"The thing about the ahupua"a that is important to understand is that water is the organising principle," said Davianna Pōmaikaʻi McGregor, professor of ethnic studies and director of the Center for Oral History at the University of Hawaii, Manoa. "Our word for water in Hawaiian is wa"i, and our word for wealth is wa"i wai, because if you had an abundance of water then your land was rich and you had an abundance of food."