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Hookuaaina Rebuilding Lives From The Ground Up

Moʻolelo: Moe Kaoo I Ka Ai Lepo

“Details of Frank Pahia’s 1890 sketch map of Kawainui, showing Maunawili Stream emptying into the big pond. (Kaneohe Ranch Co.)” As cited in: de Silva, K. (2009). Ka Mākālei a Kawainui. In Kailua. (pp. 51). Kailua Historical Society.

Moe Kaoo I Ka Ai Lepo
Ka Nupepa Kuokoa, Volume XI, Number 43, 26 October 1872

Summary

This article comes from Ka Nupepa Kuokoa and was published on October 26, 1872. In it, the author, J. B. Keliikanakaole, recounts a story of Bernice Pauahi Bishop and Miriam Likelike Cleghorn as they journey from Hanakamalaelae, Heʻeia to the fishpond at Kawainui, Kailua, Oʻahu to taste the lepo ʻai ʻia (edible mud) found there. 

Sources

Inquiry Questions

  1. What do you think this lepo ʻai ʻia was? Why would it be so significant that the aliʻi Pauahi and Likelike both made the journey from Heʻeia to try it? 
  2. What does this moʻolelo tell us about the health of Kawainui and of Kailua at the time? Where are we in comparison?
  3. Do you think there is still lepo ʻai ʻia in Kawainui fishpond today? Why or why not? 
  4. What can we do to bring this lepo ʻai ʻia (and other sources of food) back so that they can be eaten by future generations?
  5. What life lessons might we learn from this moʻolelo? How might it connect with our ʻōlelo noʻeau?

Vocabulary

  • Lepo ʻai ʻia: Edible mud found in the fishpond of Kawainui in Kailua, Koʻolaupoko
  • Lepo: Mud, dirt, soil, earth
  • ʻAi: To eat; food; taro
  • Aliʻi:Royalty
  • Huakaʻi: To journey, travel
  • Pāʻina: To eat, share a meal

Inoa ʻĀina (Wind, Rain, & Place Names)

  • Hanakamalaelae: An area in the ahupuaʻa of Heʻeia where Bernice Pauahi Bishop would sometime reside
  • Heeia: An ahupuaʻa between Kāneʻohe and Kahaluʻu in the district of Koʻolaupoko, Oʻahu
  • Kaneohe: An ahupuaʻa between Kailua and Heʻeia in the district of Koʻolaupoko, Oʻahu
  • (Ka Loko o) Kawainui: Name of a fishpond in Kailua where the lepo ʻai ʻia was found, currently referred to as “Kawainui Marsh”
  • Kailua: An ahupuaʻa between Kāneʻohe and Waimānalo in the district of Koʻolaupoko, Oʻahu
Hookuaaina Rebuilding Lives From The Ground Up

Hoʻokuaʻāina is located in the ahupuaʻa of Kailua at Kapalai in Maunawili on the island of Oʻahu. Get Directions.

For more information about our programs or how you can get involved please contact us.

916E Auloa Rd.

Kailua, HI 96734

mail

P.O. Box 342146

Kailua, HI 96734

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Hookuaaina Rebuilding Lives From The Ground Up

Hoʻokuaʻāina is located in the ahupuaʻa of Kailua at Kapalai in Maunawili on the island of Oʻahu.

For more information about our programs or how you can get involved please contact us.

visit us

916E Auloa Rd.

Kailua, HI 96734

mail us

P.O. Box 342146

Kailua, HI 96734

email us

Reach Us At:

info@hookuaaina.org

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Hoʻokuaʻāina is a 501c3 Non-Profit Organization

© Hoʻokuaʻāina 2020 All Rights Reserved | Terms & Conditions | Privacy | Site By Created By Kaui

Hoʻokuaʻāina is a 501c3 Non-Profit Organization

© Hoʻokuaʻāina 2020 All Rights Reserved | Terms & Conditions | Privacy | Site By Created By Kaui

Hoʻokuaʻāina is a 501c3 Non-Profit Organization

© Hoʻokuaʻāina 2020 All Rights Reserved | Terms & Conditions | Privacy

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