AHUPUA'A

In old Hawaii, 'ahupuaa' was the common subdivision of the land. It consisted most frequently of a slice of an island that went from the top of the local mountain (volcano) to the shore, following the banks of a stream. Ahupuaa varied in size depending on the economic means of the location and were meant to support roughly equal numbers of people.
Ahupuaa is derived from Hawaiian ''ahu'', meaning: "heap" or "cairn", and ''puaa'', pig. The boundary markers for ahupuaa were traditionally heaps of stones used to put offers to the island chieftain, which was usually a pig.
There may have been two reasons for this kind of subdivision:

★ 'travel': in many areas of Hawaii, it is easier to travel up- and downstream than from stream valley to stream valley

★ 'economy': having all climate zones and economic exploitation zones in each land division ensured that a sudden drought or overfishing would not starve any ahupuaa or make one dependent on another.
Rule over an ahupuaa was given out by the ruling chief to subordinate members of the alii. On the larger mountains of Maui and Hawaii, smaller ahupuaa extended up to about 6,000-8,000 feet elevation, while the higher elevations of an entire district would be included within a single large ahupuaa. These ahupuaa, such as Kaohe, Keauhou, Kapāpala, Keaau, Keanae, Puu Waawa, and Humuula, were highly valued both for their size and because they allowed control over items obtainable only from high-elevation areas, such as high-quality stone for tools and uau (Hawaiian Petrel) chicks. They were given to high-ranking alii, or often retained by the high chief personally.

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Ahupuaa today

Ahupuaa today

Following the Great Mahele, most ahupuaa were split up. Manukā, Puu Waawaa, and Puu Anahulu on the island of Hawaii, are among the few large ahupuaa that remain nearly intact under single ownership (with the exception of some kuleana lots), because they were crown lands owned personally by the monarch. In spite of this, the impact of the ahupuaa boundaries can be seen in many areas today. For example, the ahupuaa of Keaau, near Hilo, was purchased as a single unit by the Shipman family to farm and raise cattle. Most of the land, however, was eventually sold off to become the large subdivisions of Puna. The line between the large northern lots (sold by the state as 30-50 acre farms) and 1-3 acre southern lots is the boundary between the Ōlaa and Keaau ahupuaa (it is also interesting to note that this boundary follows the edge of the 200-400 year old Ailaau lava flow, and the ahupuaa of Keaau was undoubtedly originally created from the land devastated by this flow).
Many local towns in Hawaii still maintain the names of the old ahupuaa. In West Maui, the towns (north to south) Honokōhau, Honolua, Kapalua, Nāpili, Kahana, Honokawai, Kaanapali, Lahaina, and Olowalu follow the ahupuaa names, with each maintaining their local flavors.