| Keeping Maui's History Alive |
Iao Stream is the largest of the major streams reaching the ocean which originate in the West Maui mountains. It forms one of the "Na Wai Eha" (the Four Waters) valleys of Maui -- the others being Waikapu, Waiehu and Waihe'e.*The valley is located in the large ahupua'a of Wailuku, and in precontact times, it was a population center and the central place of religious and political power on Maui.
In discussing the origin of the name of Iao, Sara Cole** relates a story of how Hawaii-loa, the legendary discoverer of Hawaii, embarked on his travels with eight navigators who were called bv the names of the sentinel stars used in voyaging. One of them was named Iao (the star which is Jupiter as the Morning Star). It may be that the valley was named after this navigator.
Another possible origin comes from a legend about Maui and his wife Hina, and their beautiful daughter, Iao. She was so lovely that her father allowed no one to approach her. In spite of this, she became the lover of a young warrior, Puuokamoa. When Maui discovered this, he turned the voung man into a pillar of stone as punishment for the transgressions. This stone pillar is the prominent geological feature known as Iao Needle today.***
Wailuku was the political center under Pi'ilani, a high chief who had succeeded in unifying the districts of Maui by warfare. His two sons, Lono-a-Pi'ilani and Kiha-a-pi'ilani fought for political control after his death. Eventually, with the help of warriors from the Big Island, Kiha-a-pi'ilani became the ruler of Maui.
The seventeenth and eighteenth centuries saw a protracted period of frequent warfare on Maui - between chiefs on Maui, and with chiefs from Oahu and Hawaii.
The last powerful ruler in precontact times was Kahekili, who ruled from about 1765 to 1790. Wailuku was the site of Kahalelani, his royal residence. He successfully defended his capital in a great battle in the 1770s, when an army of warriors from Hawaii led by Kalani'opu'u invaded. Kahekili's warriors hid behind the sand dunes, surprised the invaders and slaughtered them.^
The battle fought between the forces of Kahekili and those of Kamehameha I, which took place in 1790, is one of the most famous events in the history of Maui. Kamehameha came from the Big Island with his huge army, in a fleet so large it was said that the bay from Kahului to Hopukoa was filled with war canoes. Kamehameha also brought along a cannon, Lopaka, and two Europeans, John Young and Issac Davis, to operate it. The forces fought for two days at Wailuku, where the Maui warriors were led by Kalanikapule, the son of the high chief Kahekili. On the third day Kamehameha brought out the cannon, and a great slaughter occurred, according to Samuel Kamakau's account.^^ Had the fighting been in the usual style of hand-to-hand combat, the forces would have been equally matched. As it was, the Maui army was forced to retreat into an ever narrowing Iao Valley. When the warriors fell under cannon fire, they desperately tried to escape by climbing up the steep face of the cliffs. The battle was subsequently called Ka'uwa'u-pali (Clawed Off the Cliff) and Ke-pani-wai (The Damming of the Waters). Most of the important chiefs escaped, however, and proceeded to take refuge on the islands of Oahu and Molokai. The name Wailuku literally means "Destructive Water" in reference to this battle.
The reign of Kamehameha was intertwined with the increasing presence of foreigners (haole). The arrival of Captain Cook offshore at Kahului Bay in 1778 began the steady flow of outside influences which forever altered the Hawaiian people and their environment. One of the these influences came with the missionaries, whose charge it was to save heathen souls. The first missionaries arrived in Wailuku in 1832, and the old religion began to wane under their influence. A girls' seminary (Central Female Boarding School) was established by Rev. Jonathan Green in 1836, where young Hawaiian women were taught the language and customs of the foreigners, as well as their religion. Today the Bailey House Museum, home of the Maui Historical Society, is located on the grounds of the school.
* Cole, Sara B., History of Iao Valley, Maui, presented
to the Division of State Parks, Department of Land & Natural Resources,
l969.
** Ibid.. pp. 4-5.
***Ibid.
^Speakman, Cuummins E., Mowee: An Informal History of
the Hawaiian Islands, Peabody Museum Press, 1978. pp. 16-17.
^^ Kamakau. Samuel M., Ruling Chiefs of Hawaii, Rev.
Ed., Kamehameha Schools Press, Honolulu, 1992. pp. 148-149.