Waimea Valley is an area of historic cultural significance on the North Shore of

Oahu Oahu (, , sometimes written Oahu) is the third-largest and most populated island of the Hawaiian Islands and of the U.S. state of Hawaii. The state capital, Honolulu, is on Oahu's southeast coast. The island of Oahu and the uninhabited Northwe ...

Hawaii Hawaii ( ; ) is an island U.S. state, state of the United States, in the Pacific Ocean about southwest of the U.S. mainland. One of the two Non-contiguous United States, non-contiguous U.S. states (along with Alaska), it is the only sta ...

. The valley, being an important place in Hawaiian religion, includes several historical structures including stone terraces and walls constructed during the time of the Hawaiian monarchy. The nutrient-rich volcanic soil combined with a rainy environment provided the resourceful Hawaiians of the area the opportunity to create one of the most prosperous farming communities in all of

Polynesia Polynesia ( , ) is a subregion of Oceania, made up of more than 1,000 islands scattered over the central and southern Pacific Ocean. The indigenous people who inhabit the islands of Polynesia are called Polynesians. They have many things in ...

. The area had complex fish ponds, domesticated animal pens, various large farming beds, and was famous for the cultivation of pink taro root stock, a coveted item to the Ali`i (the Hawaiian elite). Much of the garden floor was once cultivated for

taro Taro (; ''Colocasia esculenta'') is a root vegetable. It is the most widely cultivated species of several plants in the family Araceae that are used as vegetables for their corms, leaves, stems and Petiole (botany), petioles. Taro corms are a ...

, sweet potato, and

banana A banana is an elongated, edible fruit – botanically a berry – produced by several kinds of large treelike herbaceous flowering plants in the genus '' Musa''. In some countries, cooking bananas are called plantains, distinguishing the ...

s, with new crops and orchards introduced by Europeans after their arrival.

Sacred Hawaiian Mythology

Waimea Valley was considered one of the more recognized locations for its spiritual significance by Ancient Hawaiians. They were thought to partake in various indigenous religious activities, like human sacrifice. O’ahu’s largest heiau, or temple, resides there, overlooking the valley. The valley is surrounded by three major Heiau. In the 1700s, Kaopulupulu, the Kahuna Nui who lived in the valley, built Pu'u o Mahuka on the pu'u (buff) called Keanaloa. Kupopolo Heiau, on the Haleiwa side of the valley's outer entrance, was likewise built under the guidance of the Kahuna Nui Kaopulupulu. Ke Ahu Hapu'u is a sacred location on the southwestern side of Waimea Bay, located on the water's edge. The shark god Kaneaukai is honored at this temple. Kaneaukai is a fishing shrine or temple, and Pu'u o Mahuka and Kupopolo are human sacrificial temples.

Ancient Ownership of Waimea Valley

In 1092 Waimea Valley was given to the high priests or the Kahuna Nui. It eventually became the home of one of the most distinguished priesthoods in the islands, the Pa'ao. Kamehameha the Great's exclusive Kahuna, Hewahewa, was a descendant of the Pa'ao. The Kahuna Nui were essential to Hawaiian society because they were the experts in various fields like farming, healing, spiritual guidance, fishing, and teaching both the Ali’i and the common people. Over the course of time, Waimea became known as “the valley of the priests”. After O`ahu was conquered by Kamehameha, he then gave ownership of Waimea Valley to Hewa Hewa Nui, to maintain the sacred importance of the area. Due to overwhelming foreign influences, much change occurred in Hawai'i at this time. The traditional kapu (rule) legal system was beginning to disintegrate. Hewahewa turned to Christianity, repudiated Hawaiian gods, and assisted in the destruction of all heiau and religious idols, along with Kamehameha II and Ka'ahumanu (his co-ruler). Waimea Valley was entrusted to Hewahewa's granddaughter Pa'alua after his death in 1837. Following the Mahele Land Redistribution Act of 1848, the newly constituted Land Commission offered her half of the Valley in exchange for her relinquishing any claim to the rest. She was able to keep her land until 1884 when she was pressured to mortgage and lease it due to a large debt. Because Hawaiians believed they were a part of the land, this was a difficult time for them. Many people were unfamiliar with the Western concept of land ownership. After her death in 1886, her property was foreclosed.

Western Contact

The first Europeans to touch the island of O’ahu were the crews of the ''Resolution'' and the ''Discovery'' shortly after the death of Captain Cook in 1779.

Historical Nature Park

Formerly known as the Waimea Valley Audubon Center and the Waimea Arboretum and Botanical Garden, the Waimea Valley is a historical nature park including

botanical garden A botanical garden or botanic gardenThe terms ''botanic'' and ''botanical'' and ''garden'' or ''gardens'' are used more-or-less interchangeably, although the word ''botanic'' is generally reserved for the earlier, more traditional gardens. is ...

s. It is located at 59-864 Kamehameha Highway, Haleiwa,

and is open daily except for Christmas and New Year's Day; an admission fee is charged. The garden was managed until 2003 by the City and County of

Honolulu Honolulu ( ; ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Hawaii, located in the Pacific Ocean. It is the county seat of the Consolidated city-county, consolidated City and County of Honol ...

, when management was assumed by the National Audubon Society. In 2008, management was handed over to Hi'ipaka LLC, a non-profit company created by the Office of Hawaiian Affairs. The garden now contains 35 distinct collections, representing some 5,000 taxa from around the world. It contains one of the finest collections of

n plants in existence, as well as excellent collections of very rare

an plants, rare and endangered species native to

Lord Howe Island Lord Howe Island (; formerly Lord Howe's Island) is an irregularly crescent-shaped volcanic remnant in the Tasman Sea between Australia and New Zealand, part of the Australian state of New South Wales. It lies directly east of mainland Port ...

, and individual gardens dedicated to plants from

Guam Guam ( ; ) is an island that is an Territories of the United States, organized, unincorporated territory of the United States in the Micronesia subregion of the western Pacific Ocean. Guam's capital is Hagåtña, Guam, Hagåtña, and the most ...

Madagascar Madagascar, officially the Republic of Madagascar, is an island country that includes the island of Madagascar and numerous smaller peripheral islands. Lying off the southeastern coast of Africa, it is the world's List of islands by area, f ...

, the Mascarene Islands, the Ogasawara Islands, and the

Seychelles Seychelles (, ; ), officially the Republic of Seychelles (; Seychellois Creole: ), is an island country and archipelagic state consisting of 155 islands (as per the Constitution) in the Indian Ocean. Its capital and largest city, Victoria, ...

. Other major collections include the

hibiscus ''Hibiscus'' is a genus of flowering plants in the Malva, mallow family, Malvaceae. The genus is quite large, comprising List of Hibiscus species, several hundred species that are Native plant, native to warm temperate, Subtropics, subtropical ...

evolutionary garden,

araceae The Araceae are a family of monocotyledonous flowering plants in which flowers are borne on a type of inflorescence called a spadix. The spadix is usually accompanied by, and sometimes partially enclosed in, a spathe (or leaf-like bract). Also ...

, bauhinia, bromeliaceae, heliconia, liliaceae, as well as

bamboo Bamboos are a diverse group of mostly evergreen perennial plant, perennial flowering plants making up the subfamily (biology), subfamily Bambusoideae of the grass family Poaceae. Giant bamboos are the largest members of the grass family, in th ...

, begonia,

fern The ferns (Polypodiopsida or Polypodiophyta) are a group of vascular plants (plants with xylem and phloem) that reproduce via spores and have neither seeds nor flowers. They differ from mosses by being vascular, i.e., having specialized tissue ...

s, tropical

fruit In botany, a fruit is the seed-bearing structure in flowering plants (angiosperms) that is formed from the ovary after flowering. Fruits are the means by which angiosperms disseminate their seeds. Edible fruits in particular have long propaga ...

, etc. Among many other tropical plants of note, there are Calamondin citrus trees in the parking lot. The garden valley is approximate in length, with a small waterfall and swimming hole at the valley's hind end.

Images

Image:Waimea Valley Audubon Center - general view.JPG Image:Waimea Valley Audubon Center, Oahu, Hawaii - lake view.JPG Image:Waimea Valley Audubon Center, Oahu, Hawaii - waterfall view.JPG Waimea Valley.jpg

Activities

Waimea is well-known for its surfing (he'enalu), but one of the most popular water activities was Wai Pu'uone. The Ancient Hawaiians rode the waves on their boards up the sand dunes and into the river mouth when the river (muliwai) was blocked by sand bars. It could be a hair-raising event depending on how high the dunes were. The falls have been used for cliff diving featuring hourly exhibition. Swimming is allowed when divers are not performing and when the weather permits. Additionally,

hula Hula () is a Hawaiian dance form expressing chant (''oli'') or song (Mele (Hawaiian language), ''mele''). It was developed in the Hawaiian Islands by the Native Hawaiians who settled there. The hula dramatizes or portrays the words of the oli ...

performances were done several times daily.

Climate

References

External links

* {{Coord, 21, 38, 02, N, 158, 03, 06, W, type:landmark_region:US-HI_scale:20000, display=title Arboreta in Hawaii Botanical gardens in Hawaii Protected areas of Oahu Archaeological sites in Hawaii Buildings and structures in Honolulu County, Hawaii Landforms of Oahu Valleys of Hawaii