The Hawai'i Belt Road is a modern name for the Mamalahoa Highway and consists of Hawai'i state Routes 11, 19, and 190 that encircle the Island of Hawai'i. 1
Mamalahoa Highway was named for the royal decree by King Kamehameha I after an incident he and his party experienced in 1783. As he prepared to unite the Islands of Hawai'i, Kamehameha I would conduct shoreline raids on the neighboring ahupua'a (traditional land divisions). It was on one such incursion that the King's warriors encountered two local fishermen along the Puna coast. The two fled to warn others of the pending attack and Kamehameha and his men took chase. When they crossed a lava field, one of the King's feet got caught in a crevice. 1
The fishermen, seizing the opportunity to retaliate, returned and attacked. In the ensuing brawl, one of the King's steersmen was killed and Kamehameha himself received a blow to the head that was so hard that it splintered the man's weapon û a solid koa canoe paddle. The two Puna men escaped. 1
Kamehameha I opted not to retaliate but instead took this as a lesson: The strong must not mistreat the weak, his people must be assured protection from harm's way in their pursuits and that safe passage must be everyone's entitlement. A decade later, King Kamehameha I, upon reflecting on his deliverance that day in Puna and on the memory of his fallen warrior, proclaimed Ke Kanawai Mamalahoe û "The Law of the Splintered Paddle" û at Kahale'iole'ole in the Kaipalaoa area of Hilo. 1
Ke Kanawai Mamalahoe:
E na kanaka
E malama 'oukou i ke Akua,
A e malamaho'i ke kanaka nui
a me ke kanaka iki;
E hele ka 'elemakule,
ka luahine a me ka kama
A moe i ke ala
'A'ohe mea nana e ho'opilikia.
Hewa no, make !
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Law of the Splintered Paddle:
O my people
Honour thy God,
Respect alike [the rights of] the great man
and the humble man;
See to it that the old man,
the aged woman and the child
Sleep by the side of the path
Without the fear of harm.
Disobey, die!
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Ke Kanawai Mamalahoe is considered such an important law to the Hawaiians that at the 1978 Constitutional Convention it was added to the Constitution of Hawai'i. In it, the law protects the public and the safety of all who travel throughout the Islands, including fishermen, gatherers, hunters and visitors alike. 1
The Mamalahoa trail was a foot trail built in the nineteenth century, which developed into this highway. Various parts were widened and re-aligned over the years. Much of the Hawai'i Belt Road through North Hilo and Hamakua districts was built on the roadbed and bridges of the Hawaii Consolidated Railway as part of the recovery from a tsunami that ravaged the island's northeast coast in 1946. 1
WARNING: This is an extremely busy road, so stealth is required and please be careful of the traffic! This is a micro and BYOP (bring your own pen)!
Counter Added 7/4/2012 |
1 - Wikipedia Web Site