Pu'u O Kapolei

Pu’u O Kapolei – June 1, 2013

During ancient times when demi-god Kamapua’a controlled Oahu, Pu’u O Kapolei was considered the most sacred pu’u on Oahu, but not today. Why? The mythological story not only fascinates, but also draws sadness. Sadness in the fact that today’s Pu’u O Kapolei is not like yesterday’s Pu’u O Kapolei, not even close.

Kamapua’a is associated with the god Lono (god of fertility or agriculture). He is known as the pig god, born on the windward side of Oahu in the Hau’ula-Punalu’u area where he was raised with his family (mom Hina, step-dad Olopana, grandmother Kamaunuaniho, older brother Kekeleaiku). He is best known for his tumultuous romantic relationship with fire goddess Madam Pele.

The story starts off with Olopana, chief of Oahu at the time. He was the step-father of Kamapua’a. Apparently, he did not like Kamapua’a. One reason was that he was old and married to a younger woman named Hina. Hina would fool around with another man which pissed Olopana off, and in turn created a great dislike for Kamapua’a. (Not sure if the man Hina messed around with was the real father of Kamapua’a)

As he grew up, Kamapua’a looked for love and acceptance from his step-father, instead was abused mentally and physically by Olopana. Kamapua’a couldn’t understand his situation. A father is supposed to be loving, not abusive. Kamapua'a made a decision to get back at his step-father by destroying his land and stealing his chickens. According to legend, this went on for a very long time as Kamapua’a was captured and escaped on multiple occasions each one more dramatic than the previous one.

Eventually, Kamapua’a killed Olopana and ruled over Oahu. As ruler, Kamapua’a wanted the commoners to work hard. Therefore, he decided to move his grandmother Kamaunuaniho and older brother Kekeleaiku to Pu’u O Kapolei and set up shop there. The reasoning behind his decision was so the common people would have to travel far distances to pay homage to the ruling family of Oahu. Of course, the common people had to provide whether it be fish, banana, taro, etc. to the ruler of the land, not only out of respect, but it was their duty. And travelling to Kapolei would mean a long trek for everyone, which is what Kamapua’a wanted.

With all this power going to his head, Kamapua’a thought he was all that and became enamored with the goddess of fire, Madam Pele. Pele was turned off, mainly because Kamapua’a looked like a pig. He was the PIG-GOD! He chased her all the way to Koko Crater, a.k.a. Kohelepelepe which translates into Pele’s vagina. Legends says that the last time Kamapua’a and Pele were seen on Oahu before going to the Big Island was in the Makapu’u area. Kamapua’a followed Pele to the Big Island to continue his pursuit of her.

That story, as interesting as it was, was not the reason why I wanted to find Pu’u O Kapolei. Hell, I didn’t even know Pu’u O Kapolei even existed 2 years ago. I’ve been living in Kapolei the past 9 years and have been avidly hiking the past 3. Being interested in hills or Pu'u's seems to go hand in hand with hiking. Over time, as I progressed in my knowledge of Oahu Mountains, the mundane hills around me started to peak my interest. I started to look at topo maps, focusing on hills and mountains nearby. There it was, Pu’u O Kapolei on a topo map. Now, I’m not one to climb every pu’u, but I guess it means more to climb a pu’u where you live, just like the Ancient Hawaiians did. My quest to find Pu’u O Kapolei was on.

Since the topo map I had didn’t have any streets on it, I made a stupid guess and thought it was on the hill where the Kapolei Knolls are located. For over 1 year, Pu’u O Kapolei in my mind was where the Kapolei Knolls subdivision was. One day I was driving on H1 towards Waianae and before I got off on the Kapolei exit I realized that the Knolls subdivision was an extension of either Palehua or Palikea ridge. It was so obvious that whoever built the H1 blasted the ridge to pave way for the freeway.

I was distraught at my recent finding. So the dream of finding Pu’u O Kapolei went by the waist side, until recently. I thought to myself, what about a street map? Three years ago, I was able to find out about the 5 Manoa streams from a street map. I went to Longs and found the correct page. There it was. Pu’u O Kapolei is on Fort Barrette, but the pu’u would appear before Kamaaha Ave and near my house on Kaiau Ave. Damn it! That’s my frickin’ running route! Who the hell knew that I ran by that damn pu’u for years?

Instead of crying (over spilled milk), I decided to check out the pu’u for myself. I’ve been there many times. There is a skate park, archery range, and a big parking lot. The view (Waianae side) overlooks Kapolei Regional Park. The archery club owns most of the land and are only open on Saturdays and Sundays. Today was Saturday, so I decided to drive in and check it out. There were a number of bunkers that looked cool. A quick google search reveals that these bunkers were installed before the United States entered World War II. There was one in particular that peaked my interest. There were steps leading to a lookout tower, even Jared noticed it. After parking, I got a hold of the president of the club. He told me that although there is a range, most of the archers do simulated hunting. There are targets all over the area and these guys were serious about shooting arrows at targets. This turned me off. Even though I wanted to explore the area with Jared, it would be a poor decision to do so. I guess the reason is I should really watch out for the safety of my son and myself. Sort of disappointed, we drove out of the range, made a left, and parked in the parking lot.

As mentioned earlier, the view from the parking lot shows Kapolei Regional Park. However, a little past the parking lot is this building. It may be an old storage unit, but now its home to homeless people. On this building is a beautiful mural. The mural depicts life on and around Pu’u O Kapolei in ancient times. The detail and color on the mural is pretty impressive. What I like is that no one has defaced it or graffiti it, which is a good sign. Too bad the area is really messed up with trash and weeds. Maybe one day, I’ll call the city and county to see if I can help clean the area up.

In conclusion, maybe I answered some questions about the sacred site pu’u known as Pu’u O Kapolei. As far as I know from internet sites, there are no remains of any rock structures from ancient times. The only thing left on the pu’u of any historical significance are the bunkers. The archery range doesn’t do any tours of the mountain, hell I don’t think the guy even knows how sacred the mountain is. Honestly, the mountain is left to rot with so much weeds – it’s such a sore eye. The skate park, archery range, and parking lot take up the entire mountain. The mural is one of two things that are beautiful on the mountain and that is surrounded by homeless waste, trash, and weeds.  The other thing is that someone planted some beautiful plants near the mural and took great care of it.

Maybe one day I’ll sneak in, although my wife says that a security guard patrols the area. Jared and I found a trail that led to somewhat of an opening over the barbed wire fence.

Sources

1.  Wikipedia

2.  Coffee Times 

3.  Kamapua’a Legends

4.  GPS Tours

5. Sites of Oahu. Sterling & Summers