Communication No. 2021-08- Simmy McMichael Testimony

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USDI/NPS NRHP Registration Form H61ualoa 4 Archaeological District NPS Form 10-900-a (8-86) United States Department of the Interior National Park Service NATIONAL REGISTER OF HISTORIC PLACES CONTINUATION SHEET Section 7 Page 4 H61ualoa 4 Archaeological District name of property OMB No. 1024-0018 Hawai'i County. HI county and state Page 9 being on an elevation above Keolonahihi in H6lualoa (I'i 1959: 159). The rule of both of these ah'i wahine is thought to have been nominal in secular affairs with their political and economic powers being limited to Kona. However, their religious obligations encompassed the entirety of Hawai'i Island. Both chiefesses were of the pi'o (highest) rank which carried the kapu moe (prostrating kapu). This status allowed them to be honored through human sacrifice and Keakealaniwahine is the only woman known to have conducted ceremonies associated with a luakini heiau, with the exception of the rituals involving the eating by the male priests and chiefs. Keakealaniwahine is the traditional figure most strongly associated with chiefly residential land in H61ualoa and "there was no other chiefess her equal" (I'i 1959). Keakealaniwahine was a direct descendant of Pili Ka'aiea. Keakamahana is the first named ah'i known to have resided near Kamoa Point. Keakamahana was of the highest rank (pi'o) and was the most senior ah'i of her generation. Keakamahana married the warrior Iwikauikaua and they were the parents of Keakealaniwahine. Keakealaniwahine succeeded her mother as the highest ranking ah'i of the dynastic family. Battles between the Kona and Hilo chiefs marked her reign and resulted in her banishment to Moloka'i for several years. Besides the residence at H61ualoa, Keakealaniwahine is associated with the Heiau of Keolonahihi (Haleokekupa) where she conducted the navel -cord cutting ceremony (oki piko) for her grandson. It appears that the major changes to the chiefly residence during the reign of Keakamahana and Keakealaniwahine took place in the mauka portion of the residence now referred to as the Keakealaniwahine Complex. Sites specifically associated with Keakealaniwahine include Haleokekupa Heiau and Pakiha, her residential enclosure (Map 6). Kamehameha I. John Papa I'i recorded that Kamehameha lived with his mother Kekuiapoiwa II and his guardians, Keaka and Luluka, at Pu'u in H6lualoa during the rule of Kalaniopu'u. At H6lualoa, Kamehameha learned to excel in board and canoe surfing. Later, Kalaniopu'u took Kamehameha to Ka'u and there is no evidence that Kamehameha maintained a residence at H61ualoa during his reign. Instead, Kamehameha used Keolonahihi for religious purposes. Ellis credits Kamehameha with the construction of 2 heiau at Keolonahihi, Hale o Kaili and the heiau adjacent to the pond at Kamoa Point (Map 7). Ellis states the the pond was used exclusively by Kamehameha for bathing and the war god Kukailimoku was kept at Hale o Kaili. Ellis names the heiau at the pond as Kanekaheilani, but after evaluating all the historical documents, the name Haleokekupua appears to be the correct name for this site. Historic Land Use (circa 1800 to Present) Keolonahihi was abandoned as a chiefly residence after Kamehameha's reign. In the Great Mahele of 1848, H6lualoa 4 was awarded to a woman named Lo'e. The land had come to her through her husband Ka'iama who had received the land prior to his death in 1842 from the king. Lo'e died in 1898 and the lands were passed to her children. The native testimonies indicate that there were 8 houselots on the mauka side of the beach road in H61ualoa 4. Other activities included the cultivation of selected trees, including lo'ulu, kou, hala, and coconut. Taro, bananas, and breadfruit were being grown in the uplands with sweet potato the dominant crop in the lowlands. In 1884, Queen Kapiolani purchased 2/3 interest in the property of Lo'e while a descendant of Lo'e, Moi Kalani, retained the other 1/3. It is Mo'i's house that appears in the 1890s photograph of Kamoa Point (Photo I). Along with the house, Mo'i constructed a pumphouse and water tank within a large walled enclosure (Map 8).