Honu'apo Park Resource Management Plan

human flesh. His last caretaker (kahu) was a man named ‘Ai who died in 1878 at Nīnole.
(Kelly 1980:82)
Nīnole is also known for its birthing stones (‘ili ‘ili hānau) at Kōloa Beach.
…We had not travelled far before we reached Ninole, a small village on the seashore,
celebrated on account of a short pebbly beach called Korea [Kōloa], the stones of
which were reported to possess very singular properties, amongst others, that of
propagating their species.
The natives told us it was a wahi pana (place famous) for supplying the stones
employed in making small adzes and hatchets, before they were acquainted with the use
of iron; but particularly for furnishing the stones of which the gods were made, who
presided over most of the games of Hawaii. Some powers of discrimination, they told us,
were necessary to discover the stones which would answer to be deified.
When selected, they were taken to the heiau, and there several ceremonies were
performed over them. Afterwards, when dressed, and taken to the place where the games
were practiced, if the parties to whom they belonged were successful, their fame was
established; but if unsuccessful for several times together, they were either broken to
pieces, or thrown contemptuously away.
When any were removed for the purpose of being transformed into gods, one of each
sex was generally selected, and were always wrapped very carefully together in a piece of
native cloth. After a certain time, they said a small stone would be found with them,
which, when grown to the size of its parents, was taken to the heiau or temple, and
afterwards made to preside at the games.
…Korea [Koloa] was also a place of importance in times of war, as the best stones used
in their slings were procured here…This place is also celebrated as furnishing the small
black and white stones used by the natives in playing konane, a native game, resembling
drafts, and apparently more intricate (Ellis 2004:200, 201).
These famous birthing stones were collected by Emerson and even written about in the
newspaper Ka Nupepa Kuokoa (see Kelly 1980:34-36).
In 1846 Chester H. Lyman wrote that the area beside the black pebble beach of Nīnole contains “a
succession of small villages” along the coast and that the people who lived there were “extensively engaged
in fishing” (Lyman in Handy et al. 1972:605). The population in 1835 for Hīlea Iki, Nīnole and Wailau was
330 (Schmitt 1973:30).
During the Māhele, Nīnole was retained as government lands, having been forfeited by Lunalilo as
commutation for other lands (Kelly 1980:51). There were eighteen kuleana awards, with five located along
the coast. Interestingly, Wailau, which is the name of the neighboring ahupua‘a is listed as an ‘ili name in
some of the claims for Nīnole. H. M. Lyman, a land surveyor for kuleana claimants in 1852, said this about
the fishponds in Nīnole:
The only lot that I have surveyed in Kau containing fishponds is Holoua’s in Ninole,
which has one pond (but no fish) near the Southern corner as you will see by referring to
the survey. There is also a slime pool misnamed a “pond” below the road, but it contains
no fish except the hogs of Ninole who spend most of their time in its odoriferous waters.
In the contract made with Holoua the ponds were particularly reserved for the Aupuni
[government], and because of the privilege of freshwater, the land, which is miserable,
was valued at 25¢ per acre without deducting anything for kuleanas or ponds reserved.
Holoua wished to pay for the land, and then he was desirous of purchasing the pond, for
which he would give $20.00 per acre (Inter. Dept., Land File in Kelly 1980:29, 30).
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