Ke Kula Kaiapuni ʻo Waiau

Hardcover, 44 pp.

Bilingual and Hawaiian language options available.

When a kaikamahine gets lured into the mysterious Honokawailani pond, her worried parents search for her only to discover the secret of the pond that won’t allow the girl to return back home. This legend of Waiau, on the ‘Ewa district of O‘ahu, is recalled by the students of Kula Kaiapuni ‘o Waiau through the mo‘olelo of beloved Kupuna Sarah Keliʻilolena Lum Chee Konia Nākoa.

The book was written and illustrated by the fourth grade students of Ke Kula Kaiapuni ʻo Waiau during the 2008–2009 school year as a way to learn, preserve, and pass on the traditions of the ahupua‘a of Waiau. The book includes a bonus CD with an original oli and readings of the mo‘olelo.

Kula Kaiapuni ‘o Waiau is located in the land division of Waiau on Oʻahu. Waiau was the first Hawaiian-language immersion school in Hawai‘i. It was founded in1988 under the Department of Education for grades kindergarten to six. The kula kaiapuni is the Hawaiian-language strand of this school; there is an English strand under the name Waiau Elementary School.

Upon the inception of Ke Kula Kaiapuni ʻo Waiau, one of its rooms was dedicated to Kupuna Sarah as a way to recognize her and her knowledge of mea Hawaiʻi. Her family was invited to the school and a picture of her was put on display in the room. And so, the connection between Kupuna Nākoa and the kula has existed from the beginning.