Ahupuaʻa

Ahupuaʻa is an old Hawaiian term for a large traditional socioeconomic, geologic, and climatic subdivision of land (comparable to the tapere in the Southern Cook Islands).

The traditional subdivision system has four hierarchical levels:

Some oral history relates that 'Umi-a-Liloa, son of the great High Chief Liloa, took control of the land and divided it into ahupua'a. However, there is also a general belief that the natural organization of communities along stream systems is the foundation for the system, whose community governance system of Kānāwai is often attributed specifically to shared water usage.

The Hawaiians maintained an agricultural system that contained two major classes; irrigated and rain-fed systems. In the irrigated systems the Hawaiians grew mostly taro (kalo) and in the rain-fed systems they grew mostly uala (sweet potatoes), yams, and dryland taro in addition to other small crops. This dryland cultivation was also known as the mala. It also consisted of (Kalo) Taro, (Niu) coconuts, (ʻulu) breadfruit, (Maiʻa) bananas, and (Ko) sugar cane. The Kukui tree was sometimes used as a shade to protect the mala from the sun. Each crop was carefully placed in an area that was most suitable to its needs.

Hawaiians raised dogs, chickens, and pigs that were domesticated. They also made use of personal gardens at their own houses. Water was a very important part of Hawaiian life; it was used not only for fishing, bathing, drinking, and gardening, but also for aquaculture systems in the rivers and at the shore’s edge.

The ahupuaʻa consisted most frequently of a slice of an island that went from the top of the local mountain (volcano) to the shore, often following the boundary of a stream drainage. Each ahupuaʻa included a lowland mala (cultivated area) and upland forested region. Ahupuaʻa varied in size depending on the economic means of the location and political divisions of the area. “As the native Hawaiians used the resources within their 'ahupua'a, they practiced aloha (respect), laulima (cooperation), and malama (stewardship) which resulted in a desirable pono (balance)”. The Hawaiians believed that the land, the sea, the clouds and all of nature had a certain interconnectedness which is why they used all of the resources around them to reach the desired balance in life. Sustainability was maintained by the konohiki and kahuna: priests, who restricted the fishing of certain species during specific seasons. They also regulated the gathering of plants. Ahupuaʻa is derived from Hawaiian language ahu, meaning "heap" or "cairn", and puaʻa, pig. The boundary markers for ahupuaʻa were traditionally heaps of stones used to put offers to the island chief, which was often a pig.

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