Ahupuaʻa

Ahupuaʻa (pronounced [əhupuˈwɐʔə]) is a Hawaiian term for a large traditional socioeconomic, geologic, and climatic subdivision of land (comparable to the tapere in the Southern Cook Islands) and kousapw on Pohnpei in.

The traditional subdivision system has four hierarchical levels: Some oral history relates that ʻUmi-a-Līloa, son of the great High Chief Līloa, took control of the land and divided it into ahupuaʻa.

It also consisted of (kalo) taro, (niu) coconuts, (ʻulu) breadfruit, (maiʻa) bananas, and (kō) sugar cane.

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.

[3] 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.

These ahupuaʻa, such as Kaʻohe, Keauhou, Kapāpala, Keaʻau, Keʻanae, Puʻu Waʻawaʻa, and Humuʻula, were highly valued both for their size and because they allowed control over items obtainable only from high-elevation areas, such as high-quality stone for tools and ʻuaʻu (Hawaiian petrel) chicks.

For example, the ahupuaʻa of Keaʻau, near Hilo, was purchased as a single unit by the William Herbert Shipman family to farm and raise cattle.

In West Maui, the towns (north to south) Honokōhau, Honolua, Kapalua, Nāpili, Kahana, Honokawai, Kaʻanapali, Lahaina, and Olowalu follow the ahupuaʻa names,[dubious – discuss] with each maintaining their local flavors.