New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1899-01-22
DIRECTIONS IN HAWAII.
AN ISLAND WHICH HAS No NORTH. SOUTH "a,
OR WEST

An ISLAND WHICH HAS NO NORTH, SOUTH Ran
OR WEST
! Honolulu letter 70 The Chicago Record
Visitors 10 Honolulu are often perplexed "a .,
/ the points Of the compass fixed in their mia.
with reference to streets and locations They a..
still more perpleXed TO find nobody who kroy,
/ them and nobody who feels the need Of know,
them. TO the visitor, especially from The w.
sissippi Valley, where the Congressional survs,
Of public lands has laid out everything tv.
square, so that directions and distances are Al
ways thought Of in their relation 10 north. sop9
east or west, this Is incOrprehensible
But IL does not take a very long residence h,
to learn that the points Of the commas IN n.
ordinary matters Of direction are Of very r.
practical USE and the prevailing system OF irH.
eating location and direction, adapted from M,
used by the native Hawaians and contipu,,
the use Of their nomenclature, is a very practiz
one and we'll adapted TO conditions
The islands are all small and OF volcanic on,
gin. There is at least one main range Of MON,
tains on each island, though there may be g,s
sidiary ones. Az is we'll known mountains q
not run with special reference to the points 4
the compass. And the narrow valleys cut az
eroded out of the volcanic mass and extend,I
! from the mOuntins 10 the sea bear still ls~
appreciable relation to them. So that II Oh
were to establish the points Of the compass viii
relation to any one OF these valleys quarter
a mile would bring him to another, where Be
would have TO take his bearings all afresh But
| there are two objects he can never get out q
| sight of. These are the mountain and the sea
And on this fact the basis both OF the nomen.
clature and Of the system OF direction rests
| With relation to any point the two cardinal II.
rections are toward the mountain and toward
the sea. Now. the native Hawaiian terms tg
! these are "mauk3," toward or in the direction
| the mountain, and "makai" pronounced max
H. the long, toward OF in the direction Of IN
sea.
The topography Of the country. a series Of ysL
| leys extending from the mountain 10 the SEA
and the feudal tenure under which land was
held In the ancient day. led 10 the division q
| the country into narrow strips, or districts
moku, as the larger were called ahupuos- u,
next smaller, and i'll, those still smaller, but a.
| with very few exceptions, extending from u
seashore to the top Of the mountain. In tbs
way the common people. restricted to their oEi
! Ills yet had access to the sea 10 fish and sNI
and ride the surf to the mountain for his
wood and building material. and 20 the lal
! between to cultivate taro The boundaries
! these districts were all carefully defined IN uU
| immemorial and remain the same te-dn
/ Moreover each district had rs name, and IL
! name remains.
With the mountain above and the sea oel',
! and the narrow districts IN succession es@
| with its boundaries and name well defined "a
/ basis of the system and nomenclature OF dlsv
! ton was complete. A given point or opleeI
"mauka," toward the mountain, or 'maks.
toward the sea in relation 10 another Object
point; and it is "waihhi" in the direcuon
the district of Waihihi or eva" in the dHs'
ton Of the district Of Eva, for the other Fe~
tons of direction.
So that in Honolulu. FOR instance WHERE
street runs North and south. or east ana We.
and few streets straight III any dIe.. ~
for any great distance, no one speaks VI !.
north or south side OF the street-no one e-s
nor OF the east and west sides. But every su.
has mauka and a makai side. or walhlh 81
eva side So a particular corner may pe =.
cisely and accurately described as the inS'AS
waihihi corner. or the makai-ewa.
These terms are not only colloqulaL Ou.
fetal They are used in contracts deeus' "a
and statutes They suit conditions and DE-"
grown out Of them.