Waimea
1. n. a place name. lit., reddish water. 2. n. Maui name for olomea, a shrub. 3. s. A species of tree; the same as olomea. 4. n. Kauaʻi name for a kind of māmaki, having leaves with red veins and stems resembling those of the olomea. 5. placename. village, homesteads, elementary and intermediate school, land division, tableland (3,000 feet elevation), and trail, Waipiʻo qd., Hawaiʻi. Town, bay, canyon, district, school, ditch, plantation, landing, river, road, and land division, southwest Kauaʻi, where Captain Cook first landed (1778). Land section, bay, reservoir, hill (251 feet high), falls (55 feet high), stream, beach, park; famous big-wave surfing area where winter waves break to 35 feet or more; Haleʻiwa and Puʻukapu qds., north Oʻahu. The falls were formerly called Waiheʻe. After Captain Cook was killed at Kealakekua, Hawaiʻi, on February 14, 1779, his ships called here for water on February 27. Vancouver landed here in 1793; while drawing water in the stream, two of his men were killed by Hawaiians who wanted their weapons. Vancouver ordered that the assassins be killed, and two men were shot, but it is not certain that they were the murderers (Kuy. 1:44; RC 166). see Puʻuomahuka. lit.: reddish water (as from erosion of red soil).
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757
Hele pōʻala i ke anu o Waimea.
Going in a circle in the cold of Waimea.
[Said of a person who goes in circles and gets nowhere. Waimea, Hawaiʻi, is a cold place and when foggy, it is easy for one unfamiliar with the place to lose his way.]
777
Hemahema Kahuwā me Waimea.
Kahuwā and Waimea are awkward.
[These places are in the upland, where people are said to be awkward in handling canoes.]
1028
Hoʻi hou ka paʻakai i Waimea.
The salt has gone back to Waimea.
[Said when someone starts out on a journey and then comes back again. The salt of Waimea, Kauaʻi, is known for its reddish brown color.]
1339
Ka iʻa hoʻopā ʻili kanaka o Waimea.
The fish of Waimea that touch the skins of people.
[When it was the season for hinana, the spawn of ʻoʻopu, at Waimea, Kauaʻi, they were so numerous that one couldn’t go into the water without rubbing against them.]
1571
Ka ua Kīpuʻupuʻu o Waimea.
The Kīpuʻupuʻu rain of Waimea.
[An expression often used in songs of Waimea, Hawaiʻ1. When Kamehameha organized an army of spear fighters and runners from Waimea, they called themselves Kīpuʻupuʻu after the cold rain of their homeland.]
1591
Ka ua nounou ʻili o Waimea.
The skin-pelting rain of Waimea.
[Refers to Waimea, Kauaʻi.]
1593
Ka ua Paliloa o Waimea.
The Tall-cliffs rain of Waimea.
[The rain of Waimea, Hawaiʻi, that sweeps down the cliffs.]
1662
Ka wai ʻula ʻiliahi o Waimea.
The red sandalwood water of Waimea.
[This expression is sometimes used in old chants of Waimea, Kauaʻi. After a storm Waimea Stream is said to run red. Where it meets Makaweli Stream to form Waimea River, the water is sometimes red on one side and clear on the other. The red side is called wai ʻula ʻiliahi.]
1748
Ke Kīpuʻupuʻu hoʻānu ʻili o Waimea.
The Kīpuʻupuʻu rain of Waimea that chills the skin of the people.
1778
Ke one lei pūpū o Waimea.
The sand of Waimea, where shells for lei are found.
[Waimea, Oʻahu, and Lumahaʻi, Kauaʻi, were the two places where the shells that were made into hat bands were found. Those on Oʻahu were predominantly white and those on Kauaʻi, brown. Not now seen.]
2531
ʻOpa nā kuku o Waimea.
Weary are the sticks that hold the nets at Waimea.
[Weary are the legs after walking far. A line from an old chant.]
2913
Waimea, i ka ua Kīpuʻupuʻu.
Waimea, land of the Kīpuupuu rain.
[Waimea, Hawai’i, is famed in old mele for its cold Kīpuʻupuʻu rain.]