ABOVE: Hoomau Oahu Tours founder Evan Mokuahi Hayes (at left) shows a guest how to harvest taro at Na Mea Kupono Learning Center, one of the stops on Hayes' Malama Experience Tour.
It's the only pine on the property, but few might notice that unless someone pointed it out. "This was planted by Prince Kuhio's wife around 1900," Hayes says. "This served as the Christmas tree of Hawaii until about 1942. If we were born in the 1920s, this is where we'd come and hang out."
Hayes then points out a humble gate at the back of the palace grounds, installed so that John Dominis, Queen Liliuokalani's husband, could enter the palace without fanfare. Dominis died before the gate could be completed—it's still there, still locked and never used.
Such details are just a taste of Hayes's deep knowledge about Hawaiian history, knowledge he shares with guests on his Hoomau Oahu Tours. "I spend a lot of time in the State Archives," he says, gesturing to the 1950s-era building behind Iolani Palace, where Hawaii's historical records are preserved. "I love our culture. I'm so passionate about it."
Descended both from members of the palace's royal guard and from Waikiki beach boys, Hayes launched Hoomau in December, one of the only Native Hawaiian-owned tour companies in the state. This afternoon he's leading guests through Iolani Palace, part of his Moolelo Historic Downtown Tour, a two-hour-long immersion in the cultural heritage of Honolulu's city center, including Kawaiahao Church and the Hawaii State Judiciary.
The Hawaiian royal coat of arms at Iolani Palace, part of Hayes' Moolelo Historic Downtown Tour. Hayes started Hoomau to give visitors a more culturally authentic experience of Hawaii and its history.
Hayes never saw himself in the tourism industry, he says. After finishing college in Michigan, he moved back to Oahu and took a job with a German-owned tour company as a way to avoid working in an office. But the script he was handed felt disingenuous; he wanted to educate guests beyond conventional guidebook narratives of Hawaiian history. "I was like, I'm not saying any of this," he recalls, and instead opted to share his own knowledge of Hawaiian culture and history—which has had its upheavals. "I'm not going to sugarcoat the history because it might make people feel uncomfortable," he says. "It's our job to educate, because we can't go back and change it."
Hoomau currently offers two other tours: a circle-island cultural tour that travels east from Kapiolani Park to the North Shore, and a newly revealed "Malama Experience," where guests work in a loi kalo (taro patch) or loko ia (fishpond) at various locations, including Na Mea Kupono, a learning center in Waialua. A portion of proceeds from Hoomau's tours go back to the cultural sites, farms and practitioners they visit.
"People are curious about Hawaii; while everyone knows about this place, not many really do," he says. "There's so much deep history here, and people are craving authenticity. We're trying to flip the industry, and that's exciting."
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