Diamond Head from Waikiki Annex Pond

— Waikiki Historic Trail —

Had you walked across this road in 1897 you might have landed in Waikĩkĩ's largest fishpond, the Ka'ihikapu, which measured 13 acres. All of today's Fort DeRussy on the mauka (toward the mountain) side of the road was covered with fishponds. There were actually hundreds of fishponds in Waikĩkĩ. The fishponds were controlled by the chiefs, but maintained by the commoners. The fish grown in the ponds were mostly ?ama'ama (or mullet) and awa (milkfish), both of which adapted well to brackish water. When the ponds were well cared for, the fish fattened quickly. The ponds functioned as "royal iceboxes" with readily available food for quests, especially the unexpected.

Ancient Hawaiians believed their fishponds were inhabited by mo'o deities who were sometimes described as creatures with terrifying black bodies, 12 to 30 feet in length. Hawaiians believed these creatures were the guardian spirits of fish ponds, who not only protected the caretakers but punished those who abused their responsibilities. The reclamation of Waikĩkĩ began here in K?lia when the U.S. military acquired 72 acres of land and started draining it in 1908 to build Fort DeRussy. It took over 250,000 cubic yards of sand and coral dredged from various O'ahu areas continuously over the course of a year to cover Ka'ihikapua and its sister ponds in K?lia. The Hale Koa Hotel is used exclusively for U.S. military personnel and their dependents.

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