Daily inter mountain. [volume] (Butte, Mont.) 1881-1901, 1899-01-28

To the visitor, especially from the Mis-
slssippi Valley, where the congressional
survey of public lands has laid out every
thing fonr-square, so that directions and
distances are always thought of in their
relation to north, south, east or west, this
is incomprehensihle.
But it does not take a very long resi-
dence here to learn that the points of the
compass in the ordinary matters of di-
rectlon are of very little practical use, and
the prevailing system Of indivating To-
cation, adapted from that used by the ma
tive Hawaiians and continuing the use of
their nomenclature, is a very practical one
and we'll adapted to conditions.
The islands are all small and of vol
canic origin. There is at least one main
range of mountains on each island, though
there may be subsidiary ones. AS is well
known, mountains do not run with spec
lal reference to the points of the compass.
AND the narrow valleys cut and erOded
out of the volcanic mass and extending
from the mountains to the sea bear still
less appreciate relation to them. SO
that if one We're to establish the points
of the ompass with relation to any one
OF these valleys a quarter of a mile would
bring him to another, where he would
have to ak his bearings all afresh. But
there are two objects he can never get out
of sight of. These are the mountains and
the sea. And on this fact the basis both
of nomenclature and of the system of
direction rests. With relation to any point
the w cardinal directions are toward the
mountain and toward the sea. Now, the
native Hawaiian terms for these are
"mauka,' toward or in the direction of
the mountain, and '"makai,' pronounced
Makhi. the i long), toward o r in the di-
%rection of the sea.
The topography of the country, a series
of valleys extending from the mountain to
the sea-, and the feudal tenure under
which land was held in the ancient day,
led to the division of the country into
narrow strips. or districts-moku. as the
larger were called: ahupuoa, the next
smaller, and i'll. those still smaller, but
all, with very few exceptions, extending
from the seashore to the top of the noun
tain. In this way the common people, re-
strlcted to their own Ills, yet had access
to the sea to fish and swim and ride the
surf, to the mountain for firewood and
building material, and to the land be-
tween to cultivate taro. The boundaries
of these districts were all carefully defin-
ed IN time lmmemorial and remain the
same today. Moreover, each district had
its name, and that name remains.
With the mountain above and the SEQ
below and the narrow districts in success
sion, each with its boundaries and name
well defined, the basis of the system and
nomenclature of direction was complete.
A given point or object is ''mauka," to-
ware the mountain, or "Inakai,' toward
the sea, in relation to another object or
point; and it is "waihihi," in the direction
of the district of Waihihi, or ''ewa,' in
the direction of the district of Eva, for
the other relations of direction.
SO that in Honolulu, for instance. where
no streets run north and south, or east
and west, and few streets run straight in
any direction for any great distance, no
one speaks of the north or south side of
the street-nO one can: nor of the east
and west sides. But every street has a
mauka and a makai side. or a waihihi
and eva side. SO a particular corner may
be precisely and accurately described as
the maukai-waihihi corner, or the makai.
eva.
These terms are not only colloquial, but
official. They are used in contracts, deeds,
wills and statutes. They suit conditions
and have grown out of them.