Island of Moloka'i

Island of Moloka‘i Nicknames Friendly Isle; Hawaiian by Nature Kaunakakai (translates to “beach Capital City landing”) Population 7,500

Square Miles 260 Resort Areas Maunaloa, Kaunakakai Visitors Bureau www.molokai‐hawaii.com Flower/Plant kukui Mountain Kamakou Ali'i Kamehameha ‘Ai Lū‘au Color ‘ōma‘oma‘o (green)

‘O Moloka‘i nui a Hina, lei ana i ke kukui Great Moloka‘i child of the goddess Hina, wearing a lei of kukui MOLOKA‘I

Moloka‘i was home to some 60 rock‐wall fishponds along its south shore 700‐800 years ago. These fishponds highlight the ingenuity and sophistication of Native Hawaiian aquaculture. An example of this is found east of Kaunakakai at the Ali‘i Fishpond. It was also here that many of the early traditions of hula were first developed at Kā‘ana near the present day town of Maunaloa. Today, Moloka‘i remains an island deeply rooted in the tradition of the Hawaiian ‘ohana (family). ‘Ohana who live here continue to perpetuate some of Hawai‘i’s oldest traditions of hunting and gathering for family and community lū‘au (Hawaiian feasts). North Coast, Moloka‘i

Sites of Interest

Hālawa Valley Hālawa, known throughout Moloka‘i for its lushness, is where much of the kalo (taro) of the island was once grown. Hālawa is also the site of some of the most ancient settlements discovered by archeologists on the islands.

Vacation Spot for a King King Kamehameha V built a vacation home in the quiet town of Kaunakakai and planted the Kapuāiwa Coconut Grove in the 1860s. One Ali‘i Beach Park was once a favorite place for Hawaiian royalty.

Kalaupapa National Historic Park The peaceful peninsula along Moloka‘i’s rugged north coast was once a place where victims of Hansen’s disease (formerly known as leprosy) were forced into isolation from 1866 to 1969. Saint Damien’s selfless devotion to the people of Kalaupapa is legendary, and in October of 2009, he was officially declared a saint by the Pope at a ceremony in Rome.

Below is a mele (song) written for Moloka‘i.

MOLOKA‘I NUI A HINA A SONG FOR Great Moloka‘i, Child of Hina MOLOKA‘I

Ua nani nā Hono a Pi‘ilani The Hono‐named bays of Pi‘ilani are This well‐known song is often I ke kū kilakila i ka ‘ōpua beautiful, standing so majestically in the sung by Moloka‘i people at ‘O ku‘u pua kukui, aia i Lanikāula clouds (above Maui) parties as a means of expressing ‘O ka hene wai‘olu lana mālie But my kukui flower is at Lanikāula grove their pride in their home or On a soft hill that seems to float so gently ancestral island.

In Hawaiian tradition, once HUI CHORUS people from one island sing a Ua like nō a like lā So similar song about their home, the Me ku‘u one hānau To my home island other islands are called upon to With the renown height of its peaks Ke po‘okela i ka piko o nā kuahiwi sing a song representing their Me Moloka‘i Nui A Hina Is Moloka‘i Nui A Hina own homes. ‘Āina i ka wehiwehi Land filled with lush verdure E ho‘i nō au e pili I shall return to be close to it The melody was borrowed from ‘Ae, ‘ae, ‘ae! Yes, yes, yes! "Tenting Tonight,” an American E ka makani ē O breeze Civil war song taught in island E pā nei me ke aheahe That blows so gently schools at that time. ‘Auhea ku‘u pua kalaunu? Where is my crown flower? Hina was the mythical mother of Moloka‘i. The Hono‐bays of Ki‘eki‘e Hālawa i ke alo o nā pali Hālawa rises lofty amid the cliffs Pi‘ilani refers to Maui, visible ‘O ka heke nō ia i ka‘u ‘ike It is the finest land among those from the shores of Moloka‘i. Lupalupa lau lipo i ke oho o ka palai I have seen Lanikāula is a kukui grove of the Ma ku‘u poli mai ‘oe e ho‘oheno nei Lushly dark green with fronds of ferns famous prophet of that name You are held and cherished in my heart and Hālawa is a valley. Both are in east Moloka‘i.

The four references to height, common in Hawaiian symbolic language, are used by the author to praise the overall attributes of the island.