We are the waters of ʻanae
Did you know that the ʻanae in Waiʻanae refers to mullet? There are two types of mullet that are native to Hawaiʻi: ʻamaʻama and uouoa, or false mullet. ʻAmaʻama have wider and more blunt noses than other mullet and can grow up to 27 inches at the largest. They can be identified by a spot of blue at the connection of the pectoral fin and striping along its lateral scales. So why do we refer to this fish as ʻanae and not ʻamaʻama?
Though most people in Hawaiʻi refer to this mullet species as
ʻamaʻama, ʻanae can be considered its true name! These fish were so significant to our kupuna that different lengths of growth were given different ʻinoa:
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puaʻama = finger length
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kahala = hand length
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ʻamaʻama = 8 to 12 inches
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ʻanae = 12+ inches
It's likely that because ʻamaʻama were the most common length of ʻanae, modern people came to refer to this fish by that name overall. However, we know that in other places, such as Aotearoa, the species as a whole are also called kanae, indicating a linguistic lineage for ʻanae! (The name ʻamaʻama has no roots in te reo Māori except for the kamakama crab, which—yes, is a cousin of our ʻamaʻama crab!)
Ahupuaʻa or Moku?
In a simple answer: Waiʻanae refers both an ahupuaʻa and a moku.
Moku are often thought of as sections or districts, the term being given to large divisions of each island that are either ancient districts or formed as a result of the māhele. Waiʻanae Moku is the name both Hawaiians and locals use for the division that spans from Kahe to Kaʻena Point. Much like we used "waters of ʻanae" as opposed to "waters of mullet" for our translation of Waiʻanae, in English, locals prefer to say "Waiʻanae Moku," as opposed to translating it to "Waiʻanae District."
Each moku are comprised of various ahupuaʻa within. Ahupuaʻa are smaller than moku and stem from a mountain point to the ocean. Every part in an ahupuaʻa is interconnected and affects the others, from upland forests to kalo patches to the iʻa in the sea. The Waiʻanae ahupuaʻa is the largest of the Waiʻanae Moku and sits between the Mākaha and Lualualei ahupuaʻa. It extends mauka and even into what is now the Wahiawa Moku.
The ahupuaʻa of Waiʻanae are: Keawaʻula, Kahanahāiki, Mākua, ʻŌhikilolo, Keaʻau, Mākaha, Waiʻanae, Lualualei, and Nānākuli. On some maps, Lualualei is not marked and is considered an ʻili of Waiʻanae ahupuaʻa, while others list Lualualei as its own.
Numerous but One
Did you know that moku can mean "island" as well? A key connection between the various definitions of moku is the concept of belonging to a larger whole. Our islands are called moku or mokupuni because our kupuna saw them as pieces of each other. Moku are not merely mea that are separated, but mea in relation to each other as parts of a whole.
When thinking of our different ʻili, ahupuaʻa, moku, mokupuni, we must all remember that "divisions" or "separations" are western concepts. We are not truly separate from each other. Just as each island is part of Hawaiʻi, each moku is part of an island. And though we are called the Waiʻanae Hawaiian Civic Club, we care for all kanaka of Hawaiʻi nei and all of our wahi and ʻāina.
We are Beautiful Waiʻanae
