1. Lesson 3: Ancient Hawaiian Land Divisions Moku & Ahupua’a

2. Moku Ko‘olau Loa Ko‘olau Poko Kona ‘Ewa Wai‘anae Waialua
Ancient Hawaiians didn’t own land, but instead land was managed using a system of land divisions. Each island was divided up into several large sections called moku.
Oahu is separated into 6 moku…in which moku do you live?
Ko‘olau Loa
Ko‘olau Poko
Kona
‘Ewa
Wai‘anae
Waialua
Now inside of each of these moku…land was further divided into smaller sections called ahupua’a.

3. Ahupua‘a
Ahupua‘a boundaries were were usually set by high ridges and ran from mauka (mountains) to makai (ocean). In many cases, ahupua‘a boundaries follow watershed boundaries, but not always. Remember, ahupua‘a were land divisions created by people and often determined by the resources available and the communities’ needs.

4. Ahu (heap/pile) + pua‘a (pig) = pig altar
The name ahupua‘a means pig altar. The altar was made of stone and a pig’s head carved of wood was placed on top of the stones…hence, the name ahupua‘a means pig altar. These altars marked the boundaries of each ahupua‘a and were also a place to bring offerings to ali‘i (chiefs or royalty) once a year.
Today, ahupua‘a on O‘ahu are marked by these road signs…have you seen these?

5. Ahupua‘a: Mauka to Makai
UKA: Mountains
KULA: Open Land
KAI: Ocean
The ahupua‘a ran from the mountains (mauka) to the ocean (makai). This means they had areas of forests in the steep slopes of the high mountains called Uka Section, open land has some forests and areas to grow food called the Kula, down to the coastal areas where the fish ponds were located…the Kai.
Each section had a special purpose and all sections were connected to each other, providing Hawaiians what they needed to live…such as building materials, plants to make clothes and medicine, water and space to grow food.

6. Uka: Upper forests
Photo:
Photo:
Painting by Stephen Jorgensen
The uka section of the ahupua'a is where the water is collected. Rain and water from clouds is collected and stored like a sponge by all the plants in the forest.
Most Hawaiians lived in the kula section below, but would go the uka section to harvest trees to make their hale (houses), canoes (wa‘a), and collect fruits and plants parts for food and medicine.
Streams in the uka carry the water down the mountain to the Kula section, where is used for drinking and growing food.

7. Kula: open land
The majority of Hawaiians lived in the kula section of the ahupua‘a and this is where they grew their crops and had their temples (Heiau) to pray and have ceremonies. The water (wai) that came from the upper forests fed into their loi (kalo patches) and also provided water for other crops like bananas, coconuts, breadfruit and sweet potatoes.
The water that flows down from the forests of the mountains (uka) into the kula section doesn’t stop here…it continues to flow through the streams and lois, down into the kai section and into the ocean.

8. Kai: Ocean
The kai section provided Hawaiian with their prime source of protein…fish. As the water flows through the ahupua'a, it picks up nutrients that feed other kinds of algae and tiny animals that fish eat. This water finally reaches the ocean and dumps into fish ponds.
Fish ponds were built at the edge of the land. They were stone walls with gates in them. The gates allowed water in, but would keep the fish from getting out. The fish in the ponds eat the algae those small animals that are feeding on the nutrient rich water from the kula section. When the fish are big enough, they are then taken out and eaten.
Fishponds could be huge (like the one upper left) or they could be smaller, like the one on bottom right. The size of the fish pond depended on the size and resources of the ahupua'a.

9. Ahupua‘a: Mauka to Makai
UKA: Mountains
Kula: Open Land
You can leave this slide up while student fill out the activity sheet.
KAI: Ocean