As discussed in the blog post on the Boundaries of Kaupo, the district originates in Haleakala Crater at a stone called Pohaku Palahala and fans south, down the mountain to the east and west. There is a general consensus that the eastern boundary is at Kalepa, which marks the eastern limit of Kaupo and the westernmost point of Kipahulu. For the western boundary of Kaupo, however, there is debate as to where Kahikinui ends and Kaupo begins. Depending on the source, the boundary between Kahikinui and Kaupo districts is identified as one of three areas: (1) Kipapa, (2) Waiopai or (3) Pahihi Gulch, from west to east.
Let’s examine some of the sources that place each locale as the western boundary of Kaupo:
- Kipapa: In 1838, the Lahainaluna school on Maui published a map of the Islands that used color coding to delineate the districts. Kaupo is shaded in green, with red used for its western neighbor of Kahikinui. Kipapa is the first area written on the western side of Kaupo district (see image below).
- Waiopai: A 1915 map by the Hawaii Territorial Survey marks Waiopai as the “Kaihikinui-Kaupo Bdy.”
- In the book Kuaaina Kahiko, preeminent Hawaiian archaeologist Patrick Vinton Kirch writes that “contemporary sources give the western boundary of Kahikinui as Pahihi Gulch.” (Note: Kirch probably meant to write "eastern boundary", not "western boundary")
So what is one to make of all of this? The westernmost reference of Kipapa is the most dubious. Kirch says that it is possible that “the land situation was in flux in the early nineteenth century”, when the Lahainaluna map was created. However, Kipapa is nearly 5 miles from Waiopai, and there are many prominent areas between Kipapa and Waiopai that are consistently identified as part of Kahikinui. One of these areas is Manawainui Gulch. Notably, there is another Manawainui Gulch, located near Mokulau in central Kaupo. It is unlikely that there would be two gulches with the same name in one district. Both Manawainui Gulches are larger than others in the area (the name means “large water branch”), and it is probable that the name was to be used to represent the largest gulch in each of Kahikinui and Kaupo districts.
If we discard Kipapa, then Waiopai and Pahihi are left as possible locations for the Kaupo-Kahikinui boundary. Aside from maps, it is useful to examine the cultural record for the area. Author Moses Manu, in the legend of Keaomelemele, writes the following: "O Kamakilo, oia ka moo ma Kahikinui ma Maui nei, aia kona kiowai ma Waiopai e waiho nei, oia ka mokuna o ka aina nana i hookaawale ia Kahikinui a me Kaupo." (Kamakilo was a lizard at Kahikinui, Maui. It’s pond was at Waiopai, the boundary that separated Kahikinui from Kaupo.)
The excerpt above was published in Ka Nupepa Kuokoa on May 9, 1885. Moses Manu was born in 1837 in east Maui (sources differ between Kipahulu and Hana). He published many legends, and interspersed throughout these stories are references to the geography of southeast Maui that show he knew the area in intricate detail (for example, see his recounting of water springs in the legend of Laukaieie). Manu’s knowledge was likely handed down from parents and grandparents, people who would have been alive around the time Captain Cook "discovered" Hawaii.
Manu says that Waiopai is the boundary of Kahikinui and Kaupo, but in the same sentence, he notes that Kamakilo, who lived in the pond at Waiopai, was a lizard at Kahikinui. (Despite the singular wording here, Manu later reveals that Kamakilo are twins). Moreover, there are Hawaii Territorial Survey maps from 1927 and 1928 that mark Waiopai as the easternmost gulch in Kahikinui. Waiopai is not just the name of the gulch; it is also the name for the ahupuaa, or land division. If Waiopai is considered near the boundary, but part of Kahikinui, then Pahihi, less than a mile away, could reasonably be the area one first truly steps foot in Kaupo, as Kirch suggests.
Based on the evidence, it is safe to suppose that the boundary of Kaupo lies somewhere between Waiopai and Pahihi. This is a substantially narrower area (less than 1 mile apart) than if Kipapa is considered, which would leave the boundary anywhere between a 6-mile stretch. This blog regards Waiopai as the western boundary, as there are two concrete references—the 1915 Hawaii Territorial Survey map and Moses Manu’s description—that it is the separating point between Kahikinui and Kaupo.
Sources:
- Kuaaina Kahiko, by Patrick Vinton Kirch
- Keaomelemele (excerpt), by Moses Manu, published in Ka Nupepa Kuokoa on May 9, 1885.