ALĀLA: A SACRED FISHING LANDMARK OF KAʻŌHAO
Long before Lanikai became a residential community, Hawaiian fishermen used prominent natural landmarks along the Kaʻōhao shoreline to help locate productive fishing grounds offshore. One of the most important of these was Alāla, located at the Kailua end of Lanikai near the point now known as Alāla Point.
Historical accounts describe Alāla not as a constructed temple or monument, but as a natural stone formation with both practical and spiritual importance. Fishermen at sea used Alāla as a visual reference point when navigating back to known fishing areas, while also regarding it as a place associated with fishing traditions and spiritual protection.
THE ALĀLA FISHING SHRINE
In Sites of Oahu, compiled by Elspeth P. Sterling and Catherine C. Summers, Alāla is identified as Site 18, the Alāla Fishing Shrine. Later archaeological studies continue to recognize the site under the State Inventory of Historic Places.
A 1939 oral-history account recorded in later archaeological documentation describes Alāla and its companion site, Wailea, as natural fishing shrines used by local fishermen to locate favorable fishing grounds offshore from Kaʻōhao.
ALĀLA AND WAILEA: A PAIR OF NAVIGATIONAL LANDMARKS
Alāla was not used in isolation. At the Waimānalo end of Lanikai stood another traditional fishing landmark known as Wailea. Together, Alāla and Wailea helped fishermen establish visual alignments from the ocean.
By sighting the two landmarks from offshore, fishermen could return to productive fishing stations with remarkable precision. This method combined generations of practical navigational knowledge with the cultural and spiritual significance of the places themselves.
MORE THAN A LANDMARK
Traditional Hawaiian fishing shrines are often referred to as koʻa. These places could be associated with offerings, prayers, and practices intended to support successful fishing and maintain a respectful relationship with the resources of the sea.
Not all koʻa were constructed stone structures. Some were natural formations whose location, appearance, and association with fishing grounds gave them special importance. Alāla and Wailea appear to belong to this tradition.
THE MEANING OF ALĀLA
Hawaiian place-name references translate Alāla as “awakening.” Historical sources also associate a prominent stone at the point with fishermen who used it as a visual landmark for locating fishing grounds at sea.
The name therefore preserves more than geography. It reflects the deep connection between place, navigation, fishing, and cultural memory along the Kaʻōhao shoreline.
ALĀLA AND THE LATER LANIKAI MONUMENT
It is important to distinguish the traditional Alāla fishing shrine from the nearby Lanikai Monument.
The Lanikai Monument is a much later structure, created during the residential development of Lanikai in the 1920s. The monument served as a gateway marker for the new subdivision and is associated with architect Hart Wood.
The traditional Alāla shrine, by contrast, is a natural feature whose significance predates modern Lanikai development by generations.
A SACRED PLACE, NOT A TOURIST ATTRACTION
Alāla and Wailea should be treated with respect. Historical and community sources caution that these sites are culturally significant and may be located on or adjacent to private property.
Visitors should not climb on, enter private property to reach, disturb, or remove anything from these places. Their importance is best appreciated through historical study, traditional knowledge, and respectful observation from lawful public areas.
WHY ALĀLA MATTERS TODAY
Alāla offers a powerful reminder that the Lanikai landscape has a history extending far beyond its modern identity as a residential and beach community.
The point was part of a cultural landscape in which Hawaiian fishermen understood the coastline, offshore waters, winds, currents, reefs, and landforms as an interconnected system. The use of Alāla and Wailea as fishing landmarks demonstrates a sophisticated knowledge of place that was passed through generations.
Today, remembering Alāla helps preserve the older story of Kaʻōhao and the people who lived, fished, traveled, and cared for these waters long before the name Lanikai appeared on maps.
SOURCES & HISTORICAL REFERENCES
- Lanikai Association — History of Kaʻōhao and Lanikai
- State of Hawaiʻi — Archaeological and Cultural Documentation of Alāla and Wailea Fishing Shrines
- State of Hawaiʻi — Historical Documentation for the Alāla Fishing Shrine
- Wehewehe Wikiwiki — Hawaiian Language and Place-Name Reference
- Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument — Traditional Hawaiian Fishing Shrines
Additional historical reference: Elspeth P. Sterling and Catherine C. Summers, Sites of Oahu, Bernice P. Bishop Museum, 1978.