Makana is a mountain located on northern shore of the island of

Kauai Kauai, () anglicized as Kauai ( ), is geologically the second-oldest of the main Hawaiian Islands (after Niʻihau). With an area of 562.3 square miles (1,456.4 km2), it is the fourth-largest of these islands and the 21st largest island ...

, where it rises above Limahuli Valley. ''Makana'' is a

Hawaiian language Hawaiian (', ) is a Polynesian language of the Austronesian language family that takes its name from Hawaii, the largest island in the tropical North Pacific archipelago where it developed. Hawaiian, along with English, is an official language o ...

term meaning gift or reward. It is often used as a person's name or as part of a name.

Limahuli Garden and Preserve The Limahuli Garden and Preserve is a and on the north shore of Kauai island, Hawaii. It is one of the five gardens of the non-profit National Tropical Botanical Garden. Description Limahuli lies within a tropical valley covering three disti ...

preserves the valley below. It was featured in the 1958 film adaptation of the musical '' South Pacific'' as

Bali Hai "Bali Ha'i", also spelled "Bali Hai", is a show tune from the 1949 Rodgers and Hammerstein musical '' South Pacific''. The name refers to a mystical island, visible on the horizon but not reachable, and was originally inspired by the sight of Am ...

and is known by that name . Makana Mountain is one of only two locations where the fire-throwing ceremony, ōahi, was performed in

ancient Hawaii Ancient Hawaii is the period of Hawaiian history preceding the unification in 1810 of the Kingdom of Hawaii by Kamehameha the Great. Traditionally, researchers estimated the first settlement of the Hawaiian islands as having occurred sporadicall ...

an times. The ōahi was a celebration of very special occasions such as the graduation of students from the

hālau hula A hālau hula () is a school or hall in which the Hawaiian dance form called hula is taught. The term comes from ''hālau,'' literally, "long house, as for canoes or hula instruction"; "meeting house"', and ''hula,'' a Polynesian dance form of the H ...

(

hula Hula () is a Hawaiian dance form accompanied by chant (oli) or song (Mele (Hawaiian language), mele). It was developed in the Hawaiian Islands by the Native Hawaiians who originally settled there. The hula dramatizes or portrays the words of t ...

school) at Kēē or the visit of an alii (high chief). On the day of the ceremony, skilled firethrowers climbed the steep cliffs to the very top of Makana Mountain laden with light, dry logs of pāpala (''

Charpentiera ''Charpentiera'' is a flowering plant genus in the family Amaranthaceae. It consists of five species endemic to Hawaii, where they are known as ''pāpala'', and one species found only on the island of Tubuai in the Austral Islands. All species a ...

'' spp.) or hau (''

Hibiscus tiliaceus ''Hibiscus tiliaceus'', commonly known as the sea hibiscus or coast cottonwood, is a species of flowering tree in the mallow family, Malvaceae, with a pantropical distribution along coastlines. It has also been introduced to Florida and New Zea ...

''). When night fell, they set the logs afire and hurled them out over the ocean. Ridge lifts created by

trade wind The trade winds or easterlies are the permanent east-to-west prevailing winds that flow in the Earth's equatorial region. The trade winds blow mainly from the northeast in the Northern Hemisphere and from the southeast in the Southern Hemisph ...

s hitting the sheer cliff of Makana kept the firebrands aloft, soaring as far as out to sea. The result was a night sky filled with sparks and fiery torches tracing long arcs of light. It is sometimes called "Fireworks Cliff". People in canoes would crowd the ocean below Makana, trying to catch the firebrands. It was considered heroic to catch the flaming embers, and those who succeeded would often mark themselves with the fire in honor of the occasion. Couples who caught the firebrands would both mark themselves in the same way, as a sign of love and commitment. The practice ended in the 19th century, with the last ceremony having been in honor of Queen Emma.

References

Landforms of Kauai Hawaiian words and phrases Mountains of Hawaii {{Hawaii-geo-stub