The question of how to rebuild Lahaina stronger and better has been an important part of the conversation since the August 2023 wildfires.
One goal that has emerged in the aftermath of the fires, is to restore the abundance that once characterized Lahaina. Known traditionally as Ka Malu ʻUlu o Lele (the shaded breadfruit grove of Lele), the lands of Lahaina were a study in agroforestry – resplendent with breadfruit, banana, coconut, and kalo.
Because of this abundance, for generations Lahaina was the preferred seat of power for Maui’s ruling chiefs. When foreigners saw Lahaina, they were amazed at the ingenuity of its agricultural systems. Lahaina earned the nickname “Venice of the Pacific” no doubt because of its wetlands and waterways.
Eventually, this verdant land of abundance was a victim of sugarcane plantations – its forests denuded to make way for acres of sugarcane, and its waters diverted to water this thirstiest of crops so as to feed the sugar habits of the west.
The healing of culturally relevant spaces is part of the long-term plan for Lahaina’s recovery. Two of these spaces are Loko o Mokuhinia and Mokuʻula.
“The opportunity to restore culturally relevant spaces [in Lahaina] and heal these lands in an appropriate culturally mindful way is our biggest focus,” said Kaponoʻai Molitau, director of Maui County’s Department of ʻŌiwi Resources.
The Department of ʻŌiwi Resources has been tasked as the project lead for the creation of a “cultural corridor” that includes restoration of Loko o Mokuhinia, Mokuʻula, and Malu ʻUlu o Lele.
“We have an opportunity to now focus our intentions on ʻāina, wai, and kai and letting our lands heal, our waters replenish, and restoring these lands properly,” Molitau said.
Loko o Mokuhinia was a 17-acre fishpond renowned in Maui Komohana as the home of Kihawahine, an akua moʻo aliʻi wahine, who is said to have dwelled beneath the waters of the pond in a cave called Ka Lua o Kiha.
Mokuʻula was a 1-acre island within the fishpond of Mokuhinia. It was the site of King Piʻilani’s residence during the 16th century, and when the capital of the Kingdom of Hawaiʻi moved from Kailua-Kona to Lahaina in 1820, it was on Mokuʻula that King Kamehameha III (Kauikeaouli) built a royal compound where he lived from 1837 to 1845 until the capital was moved to Honolulu.
“Lahaina’s rich aliʻi culture is filled with amazing historical accounts, mele, oli, and moʻokūʻauhau that are part of the very fabric that binds our Kānaka ʻŌiwi to these ancestral lands,” said Molitau.
“E hoʻi ka nani i Mokuʻula” (let beauty return to Mokuʻula) is a line from He Inoa no Manoanoa, an oli that details the moʻokūʻauhau of Kānaka to these wahi kapu (sacred spaces).
This phrase has been adopted by the community as a rallying cry to raise awareness about efforts to restore Mokuhinia and Mokuʻula. This prophetic kāhea for beauty to return to Mokuʻula was written by P.H. Kekuaiwa and published in Ka Nupepa Kuokoa on June 14, 1862.
Today, Mokuhinia and Mokuʻula are not visible. In 1914, the fishpond and island were filled-in with about 3 feet of coral and soil to make way for Malu Ulu o Lele Park.
ʻĀina restoration efforts for Mokuhinia and Mokuʻula will begin with the development of a long-term royal complex masterplan for Lahaina.
“The Lahaina Royal Complex or ʻCultural Corridor,’ will [extend from the] Hauola Stone to Mokuʻula-Mokuhinia. This includes lands that were part of Kamehameha III Kauikeaouli’s royal compound, Pākalā, Kamehameha Iki, Mokuʻula, and Mokuhinia. We also see the natural elements [of the land] coming back – the water springs of Nalehu next to Kamehameha Iki. These were, and are, all part of the Royal Complex area that should be part of this discussion.”
In addition to restoring, honoring and protecting these culturally significant sites, their restoration will create a vibrant cultural space that not only preserves Hawaiian history and supports community healing, but helps to restore Lahaina’s natural wetland coastal ecosystem.
More broadly, plans to plant ʻulu trees throughout Lahaina will help to reduce heat and provide a sustainable food source for future generations. Wetland and habitat restoration, in an era of climate change and rising temperatures, will support both fire and flood mitigation, increase groundwater recharge and create a buffer between the ocean and the town to mitigate the hazards of sea level rise.
Ultimately, restoration of Mokuhinia and Mokuʻula will require collaboration and communication between the community and government agencies across county, state and federal levels, years of hard work, and strong, ongoing funding support.
With restoration still in the early planning phase, the use of ʻike kūpuna found in the oli, mele and moʻolelo of Lahaina will be tapped as roadmaps to guide the planning process. Molitau notes that the priority is to align with what the kupa ʻāina (natives) of Lahaina believe is right for the ʻāina.
“We have one shot at doing this correctly,” said Molitau. “And we know that many of the voices of wisdom will come from the kupa ʻāina o Lahaina.”
For more information, visit: mauirecovers.org/recover/creation-of-a-cultural-corridor-and-the-restoration-of-malu-ulu-o-lele-mokuula-and-the-loko-o-mokuhinia
