Halele'a District

Abstract

Halele ' a, the "house of delight," covers the north side of Kaua' i, and it includes a number of large stream-cut valleys (Figure 1). This district was the setting for Earle 's ( 1978, 1980) now classic study of Hawaiian irrigation systems and their role in the evolution of complex chiefdoms. The case study area could not have been more ideal, as lo 'i (terraced pondfields for growing taro) at one time covered almost all of the valley floors (Figure 2). Handy and Handy (1972:419) describe this region as among the most productive ofKaua' i. Figure 1. Overview of the Halele'a District in Kaua' i.