ʻOhuʻohu Nā Mauna O ʻeʻeka

Book excerpt: In 'Ohu'ohu nā Mauna o 'E'eka: Place Names of Maui Komohana, author Cody Kapueola'ākeanui Pata gathers together over 1,600 inoa 'āina (place name) entries for Maui Komohana--an area of less than 200 square miles. This region has also come to be known as "West Maui." For Kānaka Maoli (Native Hawaiians), inoa 'āina have always served to encode and relay meaningful information across space and time, from one generation to the next. Inoa 'āina continue to be revered as inseparable from genealogies, individual and collective narratives, mele (poetic verse), and prayers, and they persist into modern times as cherished and sacred legacies deserving of deference and appreciation. The content for 'Ohu'ohu nā Mauna o 'E'eka: Place Names of Maui Komohana was compiled from dozens of maps, nineteenth- and twentierth-century Hawaiian and English language newspapers, mele, online databases, numerous print publications, recordings of Kanaka Maoli speakers of the Maui Komohana region, and information provided directly to the author by his elders, masters, and mentors. Whether one is a genealogical descendant of Maui Komohana, a practitioner of 'oihana Hawai'i (Hawaiian professions), or any other manner of scholar, this book is meant to be a resource for all researchers who wish to delve deeper into the toponymy of Maui Komohana.