By Lucienne deNaie

     Lahaina town, with its old-fashioned storefronts and aura of bygone days, is among Maui's most visited attractions. Wedged among the gaudy profusion of art galleries, theme shops, T-shirt bazaars and parking lots are the nineteenth century remnants of Lahaina's days as a whaling port and center of missionary activity. Thirty years ago, the coastal village portion of Lahaina was one of the first places in the nation to receive a special County planning overlay designation as a "historic district." The town itself is also listed on the National Registry of Historic Sites.

     The recent controversy surrounding the Front Street site of Moku'ula-o-Lele (an ancient "sacred island" now covered by a county park and baseball fields) has revealed a significant gap in Lahaina's historic preservation efforts. There is nothing visible to remind visitors or residents of the area's traditional Hawaiian past. "Historic" Lahaina town does not include even one significant intact site predating European contact and colonization of the area. It is as if the lives and culture of countless generations of Hawaiians who lived, worked and worshiped along the gentle West Maui coastline have been left out of its history, except for a a few street names.

     This fact was brought up by Friends of Moku'ula president Akiona Akana. He spoke at a November 9th public informational meeting hosted by the Friends and facilitated by Maui County Cultural Resources Commission Chair, J. Kalani English. Akana and his supporters invited Bishop Museum ethno-historian Dr. Paul Klieger to present an illustrated lecture on Moku'ula's history. Klieger also reported on data gathered from a recently completed two-and-a-half year study of the site by Museum personnel and local volunteers. The well-researched presentation made it clear that the loss of Moku'ula and its surrounding environment left a lapse not only in Lahaina's history, but in that of the Hawaiian people as a whole.

     Dr. Klieger's report dated the sacred island of Moku'ula-o-Lele from before the time of the Great Chief Pi'ilani I (c.1500). (The museum's carbon dating samples indicate the possibility of human habitation in the area as early as 6-700 A.D). The island's one acre expanse was reinforced on the perimeter by layered river rock walls and surrounded by Loko o Mokuhinia, a springfed fishpond. The area's potent underground spring was acclaimed in many local tales as the home of supernatural beings (mo'o) and events. Over the centuries, the iwi (bones) of many high-born Hawaiians were interred on the sacred site, adding to its mana.

     Kamehameha I recognized the spiritual force of Moku'ula and its mo'o guardian. In public testimony given at the informational meeting, Hawaiian cultural specialist Charles Kauluwehi Maxwell Sr. explained more about the island's history. "Kamehameha made his headquarters in Lahaina from 1790 to 1795 after defeating Maui Chief Kalanikupule at Kepaniwai. He installed his personal ki'i (a carved idol representing the war god Kuka'ilimoku), in the Moku'ula shrine, which already held the ki'i of the island's mo'o goddess. When he set sail for O'ahu in 1795, he took both ki'i with him." Armed with the dual power of his own war god idol and that of Maui's mo'o, Kihawahine, Kamehameha was successful in his campaign to defeat Kalanikupule and gain control of all the islands.

     Kamehameha's heirs continued the traditional connection with Moku'ula. Kamehameha III(1837-1854) built a royal residence and mausoleum on the island. Here many members of the royal family were interred, including his sister and royal wife, Nahi'ena'ena, and their infant son. His successor King Kamehameha IV abandoned the residence but retained the two story tomb.

     Shortly before her death in 1884, Princess Bernice Pauahi Bishop, last major heir to the Kamehameha lineage, had a premonitory dream and arranged to have some of the burials (such as that of Kamehameha's highborn wife, Keopuolani) transferred to nearby Waine'e Churchyard (today's Waiola Church). Current research by the Bishop Museum confirms that many ali'i burials still remain on the site.

     This fact has only recently been made public. In the words of the Bishop Museum's Paul Klieger, "We know this now and we have to do what we have to do to protect this site." It is also fueling the determination of the Friends of Moku'ula (supported by the Maui County Cultural Resources Commission, Maui County Burial Council and other native Hawaiian groups) to restore the island as a cultural landmark and insure proper respect for those buried there.

     Akana's group has been involved in a disappointing series of negotiations with the Mayor's office. The Friends have been trying to secure county support of a plan to phase out recreational activities at the popular ballpark site which now covers Moku'ula while leaving other park functions (playgrounds, tennis courts etc.) intact. A breakdown in communications between the citizen's group and the county was exacerbated by a series of incidents this summer. County subcontractors were allowed to dig with heavy equipment at various places on the site without the presence of an archaeologist. One such excavation (to install a new backstop for the ballfield) actually disturbed a portion of the sacred island's perimeter wall and left Friends of Moku'ula supporters angry and distrustful of the county's intentions. "The county feels they can break rules that you and I have to follow," Akana stated at the recent public meeting. "The county Cultural Resources Commission had issued numerous letters asking no work be done on the site without an archaeologist, but the work was done regardless."

     By fall, the issue seemed to have reached an impasse, with both sides expressing their frustration to the press but not really having a dialog with each other. J. Kalani English stepped in and offered to mediate, reopening communication among county agencies and the citizen's group. A series of meetings with Alan Arakawa (County Council's Parks Chair), Charmaine Tavares (Director of County Parks and Recreation Dept.) and Friends of Mouk'ula's Akiona Akana revealed much common ground. English distilled everyone's ideas and concerns into a ten point program of action reflecting the acceptance of the island as a sacred site by all parties.

     The plan also lays out a timetable of actions (such as the November 9th public meeting) leading towards restoration of the one- acre island site and its surrounding pond.

     Although all parties agreed to the plan English drafted, and portions of it are being enacted (such as the new County signage at the park noting its sacred nature and history), the deal is a long way from being done. The mayor's office did not choose to participate in the public informational meeting, a fact noted openly by English and others. Aides for Councilmembers Arakawa and Kaho'ohalahala were present and voiced support for the plan, which hinges on county procurement and development of replacement ballfields at a proposed 13 acre park site mauka of the Lahaina Aquatic Center, currently owned by Amfac/JMB Hawaii Inc.

     The public informational meeting was intended to reassure community users of the current park site (especially ballpark users) that no one was going to be left out in the process of park redevelopment. Both English and Akana emphasized the plan's intentions to "respect each others needs," but few of the meeting's attendees identified themselves as ballpark users, so the message may be, as yet, unheard.

     Most community members who did speak emphasized the need to teach young people, by example, to show respect for places like the sacred island and its long history. Kamehameha III School PTA President Anne Friedman thanked the presenters for making Moku'ula's past come to life and asked help in explaining its past and future use to the school's students. (Kam III School uses the park grounds as a playground for physical education classes.) Ed Lindsey, speaking as Interior Minister for the Nation of Hawai'i sovereignty group, warned that "public and private property must deal with Hawaiian rights....we know there are iwi there, and we must move forward....if we don't take care of this place, it will cease to be Hawaiian."

     The next step in Moku'ula's ten point action plan calls for County Parks and Recreation Dept. to reconfigure the existing softball field, moving third base off of the island burial site. Target date for this action is December 15 of this year. By the same date, the Friends of Moku'ula hope to have all artifacts re-interred on the site and a monument erected. A joint press conference reporting the plan's progress is also scheduled for this date. The Moku'ula plan could serve as a successful example of Maui County's commitment to remedy past omissions and strengthen the presence of Hawaiian culture and history in public and private places. It could also become forgotten in the crush of seemingly "more significant" agenda items. The ball is in the county's court, but the Hawaiian community is keeping a close eye on the game.