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Waikiki

by ALOHA DEAN

WAIKIKI, Waikiki means "spouting water" because it was a vast marshland fed by many streams, the Kuekaunahi. From the ancient times Waikiki has been a popular surfing spot which is one of the reasons why the chiefs made their homes and headquarters here for hundreds of years. Though it's been called "the sport of kings," everyone surfed. Surfing spots  had their special names and the most famous in Waikiki was Kalehuawehe or "take off the lehua." It was so named when a legendary hero took off his lei lehua blossoms and gave it to the wife of the ruling chief with whom he was surfing. Romance and surfing often went together.