Kalauhaʻihaʻi Loko Iʻa
A look into the past - envisioning for the future
Moʻolelo: The Origin Story
Nested between 5839 and 5841 Kalaniana'ole Highway is Kalauha'iha'i loko i'a, or also known as Lucas Spring. The loko sits within the ʻili of Niu and on the shore of Maunalua bay.
Kalauhaʻihaʻi was once one of Oʻahu’s thriving and productive fishponds, raising awa, aholehole, mullet and other favorites. This fishpond is spring fed through a lava tube running from the upland area of Niu.
Loko Iʻa
In ancient Hawai‘i, fishponds were an integral part of the ahupua‘a. Hawaiians built enclosures in near shore waters to raise fish for their communities and families.
It is believed these were first built around the fifteenth century. Hawaiians built 488 fishponds statewide, of which only few remains today. Kalauha'iha'i is one of the remaining fishponds on O'ahu:
"1880s, Oʻahu had the most but, in terms of amount like counting the loko, because those loko were so big their acreage took up 78% of all the loko iʻa across the whole Pae ʻĀina." - Kamalei Marrote Student Volunteer
Kamehameha I
King Kamehameha I and Queen Kaʻahumanu maintained a summer residence in Niu.
In 1848, when King Kamehameha III pronounced the Great Māhele, or land distribution, Hawaiian fishponds were claimed by Konohiki or tenants.
Alexander Adams who had been the Konohiki of Niu, appointed by Kamehameha I, was granted his award through LCA 801 and LCA 802.
The Adams and Lucas ʻohana maintained the land for many generations. Tad Hara was the last caretaker and owner to live at the fishpond. He lived there until the mid 1990’s.
Inoa
Kalauhaʻihaʻi means the shedding of the leaves and to “break”, referring to the break in the reef on the oceanside of this loko iʻa and the breaking of the kapu (the ancient system of laws and regulations) when Queen Kaʻahumanu renounced the ‘ai kapu system.
Historical timeline
In 1800’s, Kamehameha I and Queen Ka’ahumanu have their favorite summer resort residence at Niu Beach extending the first three lots towards Diamond Head.
In 1819, Ka’ahumanu renounces the ancient kapu system on Oʻahu at the Kalauha’iha’i Assembly here.
In 1820, Kamehameha awards the ahupua’a including the spring to Captain Adams. Captain Adams' descendents, including the family of Mary Papapaupu Lucas, the granddaughter of Captain Adams, occupied the land for several decades.
In 1989, Tad Hara registers Lucas Spring with the State Water Commission as a fishpond.
Loss of a Resource
After the Lucas ʻohana, the property was owned and stewarded by Tad Hara from the 1970s to late 1990s. He cared for the pond until the state of Hawaiʻi widened the Kalaniana’ole highway in the mid 1990's and damaged the vital lava tube that supplied artesian water to the pond. The aftermath was devastating and a heartbreak for Tad Hara and the community. One day, Mr. Hara came home to find the pond dried up and the fish and crustaceans dead.
Following a legal battle, ownership goes to the DOT. A community effort to preserve the pond resulted in a NOAA-sponsored plan and legislation to keep the property in state hands and away from public auction.
Community Initiative
Since July 2013, the Maunalua Fishpond Heritage Center has a right-of-entry to the site to provide cultural and ecological education, restoration, and ocean education activities while forging the initiative to restore the water for Kalauhaʻihaʻi.
"Before even started working we talk story. he tries to instill the importance of why we do what we do before we get into the work." - Kai Uyehara on Chris Cramer
Importance of Wai:
"The fish will return. The limu outside of the pond will return and on inside... all of the Native species will flourish because they like freshwater. It means life for that place and then on the community side, you're taking something that was a disaster story in a sense and then it's bringing something back" - Kai Hoshijo
Kuleana: Responsibility for the current generation
Today, Kalauha’iha’i rests unassumingly off the busy Kalaniana‘ole highway in Niu. As we enter through a small, hidden, gated entrance, each time, we are struck by a sense of peacefulness at the fishpond and the ocean beyond, which almost lets us forget the busy highway in the background. And yet, as we quickly learned, the highway is a part of Kalauhaʻihaʻi’s story now.
Efforts to restore wai to Kalauhaʻihaʻi are currently in place starting with the Maunalua Fishpond Heritage Center headed by Chris Cramer and community leaders. MFHC has facilitated volunteers from local school groups, researchers, and the YMCA to take care of the grounds and learn about loko iʻa. MFHC, NOAA, and DLNR engineers are currently working to fulfill the Kalauhaʻihaʻi action plan to restore the water from the ruptured lava tube into the pond.
As of now, the fresh wai that was blocked by the widening of the highway is spilling into the sewer system everyday.
photo shows blue spring water going into sewer pipes underneath the highway adjacent to the pond.
Current status of Pond
Today, the water level in the pond is lower than it should be, and the ‘auwai leading to the ocean (but a few steps away), is closed to keep the pond from drying. Yet, ducks and birds nest and find respite here and the beginnings of a native food system is also being cultivated in the area around the pond.
There is kalo, ʻuala, ʻilieʻe, ʻulei, po̅huehue, ʻuhaloa, naupaka, wiliwili, maʻo, noni, niu, and maiʻa. The beginnings of a native food system are being cared for by community, new and old. Much time is spent clearing the space of haole koa and other invasive species that compete with the intended food system.
While Kalauha'iha'i is relatively small (a full circle takes a few minutes), from these stories and plans, we cannot help but imagine the expansive richness and abundance of the fishpond and its surrounding area, of the history of the place, but also of its potential for waiwai.
Current community map and its vision. Contributed by Kai Hoshijo.
Beyond those who immediately work with and care for this place, on the peripheries of community are governmental agencies - the Department of Land and Natural Resources, Department of Aquatic Resources, Department of Transportation, local businesses, students who come to Kalauha‘iha‘i for work days and on field trips, and other members of the Maunalua Bay/Niu community.
What does Kalauha‘iha‘i mean to the community?
"This place, I think, truly is a look into the past, but also an opportunity for the future. When you look at the history of Niu and the history of Maunalua in general [...] you see the loss of the way you're managing your resources with the end of konohiki fishing system and all these governance roles that are just kind of dying in a sense... so I think kalauhaʻihaʻi represents a big hope. Of course ecologically, it's a huge benefit to have freshwater outputs into these nearshore areas and you have a fishing pond that can produce a lot of food, but I think on the social side of things and the cultural side of things, it is a regenerative space for people in that place. People can change everything" - Kai Hoshijo, Kalauha‘iha‘i Worker
Volunteers clearing invasives, namely Haole Koa 2021 and 2015
Waiwai: Back to the Future
A place does not need to be "big" to be abundant.
As wai returns to Kalauha‘iha‘i, so too will the hapawai and pipiwai, so too will the limu and ‘opae, and so too will the native fish and waterbirds.
Foods from the garden will nourish communities, who will also be rich with knowledge, with stories, and with love for place.
Abundance is sharing. Kalauha‘iha‘i will be a big sibling--sharing its story, trials, and tribulations with other urban kipuka in hopes that waiwai will spread, returning to communities across the island.
In envisioning the future of Kalauha‘iha‘i, Chris Cramer, the President of Maunalua Fishpond Heritage Center, hopes that:
Kalauha‘iha‘i can serve as a lesson on this island of how restoration and healthy ecosystems communities can exist in urban areas such as O‘ahu. Community in this case is expanded to include those who benefit in the form of learning.
Kai Uyehara saw the fishpond as a kipuka where new generation can come to reconnect with their land and history, as well as building pilina to nourish abundant future of Kalauha‘iha‘i.
“I drove past Kalauha‘iha‘i all my life and I had no idea it was there until I was a sophomore in high school. And it’s just because I thought there’s nothing really left on this side of the island.” - Kai Uyehara, YMCA Leader & Kalauha'iha'i Volunteer
“It’s important for us to understand where we come from to understand where we’re gonna go and the future is looking bright (with Kai and Chris)” - Kai Uyehara, YMCA Leader & Kalauha'iha'i Volunteer
Finally, Kai Hoshijo envisaged the future community as those who maintain reciprocal relationship with the place.
"The place is for the community--community we can trust and community that understands that key part, which is a reciprocal relationship. It's...people that really want to see it grow and be a positive thing and then they can hopefully put that onto others, and then it grows, and grows, and grows." - Kai Hoshijo, Kalauha‘iha‘i Caretaker
photo by Alex Awo of native Limu species
"[...] Waiwai, that’s abundant right there. There’s so many messages from that. Like a metaphor almost. It’s a sense of a victory for countless people that are always fighting for a culture that was taken away. and also in the traditional sense of, we have water, we have life, we have the necessity to grow our food….keep us alive. that would be in particular to Kalauha’iha’i, just more was just coming through and flourishing." - Kai Uyehara
photos from Maunalua Fishpond Heritage Center, Kai Hoshijo, and Chris Cramer
Mahalo
"It will carry these stories far from this place--
across streams and highways,
to other communities,
to other kīpuka,
And the people will hear."
(Excerpt from poem by Taylor Maruno. See the full poem here )
