Ahupuaʻa ( pronounced [əhupuˈwɐʔə] ) is a Hawaiian term for a large traditional socioeconomic, geologic, and climatic subdivision of land (comparable to the tapere in the Southern Cook Islands ). It usually extends from the mountains to the sea and generally includes one or more complete watersheds and marine resources. The predominant traditional system in the eight high islands of the main Hawaiian Islands was based on the ahupuaʻa. Each ahupua‘a contained a cross section of island resources and they were managed within a complex social system associated with each area. The general belief is that each ahupua‘a met the needs of the local population, with excess for tribute and trade.
20-569: The traditional subdivision system has four hierarchical levels: Some oral history relates that ʻUmi-a-Līloa , son of the great High Chief Līloa , took control of the land and divided it into ahupuaʻa. However, there is also a general belief that the natural organization of communities along stream systems is the foundation for the system, whose community governance system of Kānāwai is often attributed specifically to shared water usage. The Hawaiians maintained an agricultural system that contained two major classes: irrigated and rain-fed systems. In
40-609: Is bordered to the southwest by Kurtistown . Hilo is 8 miles (13 km) to the north. The junction of Hawaii Route 11 (the Hawaii Belt Road) and Hawaii Route 130 (Keaau-Pahoa Road) is in the northern part of the community. According to the United States Census Bureau , the CDP has a total area of 2.6 square miles (6.7 km ), all of it land. The Board on Geographic Names officially designated
60-500: The 2020 census . The population decreased by roughly 50% from 2,253 at the time of the 2010 census . Keaau was called ‘Ōla‘a and in 1899, the Olaa Sugar Company leased about 4,000 acres of land, for growing sugarcane. Keaʻau is on the east side of the island of Hawaiʻi at 19°37′16″N 155°2′30″W / 19.62111°N 155.04167°W / 19.62111; -155.04167 (19.621072, -155.041706). It
80-452: The aliʻi classes) originated with Līloa. During the reign of King Kalākaua Līloa's kāʻei , or royal sash, became part of the regalia associated with the crown jewels : the possession of this sash lent legitimacy to the elected King, by way of association with the ancestor's military prowess and divine power. "Kalākaua valued the sash as a symbol of his inherited kapu status and the legitimacy of his royal accession. The feather cordon
100-403: The mala from the sun. Each crop was carefully placed in an area that was most suitable to its needs. Hawaiians raised dogs, chickens, and pigs that were domesticated. They also made use of personal gardens at their own houses. Water was a very important part of Hawaiian life; it was used not only for fishing, bathing, drinking, and gardening, but also for aquaculture systems in the rivers and at
120-640: The ʻEwa aliʻi lines of Oahu . Liloa's father ruled Hawaii as aliʻi nui and upon his death left the rule of the island to Līloa. Kiha had four other sons, brothers to Līloa. Their names were Kaunuamoa, Makaoku, Kepailiula, and (by Kiha's second wife Hina-opio ) Hoolana. Hoolana's descendants were the Kaiakea family of Molokai, from whom Abraham Fornander 's wife Pinao Alanakapu was descended. Līloa had two sons: his firstborn, Hākau , from his wife Pinea (his mother's sister); and his second son, ʻUmi-a-Līloa , from his lesser-ranking wife, Akahi-a-Kuleana. Līloa
140-477: The 701 households, 28.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them. The average household size was 3.21. In the Keaʻau CDP the population was spread out, with 23.7% under the age of 18, 9.5% from 18 to 24, 9.6% from 25 to 34, 19.6 from 35 to 49, 20.4% from 50 to 64, and 17.2% 65 or older. For every 100 females, there were 99.6 males. For every 100 males there were 100.4 females. The median household income
160-487: The ahupuaʻa names, with each maintaining their local flavors. Liloa Līloa was a ruler of the island of Hawaii in the late 15th century. He kept his royal compound in Waipi'o Valley . Līloa was the firstborn son of Kiha-nui-lulu-moku, one of the noho aliʻi (ruling elite). He descended from Hāna-laʻa-nui. Līloa's mother Waioloa (or Waoilea ), his grandmother Neʻula, and his great-grandmother Laʻa-kapu were of
180-545: The ahupuaʻa of Keaʻau , near Hilo, was purchased as a single unit by the William Herbert Shipman family to farm and raise cattle. Most of the land, however, was eventually sold off to become the large subdivisions of Puna . The line between the large northern lots (sold by the state as 30-50 acre farms) and 1-3 acre southern lots in the vicinity of Kurtistown, Mountain View, and Glenwood is the boundary between
200-521: The high chief personally. Following the Great Mahele in 1848, most ahupuaʻa were split up. Manukā , Puʻu Waʻawaʻa , and Puʻu Anahulu on the island of Hawaiʻi are among the few large ahupuaʻa that remained nearly intact under single ownership (with the exception of some kuleana lots) because they were crown lands owned personally by the monarch. In spite of this, the impact of the ahupuaʻa boundaries can be seen in many areas today. For example,
220-464: The irrigated systems, the Hawaiians grew mostly taro (kalo), and in the rain-fed systems, they grew mostly ʻuala (sweet potatoes), yams, and dryland taro in addition to other small crops. This dry-land cultivation was also known as the mala . It also consisted of (kalo) taro, (niu) coconuts, (ʻulu) breadfruit, (maiʻa) bananas, and (kō) sugar cane. The kukui tree was sometimes used as a shade to protect
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#1732787408701240-408: The native Hawaiians used the resources within their ahupuaʻa, they practiced aloha (respect), laulima (cooperation), and mālama (stewardship) which resulted in a desirable pono (balance).” The Hawaiians believed that the land, the sea, the clouds and all of nature had a certain interconnectedness, which is why they used all of the resources around them to reach the desired balance in life. Sustainability
260-577: The populated place as Keaʻau in 2003. At the 2010 census there were 2,253 people in 701 households residing in the CDP. The population density was 901.2 inhabitants per square mile (348.0/km ). There were 757 housing units at an average density of 302.8 per square mile (116.9/km ). The racial makeup of the CDP was 12.38% White, 0.22% African American, 0.18% American Indian & Alaska Native , 52.02% Asian, 7.50% Native Hawaiian & Pacific Islander , 0.44% from other races, and 27.25% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 8.74%. Of
280-401: The shore's edge. The ahupuaʻa consisted most frequently of a slice of an island that went from the top of the local mountain (volcano) to the shore, often following the boundary of a stream drainage. Each ahupuaʻa included a lowland mala (cultivated area) and upland forested region. Ahupuaʻa varied in size depending on the economic means of the location and political divisions of the area. “As
300-492: The ʻŌlaʻa and Keaʻau ahupuaʻa. This boundary follows the edge of the 200- to 400-year-old ʻAilaʻau lava flow , and the ahupuaʻa of Keaʻau was undoubtedly originally created from the land devastated by this flow. Many local towns in Hawaiʻi still maintain the names of the old ahupuaʻa. In West Maui, the towns (north to south) Honokōhau , Honolua , Kapalua , Nāpili , Kahana, Honokawai , Kaʻanapali , Lahaina , and Olowalu follow
320-692: Was a rightful possession of the reigning king of Hawai‘i even in the late nineteenth century." Today, Līloa's kāʻei is one of the Hawaiian crown jewels in the collection of the Bishop Museum in Honolulu. Keaau Keaʻau (also written as Keaau ) is a census-designated place (CDP) in Hawaiʻi County , Hawaii . located in the District of Puna . The population was 1,195 at the time of
340-431: Was divided into smaller sections called ʻili, and the ʻili were divided into kuleana. These were plots of land that were cultivated by the common people. These people paid weekly labor taxes to the land overseer. These taxes went to support the chief. There may have been two reasons for this kind of subdivision: Each ahupuaʻa was ruled by an aliʻi or local chief and administered by a konohiki . Rule over an ahupuaʻa
360-652: Was given out by the ruling chief to subordinate members of the aliʻi . On the larger mountains of Maui and Hawaiʻi , smaller ahupuaʻa extended up to about 6,000 to 8,000 feet in elevation, while the higher elevations of an entire district would be included within a single, large ahupuaʻa. These ahupuaʻa, such as Kaʻohe, Keauhou, Kapāpala, Keaʻau, Keʻanae, Puʻu Waʻawaʻa, and Humuʻula, were highly valued both for their size and because they allowed control over items obtainable only from high-elevation areas, such as high-quality stone for tools and ʻuaʻu ( Hawaiian petrel ) chicks. They were given to high-ranking aliʻi, or often retained by
380-406: Was maintained by the konohiki and kahuna—priests, who restricted the fishing of certain species during specific seasons. They also regulated the gathering of plants. Ahupuaʻa is derived from Hawaiian language ahu , meaning “heap” or “cairn,” and puaʻa , pig . The boundary markers for ahupuaʻa were traditionally heaps of stones used to put offers, often a pig, to the island chief. Each ahupuaʻa
400-482: Was the common progenitor of royal dynasties from whom many of the pre- and post-unification ruling ali'i derived their genealogy and mana : all of the kings and queens of the Kingdom of Hawaii could point to him as their ancestor and source of paramountcy. Hawaiian activist Kanalu G. Terry Young has claimed that the practice of moe aikāne (a type of sexual relationship, frequently homosexual, between members of
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