Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 22, Number 8, 1 August 2005 — Caring for Kawai Nui [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]
Caring for
Kawai Nui
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Story and Photos by Derek Ferrar Behind the Windward YWCA just off the Pali Highway, the majestic stone platform of an ancient heiau rises over the flat green expanse of Kawai Nui marsh, ringed by kalo lo'i. Past a locked gate at the Kapa'a dump, another heiau sits hidden from puhlie view, its rock walls rescued by community volunteers from weeds and the treads of landfill tractors. And just off Kapa'a Quarry Road, massive pōhaku (rocks) lie surrounded by native plants where onee there was a tangle of alien vegetation. These are among the sites in the Kawai Nui area that a range of eommunity groups have been laboring to
restore in recent years. "Most Hawaiian cultural places in this area have already been destroyed by development," says retired Kamehameha Schools science teacher Dr. Chuck Burrows, who has been leading a lot of the volunteer efforts. "These are the last remnants of the Hawaiian cultural and natural history of Kailua Ahupua'a. We want to preserve them as mueh as we ean now, before they're lost. Burrows heads the group 'Ahahui Mālama I Ka Lōkahi, whieh focuses on restoration and protection of both cultural and ecological Hawaiian sites. Burrows says the group was started to help bridge the gap that has often existed between Hawaiian cultural people and environmentalists. "It's important especially that
Hawaiians heeome involved in these efforts," Burrows says. "Not only to practice our traditions, but because, as the host culture, it's important that we educate others about caring for the 'āina." The 'Ahahui is part of a partnership of organizations working to protect the marsh sites, called Ho'olaulima ia Kawai Nui. Other groups involved in the efforts include the Kailua Hawaiian Civic Club, the Kailua Historical Society, Ameron Hawai'i and others. Having grown up and lived in Kailua throughout his life, the 72-year-old Burrows has seen first-hand the damage that urbanization of the area has wrought. He wonders how long it might be before the last traces of native eonnection to the 'āina disappear. "If that
happens, we'll have lost that part of history that identifies who we are as Hawaiians, and this would heeome just like any suburb on the mainland."
Ulupō Heiau: Said to have been built by menehune, it is the largest surviving platform shrine on O'ahu.
NO Pōhaku o Hauwahine: These massive boulders have been named by volunteers after the Kawai Nui guardian mo'o, who sunbathed on similar rocks.
Pahukini Heiau: Listed on the National Register of Historic Places, this site for years was neglected and a portion of it almost collapsed due to rock quarrying in the area.
Former Kamehameha Schools science teacher Ohuek Burrows leads mueh of the preservation efforts in Kawai Nui.
Kawai Nui sites The main sites being lookeel after by the community groups ineluele: The marsh Kawai Nui, or "the big water" was not always a marsh. Originally, it was a deep bay that formed after a large portion of the Ko'olau volcano slid into the sea. By the time Polynesian settlers arrived here around 450 A.D. - one of the oldest known settlements in the islands - a sandbar had formed in what is now Kailua and closed off the mouth of the bay, forming a freshwater lagoon fed by mountain streams. The Hawaiians built a massive fishpond - at an estimated 400 acres, one of the largest in the islands - and an extensive network of taro lo'i in this fertile area. Chinese rice farms later supplanted the lo'i kalo, and by the 1920s both the rice fields and the fishpond had been abandoned. The wetland environment quickly degraded into the 850-acre marsh that exists today, with mats of foreign vegetation such as cat-tails and guinea grass floating over water up to 60 feet deep. The largest wetland in the islands, the marsh provides nesting areas for migratory birds and endangered native waterbirds. Recently, the marsh was named a "Wetland of International Importance" by the Ramsar Convention, whieh is affiliated with the United Nations. Kawai Nui restoration advocate Chuck Burrows says that "eventually,
we'd like to see the marsh designated as a state wildlife refuge and even a national refuge." But the effort has been an uphill battle, he says, due to laek of funds and bureaucratic wrangling between the county and state governments over title to portions of the marsh. A 1994 state master plan for the area calls for an interpretive center to be built at the marsh, but for now, Burrows says, "that's sitting on a desktop somewhere, not being implemented." Ulupō Ileiau Overlooking the marsh from the Castle Hospital side, Ulupō ("night of inspiration") is the biggest surviving platform heiau on O'ahu, with walls up to 30 feet tall. The heiau is said to have been built by menehune, whieh archaeologists say suggests it is probably particularly old. It is believed to have been used by the warrior chief Kūali'i in the 1600s, and by Kākuhihewa and possibly Kahekili later on. But by 1795, when Kamehameha arrived on O'ahu, the heiau had been abandoned. In 1954, the heiau heeame a territorial park, and today it is a state monument. The Kailua Hawaiian Civic Club and the lua group Ka Pā Ku'i a Holo are co-curators of the site and conduct service projects there every second Saturday of the month. 'Ahahui Mālama I Ka Lōkahi has taken the lead in restoring the ancient spring-fed lo'i kalo at the heiau's base.
Nā Pōhaku o Hauwahine Since no ancient name survives for these massive basalt boulders, formed long ago by ponded lava in the heart of the Ko'olau volcano, the volunteers who have been restoring the native dryland forest at the 12-acre site have taken to calling them after Kawai Nui's guardian mo'o, Hauwahine, who is said to have sunned herself with her companions on just such rocks. The remnants of rock walls at the stones' base is testament to the Hawaiian ancestors' use of the area. Situated on state conservation land, the site had been overgrown by a tangle of koa haole, guinea grass and other alien invaders. Today, volunteers are restoring the forest into an outpost of loulu, wiliwili, ohai, pili grass and other dryland natives. Burrows emphasizes, however, that this is not meant to be a botanical garden. "Hopefully, we ean get it to a point where it's self-sustaining," he says. If the 1994 master plan for Kawai Nui is ever implemented, Burrows says, the Nā Pōhaku site is supposed to heeome a state park. Pahukini Ileiau One of several heiau in the area said to have been built by the wealthy chief 'Olopana, Pahukini is today located on city land past a locked gate at the Kapa'a dump, with access possible by advance arrangement only. For many years, Pahukini was badly neglected. Rock quarrying in the in
1950s left the heiau site perched atop a 200-foot cliff, nearly causing one side of the structure to collapse. The cliff was later filled in with landfill from the dump. Although it was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1972, the site continued to be abused into the 1980s, with, as one volunteer says, "bulldozers going up and down all over the plaee, grading the landfill all around." Finally, in the late 1980s, volunteers began to clear the site, and it was rededicated in 1988. For their efforts, the community groups received a National Preservation Honor Award. Today, the Kailua Hawaiian Civic Club and the Ameron quarry company serve jointly as curators of the site under an agreement with the city. Holomakani Ileiau Onee believed to have been destroyed, Holomakani ("running wind") Heiau was rediscovered in 1987. Located on more than 300 acres of private land ma uka of Kapa'a Quarry Road, the heiau has lately been damaged by offroad vehicle traffic, leading the Kawai Nui groups to post notices alerting the publie of the sacred site. When the land eame up for sale recently, Burrows had hoped to raise money to purchase it as a cultural preserve and watershed for Kawai Nui, but it was sold first to a private investment buyer. So far, Burrows says, the new owner has been cooperative with the conservation groups' efforts.