In 1983 Dan Cunningham declared he had 'discovered' the vagina formation, and made a big splash locally about it's cultural significance as the site in which Kapo saved Pele. Of course there may be some problem reconciling that interpretation, but hey, it sure animated Dan.
Dan went as far as to purchase the land directly above the vagina with an adjacent entrance, and proceeded, after having the land and the tube below it surveyed, to install locked barriers along his property boundary in the lava tube. Evidently Dan believed that his right to ownership of the land included the tube below. I have no idea of the actual laws involved. Just a sneaking suspicion the state has their hand in it too. I also suspect we, as citizens, do not have land use rights in lava tubes other than how they apply to being directly below our own surface defined, and legally codified, land. But hey, I really don't know. Though I suspect there are some here that may, or at least would like to speculate?
Dan was hoping to 'preserve' the area. Back then, its geology and the archaeological remnants of those that used the cave in times past were pristine. There was a lot of evidence of the use of that part of the tube. Fire pits, fish hooks, eating utensils, sleeping quarters, heiau, and burial sites in pristine order. Dan envisioned preserving all of it, in place. But of course, as soon as his 'discovery' was widely known others, less scrupulous, put paid to that idea. At one point there was a 'sex therapists' that took 'patients' into the cave to help them. Whatever sex therapists do he was doing right on the vagina itself.
Dan had good intensions. He even went as far as to try and get the State of Hawaii to step in and persevere the cave. But of course, with all the land use issues, and each individual land owner's rights, and the fact that there are lava tubes everywhere, etc., it is a can of worms the state avoided, and, I believe, would still avoid today. Eventually, with many people and groups pressuring him to allow them to control the vagina, he sold it to Paul Mitchell (of Paul Mitchell hair product fame) who soon thereafter died. I have no idea what Paul's estate has done with it, but OMG what a whirlwind of controversy...
There are other issues, like the many burial sites, and how the families involved with them feel. Those families are still among us and I suspect its safe to assume some have feelings about the disturbance of their ancestors. I would speculate that to be more true where the Hawaiians were more populated, which I suspect is more makai than mauka. The vagina formation, down about 36 - 35 avenue, is in the makai end and in an area that has many other caves with a similarly rich cultural history. There are caves near there that are a part of the same large Ai-laau flow field, but not the Kazumura tube itself, with large petroglyphs and strong fortifications protecting entrances that suggest their use as defenses for the occupants. Places with far more historical, cultural, and archaeological significances that would warrant preservation before the Kazumura tube system.
There are also other, known, lava tubes that may be as long if not longer than the Kazumura tube system. The ones I am aware of are on Mauna Loa where they are less known/accessible and as such there is less information about them. There is one that starts in the Red Hill area and descends towards Hilo of which as much as 20 miles have been explored. There are features along its path that are far grander than those seen in the Kazumura tube. Some mind boggling so. The way a high volume flow would come down from the rift and then pond in the saddle and inflate before sending flows down slope towards Hilo created massive structures, and bodies of lava that cooled far slower causing features created by thermal erosion, stalactites and such, to be much more developed and elaborate. And crystals that form as the magma cools to be much more abundant.
Even so, I agree, the Kazumura tube system is super cool. But going beyond just appreciating it here, where we can't even get it together to have a decent road system, let alone water and sewage systems, or a government structure that really works, or a culture that has contrary ideas of land use, is asking way too much. At least not in this lifetime. And besides, in a land where every rock is potentially someone elses concern a venture of the sort you are suggesting is bound to upset someone. But hey, whatever you end up doing good luck to you and yours, and yes, keep us informed.
![[Image: vformation.jpg]](https://augustmilan.com/graphics/vformation.jpg)
Dan went as far as to purchase the land directly above the vagina with an adjacent entrance, and proceeded, after having the land and the tube below it surveyed, to install locked barriers along his property boundary in the lava tube. Evidently Dan believed that his right to ownership of the land included the tube below. I have no idea of the actual laws involved. Just a sneaking suspicion the state has their hand in it too. I also suspect we, as citizens, do not have land use rights in lava tubes other than how they apply to being directly below our own surface defined, and legally codified, land. But hey, I really don't know. Though I suspect there are some here that may, or at least would like to speculate?
Dan was hoping to 'preserve' the area. Back then, its geology and the archaeological remnants of those that used the cave in times past were pristine. There was a lot of evidence of the use of that part of the tube. Fire pits, fish hooks, eating utensils, sleeping quarters, heiau, and burial sites in pristine order. Dan envisioned preserving all of it, in place. But of course, as soon as his 'discovery' was widely known others, less scrupulous, put paid to that idea. At one point there was a 'sex therapists' that took 'patients' into the cave to help them. Whatever sex therapists do he was doing right on the vagina itself.
Dan had good intensions. He even went as far as to try and get the State of Hawaii to step in and persevere the cave. But of course, with all the land use issues, and each individual land owner's rights, and the fact that there are lava tubes everywhere, etc., it is a can of worms the state avoided, and, I believe, would still avoid today. Eventually, with many people and groups pressuring him to allow them to control the vagina, he sold it to Paul Mitchell (of Paul Mitchell hair product fame) who soon thereafter died. I have no idea what Paul's estate has done with it, but OMG what a whirlwind of controversy...
There are other issues, like the many burial sites, and how the families involved with them feel. Those families are still among us and I suspect its safe to assume some have feelings about the disturbance of their ancestors. I would speculate that to be more true where the Hawaiians were more populated, which I suspect is more makai than mauka. The vagina formation, down about 36 - 35 avenue, is in the makai end and in an area that has many other caves with a similarly rich cultural history. There are caves near there that are a part of the same large Ai-laau flow field, but not the Kazumura tube itself, with large petroglyphs and strong fortifications protecting entrances that suggest their use as defenses for the occupants. Places with far more historical, cultural, and archaeological significances that would warrant preservation before the Kazumura tube system.
There are also other, known, lava tubes that may be as long if not longer than the Kazumura tube system. The ones I am aware of are on Mauna Loa where they are less known/accessible and as such there is less information about them. There is one that starts in the Red Hill area and descends towards Hilo of which as much as 20 miles have been explored. There are features along its path that are far grander than those seen in the Kazumura tube. Some mind boggling so. The way a high volume flow would come down from the rift and then pond in the saddle and inflate before sending flows down slope towards Hilo created massive structures, and bodies of lava that cooled far slower causing features created by thermal erosion, stalactites and such, to be much more developed and elaborate. And crystals that form as the magma cools to be much more abundant.
Even so, I agree, the Kazumura tube system is super cool. But going beyond just appreciating it here, where we can't even get it together to have a decent road system, let alone water and sewage systems, or a government structure that really works, or a culture that has contrary ideas of land use, is asking way too much. At least not in this lifetime. And besides, in a land where every rock is potentially someone elses concern a venture of the sort you are suggesting is bound to upset someone. But hey, whatever you end up doing good luck to you and yours, and yes, keep us informed.