Kauai Nui Kuapapa - Moku of Kona
In 2014, as part of Mayor Bernard Carvalho's Holo Holo 2020 vision, the Kauai Nui Kuapapa project was created. The goal of this project was to create a sense of connectedness and community among Kauai residents by empowering residents to become experts on the history, heritage, geography, and bounty of their particular place on the island.
The project identifies Kauai’s five moku (district, land division) with Niihau as the sixth moku, and (estimated) fifty-two ahupuaa (land division from mountain to the sea, a subdivision within a moku) a prominent and well-known feature of the landscape of Kaua‘i.
Understanding and appreciating of our place on the island begins with knowing the dimensions of our space and the names of topographical features that had been established centuries ago. The moku and ahupua‘a system of land management established by King Manokalanipō in the 1400s transformed the lives of Kaua‘i people by ensuring that food was always plentiful, creating a healthy and robust population, which in turn allowed innovations in engineering, land management, science, commerce, politics and culture to flourish. This was Kaua‘i’s contribution to society across the archipelago as it was the first of the Hawaiian Islands to establish such a system.
Logos for the six moku of Kauai.
The Moku of Kona is the biggest moku on the island of Kauai. Kona ranges from Polihale to Haiku (the west end of the Hā‘upu mountain range). There are 11 ahupaa in our moku, including:
Mana
Waimea
Makaweli
Hanapepe
Wahiawa
Kalaheo
Lawai
Koloa
Weli Weli
Paa
Mahaulepu
Logos for the six moku of Kauai.
From centuries ago, the west end of Kona from the area where Waimea Canyon School is located today to Polihale was the site of a coconut grove with waterways meandering between the trees. This is the Kona logo’s plant icon. The grove in the area of Kekaha was known as Kaunalewa and numerous old mele (chants, songs) boasted about the beauty of this place. People across the islands knew of this grove through these mele, even those who had never visited the area. The sugar industry removed the grove to plant sugar, and so the coconut tree in this logo is a homage to Kaunalewa. The fish is pāpio, a common and well-loved fish among Kaua‘i fishermen and locals in general. The area between Polihale Beach Park and Nōhili Point is known as Pāpiohuli. This is the spot on the island that enjoys the last rays of sunlight at the end of each day, and so this fish was chosen to highlight Kona’s position on the west end of Kaua‘i. The color association for Kona is red as the brightest red dirt of Waimea Canyon.
