Farming the Land, Fishing the Sea

Farming the Land, Fishing the Sea. Lapakahi State Historical Park. , The ahupua'a is a traditional land division that runs mauka from the mountains to makai (seaward). The ahupua'a of Lapakahi encompasses more than 2,000 acres along the leeward slopes of the Kohala Mountains. The distance from the upland forests down to the shoreline is about 4 miles. , The makai or coastal area around Koai'e Cove was initially settled around A.D. 1300. By A.D. 1500, people had moved upland to the kula zone and were cultivating crops in the extensive Kohala fieldsystem. The staple crops of 'uala (sweet potato) and drylands kale (taro) were grown on the slopes in planting areas defined by earthen berms and low rock walls. The population of maka'āinana (farmers and fishers) in the ahupua'a of Lapakahi grew to several hundred at the time of Western Contact in the late 1700s. , Many families lived around Koai'e Coave where they built pole frame houses with thatched roofs of pili grass atop stacked rock walls. The complex of rock walls along the coast are what remains of this former settlement that flourished at Koai'e. They gathered shellfish and limu (seaweed) from the nearshore wars and fished offshore in their canoes using both 'upena (nets) and makau (fishhooks of shell and bone). , Many 'ohana (families) move mauka during the rainy winter season as this was the time for planting and agricultural activity was at its peak. A network of trails running mauka-makai was used to tend to the fields and exchange the resources of the 'āina (land) and kai (sea). , Where's the Water? . , The leeward coast of the island lacks permanent surface water because the rain falls upslope and is rapidly absorbed by the porous volcanic soils. At Lapakahi, wells were dug near the coast to locate the freshwater lenses atop the salt water. This water is vital for drinking, gardens, and food preparation. The lowering the water table in the late 1800s may be one reason the people left Lapakahi around 1920.