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Kukaniloko Birthstones State Monument - Wahiawa
by
ALOHA
DEAN
These uplands of Wahiawa in central O'ahu were a place
where chiefs were born, where famed chiefs lived, and where key battles for
the control of O'ahu were fought. The royal birthside of Kukaniloko
and the associated heiau of Ho'olonopahu were within the Waialua district.
Nearby was the royal center of Lihu'e within the lands of Wai'anae Uka.
To the south were the houses and fields in the uplands of the 'Ewa district.
Beginning with the birth of Kapawa in the 1300s or possibly earlier, Kukaniloko became recognized as the royal birthsite on O'ahu. Birth at Kukaniloko assured a child high-ranking status and the privileges of this status. It also maintained the purity of the royal lineages which gave chiefs their godly status and the right to be leaders.
A child born in the presence of the chiefs was called he ali'i, he akua, he wela - a chief, a god, a blaze of heat."*
