Exerts from "Place Names of Hawaiʻi" by Mary Kawena Pukui, Samuel H. Elbert & Esther T. Mookini

Kaʻala

- Mokupuni (island): Kauaʻi
- Ahupuaʻa (land division): Hanakoa
- Features: boundary point, puʻu (hill, land protrusion)
- Lexicology: kāʻalā - "to sling; to hurl stones with a sling; slinger".


Kaʻala

- Mokupuni: Kauaʻi
- Ahupuaʻa: Makaweli
- Features: ʻili ʻaina (sub-division of an ahupuaʻa)
- Lexicology: from Kāʻalā


Kaʻala

- Mokupuni: Kauaʻi
- Ahupuaʻa: Waioli
- Features: loʻi (traditional wetland terrace/wetland field primarily utilized in the cultivation of kalo [taro])
- Lexicology: from Kāʻalā


Kaʻala

- Mokupuni: Kauaʻi
- Ahupuaʻa: Papaʻa
- Features: moʻo/moʻo ʻāina (land strip/parcel within an ʻili ʻāina)
- Lexicology: from Kāʻalā


Kaʻala

- Mokupuni: Kauaʻi
- Ahupuaʻa: Makaweli
- Features: puʻu
- Lexicology: from Kāʻalā


Kaʻapahu

- Mokupuni: Molokaʻi
- Ahupuaʻa: Kamalo
- Features: puʻukaua (traditional fortification)
- Comments: A cinder cone in the East Molokai Volcanic Series; old fort or heiau as being on the top of Kaʻapahu peak; No structures are found but "approximately 20 natural sling stones were seen scattered about..."
- Lexicology: from Kaʻāpahu, lit "to cut off squarely or crosswise (kā, strike, and ʻāpahu, cut off short)


Kahuamaʻa Flat

- Mokupuni: Kauaʻi
- Ahupuaʻa: Kalalau
- Features: wahi (place)
- Lexicology: kahua - "base, site"; maʻa - "sling"


Ouli & Ouli Gulch

- Mokupuni: Moku-o-Keawe/Hawaiʻi
- Moku (district): Kohala
- Ahupuaʻa: Ouli
- Features: ahupuaʻa and stream
- Lexicology: from ʻōuli, lit. "omen; believed to be named in honor of ʻŌulu, famous slinger in service of Kahekilinuiʻahumanu, King of Maui

- UPDATE: 8/17/25

Following contact with the western world, Hawaiʻi saw drastic change and western modernization; in particular, the introduction and adoption of western firearm technology during Kamehamehaʻs conquest which drastically altered traditional Hawaiian warfare. By the time of the Battle of Kuamoʻo in 1820, firearms had all but replaced most traditional weapons on the battlefield, to include the sling.

While laws were implemented to protect the people from murder and violence during the reigns of Kamehameha I and his son, Liholiho (Kamehameha II), most famously the law Māmalahoa, it is not until the reign of Kauikeauoli (Kamehameha III) that we begin to see laws officially codified in writing that specifically target the use and carrying of weapons. With the passage of the 1852 "ACT TO PROHIBIT THE CARRYING OF DEADLY WEAPONS", we see the sling specificallly and officially banned from being carried in public, thereby essentially banning its use and possession without "legitimate reason" outside the home:


He Kanawai

E Hoʻokapu i ka Lawelawe ʻana i ka Pepehi Kanaka

No ka mea, ua lilo ka lawelawe ʻana, a me ka hele ʻana me ka hoʻolako ʻia i nā mea pepehi kanaka i mea e pilikia ai ke ola o nā kānaka, a me ka maluhia o ke Aupuni.
No laila, e hoʻoholo ʻia e nā Lii, a me ka poʻe i koho ʻia e nā kānaka o ko Hawaiʻi Pae ʻĀina i hoʻokahi aoʻao hoʻokō a e kau Kanawai:

Pauku I.
ʻO ka mea lawelawe, a hele paha me ka hoʻolako ʻia i ka pahi hahau, kōkōʻo pahi, pūpūna pāna, pūnā kāni, maʻa, a me kekahi mea ʻano pepehi kanaka kekahi paha, e hoʻopai ʻia ʻo ia; ʻaʻole e ʻoi aku i ke kanakolu dala, ʻaʻole hoʻi emi mai ma lalo o ka ʻumi dala.
Inā ʻaʻole ʻo ia e uku mai i ke dala, e hoʻopāʻāhoa ʻia nō ʻo ia ma ka hana ʻoiē, e hoʻomaka ana i ʻumikūmālua lā a ʻoi aku i ʻelua mahina.

Pauku II.
Eia nā mea i ʻae ʻia e lawe i nā mea ʻeha: ʻo nā mea lawe ʻōihana Aupuni a pau...

Pauku III.
E lilo kēia i Kanawai i kona lā i hoʻoholo ʻia.
Apono ʻia i kēia lā 25 o Mei, M.H. 1852.

KAMEHAMEHA

KEONI ANA


Translation:

ACT TO PROHIBIT THE CARRYING OF DEADLY WEAPONS

(Passed May 25, 1852)

Because carrying and walking about with being supplied with instruments of murder has become a thing which endangers the lives of the people and the peace of the government,
Therefore, let it be enacted by the Chiefs and the Representatives of the people of the Hawaiian Islands in Legislative Council assembled:

Section I.
Whoever carries, or walks about supplied with a bowie knife, sword-cane, pistol, air-gun, sling, or any other kind of deadly weapon, shall be punished by a fine of not more than thirty dollars, and not less than ten dollars.
If he does not pay the fine, he shall be put to hard labor, for no less than twelve days, and no more than two months.

Section II.
These are the persons who are permitted to carry such injurious things:
All government officers...
(Note: The original document likely continues here with a list of exceptions for law enforcement, soldiers, and officials, but only the beginning is shown in your source.)

Section III.
This shall become law on the day it is enacted.
Approved this 25th day of May, A.D. 1852.
KAMEHAMEHA
KEONI ANA (John Young II, Kuhina Nui / Premier)


The passage of this and other anti-weapon laws within the kingdom, paired with the westernization of the Hawaiian people and the degradation of the Hawaiian culture, in particular via influence of the Christian missionaries who promoted and supported the abandonment and outlawing of traditional beliefs and practices, are seen as the primary catalysts to the loss of Hawaiian sling knowledge and practices into the modern age.

In addition to these factors, the native Hawaiian population saw a drastic decline post-western contact, primarily due to the introduction of foreign diseases and plunging birth rates. It is estimated that at contact, ~500,000-1,000,000 native Hawaiians inhabited the islands. By the 1890 census, the Hawaiian population had plummeted to ~40,000. With so many deaths, so too did much of the ancestral knowledge of our people, to include the knowledge of sling, which is now preserved only in remaining historical documents and some families or Lua practitioners who have claimed to maintain aspects of the art and practice.

It would be great if it would be possible to see a video of the weaving process.