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Hand drawn map by W.P. Alexander of the lower part of Wailuku ahupua’a.

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The ahupua’a Wailuku on Maui is outlined. The signs labeled are signage put around the area of the ahupua’a’a as part of the Maui Nui Ahupua’a project.

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This is a database map of the different historic sites within the ahupua’a that are important to recognizing heiaus and specific land divisions with history.

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The Nā Wai ’Ehā movement was started including the four main water resources on Maui: Wailuku, Waikapū, Waiehu, and Waihe’e. The local residents and Native Hawaiian people fight to release the access to these waters to the public instead of the county and state controlling the water resources.

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Nā Wai ʻEhā Information - Hui o Nā Wai ʻEhā

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This well-known saying attests to the traditional, historical, and cultural significance of the four ahupuaʻa within the moku of Wailuku and their fresh water resources. Nā Wai 'Ehā, was once the largest contiguously cultivated loʻi kalo growing region in all of Hawaiʻi. It also served as the primary ritual, political, and population center of Maui.

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The Maui Nui Ahupua’a project was started as a way to educate the public, mainly foreigners and visitors, on the importance of certain areas and locations of the island of Maui and the ahupua’a Wailuku.

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The Maui Nui Ahupua'a Project is a collaborative signage program created to educate residents and visitors about Hawai'i's ancient land division system, their boundaries, stories and sense of place, and to encourage and support the concept of sustainability.

Project coordinator/designer Vernon Kalanikau has been working with community stakeholders, Hawaiian cultural practitioners, kumu and people from their respective ahupuaʻa to review land divisions, boundaries, and to gather moʻolelo (stories, legend, history) to help design signs for the ahupuaʻa on Maui.

The first ahupua'a signage project Kula Kai (Kihei area in the Moku ʻO Kula) was completed in October 2019. Signs for the Moku ʻO Wailuku (Central Maui area) will be installed starting December 2020. Currently, Vernon is working with the community on the signage for Kula Uka (Upcountry area in the Moku ʻO Kula).

Place names often reflect the intimate knowledge Hawaiians have of the weather, animals, plants, land features, historical events, beloved ancestors, and legends of their gods. When Westerners re-named land features in the islands, roughly 1,500 years of context and meaning were temporarily hidden from public view.

Those involved in the Maui Nui Ahupua'a Project hope that by uncovering and sharing stories of these hidden cultural treasures, we can continue to preserve Hawaii's roots and legacy for future generations. Mahalo to all who have participated in this collaborative process.

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The Maui Nui Ahupua'a Project is a collaborative signage program created to educate residents and visitors about Hawai'i's ancient land division system, their boundaries, stories and sense of place, and to encourage and support the concept of sustainability.

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This video is an informational interview of Kui Gapero, a Hawaiian cultural historian.