Wehewehe Wikiwiki Hawaiian language dictionaries

Island, 38 miles long, 10 miles wide, 261 square miles in area, and having a 1970 population of 5,261. District, forest reserve, lighthouse, high school, airport, and hospital. Poetic names are Molokaʻi nui a Hina (great Molokaʻi, child of Hina) and Molokaʻi pule oʻo (Molokaʻi, powerful prayer). In legends Hina was the mother of Molokaʻi. The island was noted for sorcery and sports. (Elbert and Mahoe 78-79.)

1. Island. Molokaʻi is the fifth largest (260 square miles) of the eight major Hawaiian Islands and one of four islands in Maui County. It has a population of 7,404, many of whom are of Hawaiian ancestry. The highest mountain on the island is Kamakou, with an elevation of 4,970 feet, and the pua kukui flower is the emblem of the island. Molokaʻi's nickname is the Friendly Isle. 2. Light, Kalaupapa, Molokaʻi. Established in 1906 and automated in 1966. The 132-foot light tower was completed in 1909 and its base is approximately 100 feet above sea level. Also known as the Kalaupapa Light. 3. Reef, Papaʻi, Hawaiʻi. Reef bordering the channel into the beach at Papaʻi that was used as a canoe landing. 4. Reef, Hanalei, Kauaʻi. In Hanalei Bay off the mouth of Waiʻoli Stream. The reef is the site of a shipwreck, the Haʻaheo o Hawaiʻi, a historic ship that sank here in 1820. The ship was located in 1995 and excavated by a team led by Paul Johnston, the curator of Maritime History at the Smithsonian's National Museum of American History.