Historic Hapa Trail

Hapa Trail is a 30-foot numbered and registered State Historic right of way owned by the County of Kaua’i. Hapa runs from Weliweli Road in Köloa Town, 1.8 miles makai to Po’ipü Road. The portion of Hapa from Po’ipü Road mauka to St. Raphael’s Church is 1.2 miles unimproved miles and the remaining 0.6 miles to Weliweli Road is paved. Hapa Road was designated a bike and pedestrian way by the County of Kaua’i in the 1960’s.
In August 2008, the Kaua’i County Council unanimously passed a resolution changing the name Hapa Road to Hapa Trail. An accompanying resolution provided funds totaling $400,000 for an Environmental Assessment and design plans. The parcel of land surrounding Hapa Trail is bordered to the west by Waikomo Stream and to the east by the ahupua’a of Weliweli. Makai, is the ocean and to the north is Weliweli Road. This land on either side of Hapa Trail, owned by the E A Knudsen Trust (hereafter EAK), is known today as Kiahuna. Parcels of this land has been cutup and sold to developers within the last few years. The EAK still retains the fee interest in a major portion of the land. 

The Kōloa Field System

The ahupua’a of Kōloa is divided into three sections, Kōloa Komo’oloa (the upland regions of the ahupua’a), Kōloa Komohana (west of Waikomo Stream to Kukui’ula) and Kōloa Hikina (east of Waikomo Stream to Weliweli).Seven hundred acres, located primarily in Kōloa Hikina, made up what archeologists refer to as the Kōloa Field System. Sections of this field system extended into Kōloa Komohana and the western portion of the ahupua’a of Weliweli. The Kōloa Field System sits on a large pahoehoe plain of basaltic lava (smooth undulating masses of basalt) that gently slopes to the seashore.

The U.S. Soil Conservation Service classifies the soil composition within the Field System as totally unsuitable for agriculture. It is comprised of 10% silty clay, 60% Waikomo very rocky silty clay, and 30% Waikomo extremely rocky silty clay. Added to this is that this arid area averages an annual rainfall of 35-40 inches.

The Hawaiians residing in Kōloa and Weliweli cultivated crops in great abundance on this arid rocky plain, utilizing an ingenious and extensive ‘auwai (irrigation) network. This irrigation system and the intense cultivation of “land unsuitable for agricultural” sets the Kōloa Field System apart from every other field system throughout the Hawaiian Islands and in all Polynesia. The ahupua’a of Kōloa was heavily populated and well watered by constantly flowing streams; the ‘Oma’o (lit. green), Waikomo (lit. returning waters), Waihohonu (lit. deep waters) and the Po’ele’ele (lit. dark night). These streams fed over one hundred miles of ‘auwai.

Captains Cook and Vancouver

Two hundred years ago, impressive descriptions of the Kōloa Field System were rendered by the first seafaring Europeans to Kaua‘i set eyes on na ahupua‘a o Kōloa me Weliweli from Hanaka‘ape Bay. In January 1778 Cook wrote, “What we saw of their agriculture, furnished sufficient proofs that they are not novices in that art. The vale ground has already been mentioned as one continuous plantation of kalo and a few other things, which all have the appearance of being well attended to”. Fourteen years later in 1792, Vancouver stated, “…the low country which stretches from the foot the of the mountains toward the sea, occupied principally with the kalo plant…interspersed with some sugar-canes of luxuriant growth and some sweet potatoes.”

Cook and Vancouver saw verdant crops thriving from the shoreline of Hanaka‘ape Bay to the foothills of the Ha‘upu Mountain Range. They bore witness to an intensely developed and highly productive agricultural system. Na känaka had successfully manipulated the natural environment of the nä ahupua‘a of Kōloa and Weliweli to provide maximum crop yields in a limited space with limited water. The intensive practice of agriculture is evident by ‘auwai, large fields, terraced plots, collapsed lava tubes modified as planting areas and rock areas with stone mounds and low walls cleared for planting.

Agricultural Features

Agricultural practices of our kupuna (ancient Hawaiians) were reflected in almost every aspect of their culture. It influenced social patterns, land utilization and religion. Agricultural practices also affected the organization of the ahupua‘a, a land unit considered to be semi-independent, and if necessary, self-sustaining.
Water was fed into terraced lo’i (kalo fields), the construction of which took immense expenditures of labor and time. Land unsuitable for kalo (taro) was modified to support ‘uala (sweet potato) or dryland kalo cultivation. Marginal land, often including thin strips fringing the wet fields was used for supplementary cultigens such as mai‘a, ko and wauke. Agricultural fields were generally of two types, lo‘i, (wet fields) and dry fields. The wet fields usually occurred in multiple terraced units and were used for kalo production. The dry fields are varied in form. Some are similar to the terraced wet fields. Others are more amorphous consisting of rock cleared sections, usually in a low spot.
In many areas, land was so rocky that clearing of an entire field was impractical. In this case stones were simply thrown up in mounds possibly for growing ‘uala (sweet potatoes). The areas in between mounds were also cultivated.The ingenuity and energy required to render this land productive and habitable is witnessed by the diversity of its alteration, rock clearing and mounding, construction of massive walls, platforms, enclosures and a complex stone-lined ‘auwai and intricately designed fields crop systems.
The field systems in Kōloa are unique in that they are laid out on almost bare pahoehoe lava rock. The objective was to provide maximum crop yield in limited space and with limited water. The natural environment was manipulated so kalo and other crops not naturally suitable to the dry rocky Kōloa environment thrived. The larger ‘auwai were fed directly from Waikomo Stream. The water branched into smaller ‘auwai and eventually into lo‘i.

The ‘Auwai System

The mainstay of adapting to a dry, rocky leeward environment was the development of an extensive interconnected system of irrigated agricultural fields, which were entirely sustained by water tapped from streams that that flowed from the upper regions of Kōloa Komo’oloa.

Water was fed from the streams into ‘auwai, and lo’i, or taro patches. The water flowed by gravity from one lo’i to the next, feeding the crop of taro and fish that were raised with the taro. While laws concerning humans seemed to be at the whim of the ruling chief, laws concerning water, the kahawai (stream), were strict and permanent. ‘Auwai were extensive, highly developed and carefully engineered water channels. ‘Auwai fed the upslope ends of the wet field systems in Kōloa. These ‘auwai varied in size but generally had the same construction features. They were laid on bare rock or very hard packed earth covered with stone. Sidewalls were stacked stone, often with earth backing. Earth and grass “plaster” was used to seal the ‘auwai from water leakage. In some areas, the ‘auwai was covered with flat capstones.
‘Auwai flowed at ground level, underground through lava tubes, and above ground in aqueducts. There is evidence of ‘auwai flowing through homesites for household use. ‘Auwai branched outwards and provided water for field complexes on either side of their course. They followed curving paths along natural slopes, across bedrock surfaces and parallel to pahoehoe outcrops, often with rock retaining walls. Channels branched off throughout the area in a dendritic fashion resembling an upside down tree, subdividing downslope to feed separate field complexes. Only when slope variations were uniform was their course straight. This unique engineering feat is the exact reverse of the flow pattern of a typical stream in which water is collected in fewer streams of increasing volume downslope. The effect of this system is dispersal into more numerous, smaller channels downslope, similar to the pattern of a natural delta.
Within the water transport system, there were catchment basins serving as intermediate storage units for water. These basins were low areas located adjacent to ‘auwai and were used to retain water for short periods of time. The irrigation complexes fed by the ‘auwai system vary from large the rectangular fields to smaller irregularly shaped wet plots. Boundaries of large fields are defined by low-faced rock walls with dirt and pebble fill or liner, each mounds with rock alignments on the top. Many ‘auwai are still evident and some well preserved. The ‘auwai system represents impressive manifestations of prehistoric Hawaiian achievements in hydrological engineering.

Habitation

Because of the critical need for irrigated land here, Kōloa habitations were located in unproductive areas around fields. Settlement was dispersed rather than concentrated. Individual house sites were located as near as possible to fields. In modern times this concept is called cluster development. All homesites are clustered in the non-productive portions so that use of the productive portions could be maximized.

Wahi Pana

In 1975, land on either side of Hapa Trail contained eighteen percent (18%) of all the archeological sites in the State of Hawai’i. Development between Waikomo Stream and west of Hapa Trail destroyed over 700 of these sites. They were replaced by a golf course, residential houselots, and townhouse projects. To the east of Hapa Trail are the only remaining sites of the Kōloa Field System. Kauhale, ‘auwai, agricultural sites, kilokilo shelters, burial sites, pa wawahi pipi corrals.

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