Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 2, Number 9, 1 September 1985 — Koolauloa Restorations Bared [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

Koolauloa Restorations Bared

By Maleolm Naea Chun Cultural Specialist

The recent decision by the State to open up further acreage at a beach front in Haleiwa has brought about the restoration of a unique Hawaiian site known as Pohaku Lanai. This project is being "adopted" by the Waialua Hawaiian Civic Club under the supervision of Rudy Mitchell. Pohaku Lanai is a large mushroom shaped pieee of lime-

stone whieh seems to be balanced upon a pedestal of limestone coral. It has been said that this large stone had floated from Kahiki and was used as a temple for Kane to whom kings and chiefs worshipped at . . . on questions of peaee and war, and to pray that in battle their bodies might be rendered invulnerable to the spears of their enemies. The stone was also used by fishermen as a kilo, a watch tower, for fishing. When the person on watch sighted a school of fish, the stone was hit with a wooden club and sounded like a bell to announee the news to the fishermen waiting in their canoes. When the restoration is completed, this site will probably look like it did in 1933 when it was the only bump in sight to disturb the dead level plain of the gardens and their neh brown soil. Within the district of Koolauloa, another restoration project is underway at Waimea Falls Park. This is the restoration of two loi or taro patches, said to have belonged to the Kahuna nui or High Priest Hewahewa. It is an interesting sight as the auwai, whieh diverts fresh water along a 100-foot path, was constructed to bypass the brackish water found closer to the taro patches. It is hoped the project will be completed by the end of the year and the patches will be planted with taro like Pi'iali'i. The discovery and restoration of the taro patches eontinues the Park's plans to preserve the historical sites found in the valley. Mitchell, who is the park's archaeologist, is responsible for this project. For Mitchell, this is just one of the steps in piecing together the history of Hewahewa, the high priest of Kamehameha. Mitchell hopes to have a book detailing the life of Hewahewa and his family published sometime this year.

"Pohaku Lanai" is revealed after the surrounding area of haole koa was cleared by the Waialua Hawaiian Civic Club. The next step is to remove the banyan tree growth on the stone formation.

Hawaiian archaeologist Rudy Mitchell points to the old 'auwai he discovered at Waimea Valley, Oahu, whieh was used by the High Priest Hewahewa to divert water to two lo'i (taro patches).