Kumukahi

What is wai?

Wai is the source of all life. Wai nourishes the land. It provides sustenance to plants and animals. Wai keeps our bodies strong and healthy.

Wai is found everywhere in nature. Wai filters through porous rocks. Clouds laden with wai drench the earth. Vibrant rainbows are showered by rain. Early morning dew nestles on blades of grass. Wai shrouds mountain ridges giving life to the earth below. Wai is connected to birth and growth.

How is the god Kāne connected to wai?

Wai is one of the greatest gifts given to kānaka by the gods. It is not just a resource to fuel the human body. Wai represents the gods themselves. Wai is the body form, or kinolau, of the god Kāne.

There are many stories about Kāne and wai. Kāne would often travel throughout Hawaiʻi with his companion, Kanaloa. They were known for opening freshwater springs.

On their travels, they would stop to rest and prepare a batch of ʻawa to drink. Some of the places they visited were hot and dry. If there was no water to be found, they would plunge their digging sticks into the earth. A spring would bubble up from where they pierced the earth.

The travels of Kāne and Kanaloa throughout Hawaiʻi helped create water sources to sustain life and benefit all living things.

How did wai benefit the community?

In ancient Hawaiʻi, wai was available to everyone. No one “owned” the water. Kānaka relied on springs and streams as their water source. Kalo (taro) was their main food staple. Loʻi kalo (taro fields) required a constant flow of fresh water. A luna wai (water manager) managed and distributed water to everyone so that crops and fishponds could flourish.

Streams and native stream life made significant contributions to the community. The constant flow of water from uka to kai would allow stream animals to complete their life cycle. The ʻoʻopu (goby), ʻōpae (shrimp), and hīhīwai (grainy snail) were important sources of food. These organisms would reproduce, providing additional food for the community.

Who regulated water use?

Before 1778, water flowed continuously from uka to kai. Streams provided drinking water. They also nourished loʻi kalo and fishponds. Streams replenished groundwater supplies and brought nutrients from the uplands to feed fishponds below. Streams were the pathway for native stream life to migrate between ocean and streams, which allowed the completion of their life cycle.

Water was very important to the land and the people. Laws (kānāwai) were developed to properly manage freshwater sources. The konohiki (the person that the aliʻi puts in charge of an ahupuaʻa) of each ahupuaʻa appointed a luna wai. The luna wai was responsible for distributing water within the ahupuaʻa. ʻOhana also were expected to manage freshwater sources. It was their kuleana. They believed it to be a privilege and responsibility.

The konohiki and luna wai relied on the makaʻāinana to work the land. Most konohiki treated makaʻāinana fairly. The konohiki knew that the makaʻāinana were free to leave the ahupuaʻa if they were not satisfied. The konohiki understood that without a strong work force the ahupuaʻa could not thrive. And so water disputes were rare.

How is wai being managed today?

Wai is the most precious resource of kānaka, and so the word “waiwai” means of great value or worth. Kānaka believe that water is a community resource. It is to be shared and used responsibly. Water gives life to food, plants, and kalo. The gods would always provide wai so long as it was not misused.

But in the late 1700s, hoofed animals such as cattle and goats were introduced to the islands. They polluted streams with their waste. They removed plants, causing soil to wash into streams and out to sea. Native forests were also cut back to make room for farms and grazing animals. The hard soil was unable to soak up water. Less water was draining into streams and underground water supplies.

The ahupuaʻa system began to change. Water that used to flow abundantly to feed loʻi and fishponds was being diverted. Large amounts of wai were being used to irrigate sugar and rice fields. The ancient ʻauwai (waterways) fell into disrepair. Small farms were replaced by large plantations. People began to move to the drier leeward side of the islands since water was being made readily available through the diversion of water from the windward side. Water had become a private resource.

Eventually new laws were passed. Water could no longer be privately owned. Wai became a resource protected by the government.

Today, many groups practice traditional concepts of water management. Small farms and residents cooperate to conserve water. Community groups are involved in stream cleanups. Others are removing sediment buildup in streams to make it more accessible for stream life whose life cycles depend on streams and oceans. Invasive plants are being removed and replaced with native plants to decrease soil erosion. More community groups are becoming active. They see the need to mālama, or care, for this precious resource. E ola ka wai!

Ka Wai A Kāne

The following is a well-known mele that asks (and answers), “Where is the water of Kāne?” If we don’t mālama i ka wai, we will be asking ourselves the same question.

He mele no Kāne