Thomas S. Dye, Ph.D.
International
Archaeological Research Institute, Inc.
Hawai‘i March 2001
EXCERPTS:
“The
main trail around O‘ahu passed through this populous area (‘I‘i 1869
[1959:96]). From the Waikîkî side, entering into ‘Ewa along the trail entailed
crossing the leaping place of souls called Leilono, which was guarded by demons
(see Kapûkakî, below). From the west, entering into ‘Ewa meant passing through the plain of
Kaupe‘a, a place of wandering souls.”
Burials from the pre-contact and post-contact eras are
known to occur over the entire ‘Ewa Plain, in sinkholes, platforms, and dune
deposits (Tuggle and Tomonari-Tuggle 1997b). There is also a 19th century reference
to chiefly burial that suggests there were places of interment for ali‘i at
Pu‘uloa (Alexander 1906:27).
“The
potential TCPs on Navy retained lands at former NAS Barbers Point include the
plain of Kaupe‘a and the locale of Kualaka‘i. These places meet general NRHP
criteria (see Section I.3.1). Connections can also be made among Kualaka‘i, the plain of Kaupe‘a, and
Pu‘uokapolei, and their association with Kahiki” (see
Johnson 1988; Tuggle and Tomonari-Tuggle 1997b:27-29).
II.2.3.1.
THE PLAIN OF KAUPE‘A
The plain of
Kaupe‘a was located on what is today called the ‘Ewa Plain. It
probably includes the housing areas and the golf course in the Navy retained
lands. Kaupe‘a (see Fig. 3 for location) has potential cultural significance
under the following NRHP criteria:
(a) it is associated with traditional events and patterns
of events, as expressed in its identification as the ao kuewa (place of
homeless souls) for the island of O‘ahu; it is also identified as a place for
the collection of plants used for a special lei.
(b) it is associated with the lives of persons
significant in the past, as found in the traditions of Hi‘iaka.
It is associated with the lives of persons significant in
the past, as found in the traditions of Hi‘iaka, has symbolic associations with
Kahiki, ancestry, and the generations of ‘Ewa.
II.2.1.1.
THE PLAIN OF KAUPE‘A AND KÂNEHILI
A
place of many pits with human bones describes most of the great expanse of the
‘Ewa Plain, where
limestone sinkholes were used for human interment over many centuries (including
the post-contact period, see below). In many cases, human remains were placed on the floors of the sinkholes (not buried) with the bones
thus visible when one looked into the pit, surely a setting to inspire
association with spirits of the dead.
Each
island had at least one place for wandering souls. For O‘ahu, this place was
the plain of Kaupe‘a. Kamakau (1870 [1964:47], italics
original) writes that Kaupe‘a was known
as: …ao kuewa, the realm of homeless souls,…also called the ao ‘auwana, the
realm of wandering souls. When a man who had no rightful place in the ‘aumakua
realm died, his soul would wander about…
(The association of Leiolono with Kaupe‘a:)
According to Kamakau
(1870 [1964:47-49]), the ao kuewa was one of the three places of the dead, the
others being the realm of the ancestral spirits (ao ‘aumakua) and the realm of
Milu, the place of endless night (pô pau ‘ole o Milu). Across the Pu‘uloa lagoon from Kaupe‘a was a place
known as Leilono, which is located on the ridge dividing ‘Ewa and Kona
districts (discussed below under Kapûkakî). It was at Leilono where the spirits
of the dead leapt from the branches of a supernatural breadfruit tree,
separating to go to one of the three realms. Those who had no help from
‘aumakua would end up friendless (po‘e ‘uhane hauka‘e), wandering the plain of Kaupe‘a catching moths and
spiders.
Although the boundaries of the plain of Kaupe‘a are not
clearly defined, it certainly occupied a substantial portion of the ‘Ewa Plain,
including the area next to Pearl Harbor lagoon and the area of former NAS
Barbers Point. Kamakau (1870 [1964:47-49]) describes the plain as “beside
Pu‘uloa,” and as a place of wiliwili trees, which is a common tree on the
dryland limestone of ‘Ewa. In the tradition of Pele and Hi‘iaka (Emerson
1915:167; Keonaona and S.L. Desha Sr. et al. 1927, in Maly Appendix B), the
plain is described as extending from “the wiliwili trees…to Kanehili” (Ke Au
Hou 1911, in Sterling and Summers 1978:44), and as back of Keahi and Pu‘uloa
(Pukui 1943:59).
“At
the same time, it is clear from Manu’s description quoted above, as well as
many other references, that the plain of Kaupe‘a (and associated places of the
‘Ewa Plain) was much more than just a place of ghosts.”
It is possible
that Kaupe‘a refers to the ‘Ewa Plain as a whole. This is suggested in
a comparison of the repetition of place names and related features (primarily
vegetation and springs) in the Pele and Hi‘iaka traditions, as well as in the
chant for Kûali‘i (Kapa‘ahulani, in Fornander 1916:390; 1919:458). The
following section from the tradition of Makanikeoe (Manu 1895, May 10, in Maly
Appendix B) provides a substantial associative context for Kaupe‘a and the ‘Ewa
Plain being synonymous:
Makanikeoe then
departed from this place, turning to the plain of Puuloa. He passed many pits
in this place where the bones of men have been left. He
then followed the trail to the breadfruit tree, Leiwalu, at Honouliuli. This is
the breadfruit tree of the expert sailor, Kahai, so told in his story:
There
are also many pits in which were planted sugarcane and bananas, and planting
mounds. He also saw manu oo (honey creepers) sipping the nectar of noni
blossoms. There were also two ducks that had gone into a pit, and with a great
strength, they were trying to push a stone over, to hide the pit. This
Makanikeoe knew what the ducks were trying to do. They wanted to hide a spring
of water which flowed underground there. It is this spring which in calm times
could be heard, but not found by the people who passed through this area.
Parker and King (1990:9; emphasis added) elaborate on this by noting: Thus a property may be defined as a ‘site’ as long as it was the location of a significant event or activity, regardless of whether the event or activity left any evidence of its occurrence. A culturally significant natural landscape may be classified as a site, as may the specific location where significant traditional events, activities, or cultural observances have taken place…A concentration, linkage, or continuity of such sites or objects, or of structures comprising a culturally significant entity, may be classified as a district.
I.3.4.2.1. Place as
Tangible Property
To qualify for the NRHP, a property
must be a “tangible property—that is, a district, site, building, structure, or
object” (Parker and King 1990:9). However, a tangible property does not have to
be a constructed one, under the NR definition of “site” (from NR Bulletin 16,
quoted in Parker and King 1990:9): …the location of a significant event, a prehistoric or historic
occupation or activity, or a building or structure, whether standing, ruined,
or vanished, where the location itself possesses historic, cultural, or
archaeological value regardless of the value of any existing structure.
Parker
and King (1990:9; emphasis added) elaborate on this by noting: Thus a property
may be defined as a ‘site’ as long as it was the location of a significant
event or activity,
regardless
of whether the event or activity left any evidence of its occurrence. A
culturally significant natural landscape may be classified as a site, as may
the specific location where significant traditional events, activities, or
cultural observances have taken place…A concentration, linkage, or continuity of such sites or
objects, or of structures comprising a culturally significant entity, may be
classified as a district.
Rail Lawsuit Requires
Identification Of All Traditional Cultural Properties
