Nā Pōhaku Ola Kapaemāhū a Kapuni: Performing for Stones at Kupuna Crossings in Hawaiʻi

Abstract

Nā Pōhaku Ola Kapaemāhū a Kapuni is a Kanaka Maoli cultural monument in the heart of the world famous Waikīkī, on the island of Oʻahu. While this site plays a vital role in the preservation of indigenous knowledge systems and navigational histories, these stones have not always been visible and tell a dynamic story through how they have been valued and interacted with differently across time. By weaving a genealogy of this culture keystone place, this thesis reveals the complex and complicated “life” of this site through its the legendary, historical, and contemporary histories. In looking at its legendary traditions within a cultural and regional comparative of stone sites, this site is shown to have multidimensional meanings encoding epistemological and geographical knowledges and connects to other sacred sites in Hawaiʻi and the wider Pacific. Yet, looking at the newspaper archives and how these stones were physically displaced in the 20th century, Nā Pōhaku Ola also reveals histories of a contested and changing landscape and how various social and historical processes shaped discourses regarding their value. These sacred stones document a story of colonial forces but also a story of revitalization and the perdurance of Hawaiian history in the unlikeliest of places. Finally, this thesis investigates the contemporary meanings of this site by looking beyond the archive to intercultural protocol moments. This focus on performed histories and site engagement reveals how Nā Pōhaku Ola’s various meanings are performed and remembered in the present. Further, it shows that this cultural site is mediating the space between Maoli and Mā’ohi worlds by revealing longstanding mobilities and the building of contemporary solidarities. Thus, this thesis aims to show that Nā Pōhaku Ola Kapaemāhū is dynamic and a living piece of Hawaiian history.