from KOHALA Volume 1: Owhyhee

Ancient Polynesian navigators didn’t just use Kohala as a convenient landing zone—they transformed it into a navigational center—and their markers can still be read in the landscape. ʻUpolu Point served as a prime reference point and, across the channel on Maui island, the summit of Haleakalā provided another crucial reference. 

Other prominent natural features—mountains, valleys, and bays—aligned with the rising and setting of key stars, creating a living star compass, a mental framework that divides the horizon into 32 directions based on rising and setting stars. The sun’s position, ocean swells, and bird migrations helped determine distance from land. Flight paths of the ʻIwa and Manu o Kū were used to detect landfalls, and Kohala’s highlands provided a vantage point for these observations. 

Three key sites formed the core of this navigational network. At ‘Umiwai Bay, navigators could observe the interaction between wind and wave patterns. Lumikoko Point provides a crucial line of sight to distant islands. But most important was ʻUpolu Point—the northernmost tip of Kohala—where two heiau stand as monuments to this area’s historic and sacred role in Polynesian voyaging and Hawaiian culture.

The first of these temples, Moʻokini Heiau, began as a navigational shrine. It was many centuries later that it would become a major luakini heiau (sacrificial temple) under the guidance of the Tahitian priest, Paʻao. 

Nearby stands Kapakai Kokoiki Heiau—its name means “by the sea”—which likely served as an astronomical observatory. The positioning of these temples wasn’t random; they were carefully placed to align with celestial events and create sight lines to distant landmarks like the peak of Haleakalā on Maui island and puʻu (hills) of the Kohala Mountains.

While physical markers have faded with time, Hawaiʻiloa’s storied arrival at this point on the Kohala coast—where Kuamoʻo Moʻokini, Paʻao, ʻUmi-i-lilao, and  Kamehameha also made their marks—confirms this place as an significant landing zone.

KOHALA Volume 1: Owhyhee is available on Amazon: https://a.co/d/gtaTxCV