Place Names of O'ahu -Niu Valley

Niu or Coconut is the next ahupua’a in the Kona district coming towards town from Makapu’u. Kamehameha once had a summer home at the site of Kupapa fishpond which is now covered over by what is now Niu Iki Circle just ma kai of Niu Shopping Center. This pond and adjacent area was later claimed as a kuleana by Alexander Adams a one-time captain for Kamehameha. The valley walls of Niu were once covered with the cave burials of Hawaiians. Canoe prows were often seen jutting out from these caves and marked the burial sites of chiefs. Sadly, many of these caves were desecrated in modern times.

Place Names of O'ahu - Koko Head

Koko Head ,as we have learned previously, was actually called Kuamo’ooKäne, the complete name being Kuamo’ooKäneäpua as this was the younger brother of Käne and Kanaloa sent to fetch water from ‘Ihi’ihilauäkea, a fresh water spring at the summit of what is called Koko Head, so that they could mix and drink their ‘awa, a favorite beverage of theirs. If KuamoÿooKäne is the real name, how did Koko Head get its name? It actually gets its name from a small canoe landing on the Wai’alae side of Kuamo’ooKäne. Because of its red dirt and reddish cinder sand, the place was called “koko” meaning “blood”. A fishing shrine nearby was called Pali’alaea, referring to the ‘alaea soil gotten there. ‘Alaea is a reddish mineral used to color Hawaiian salt and is used in traditional medicines. (note: Hawaiian macron and glottal not properly rendered here. Umlaut is macron and apostrophe is glottal)

O'ahu Place Names

Kona on the island of Hawai'i is well known; however each island has a “kona” side which is typically on the drier, lee side of the island. O’ahu’s Kona district stretches from Maunalua to Moanalua and was officially renamed Honolulu in 1859. Old maps and stories still refer to this district as Kona and it stretched as far as ‘Ewa and Lïhu’e in traditional times. In 1925, the territorial legislature of Hawai'i designated that: (quote) “Makapu'u Head in Maunalua to Moanalua inclusive, and the islands not included in any other districts to be styled the Honolulu district.”

note: the 'okina and mekona are not properly rendered in these entries.