Kailua-Kona, Hawai'i is known for its rich cultural heritage, beautiful and sunny weather, and it's volcanic rocky terrain. It is home to many well known export products of Hawai'i including the famous Kona Coffee and macadamia nuts. It is home to one of Hawaii's active volcanoes, Mauna Loa which can be seen in the backdrop of our salt farm.
Our Kona Sea Salt farm sits on 7 acres of land with stunning volcanic rocky coastline. The coastline fronting our farm is a popular hang out for locals enjoying the sunshine and ocean.
On the lava rocks fronting our farm, is an ancient Hawaiian game, Kōnane. Similar to a game of checkers, Kōnane is a two-player game where players can hop over one another's pieces, capturing them. The first player unable to capture is the loser, and their opponent is the winner. This game was invented by ancient Hawaiians and they would carve the game board into lava rocks. They would use black and white pebbles as their game pieces.
It is said that when early missionaries arrived in Hawaii, this game was suppressed as it was often accompanied with gambling. As a result, Kōnane is not widely found or known in Hawaii today, so we were ecstatic when we came across this in the rocky shoreline surrounding our salt farm. We're not sure as to the origin of this particular game board carved into the rocks, but by the looks of the pebbles, it appears to be used often.
Have you ever been to Kona, Hawaii? Tell us your favorite things you've seen and explored!
