The poetic translation of “MILILANI WAENA” is offered as … the beloved place (of the chiefs) between heaven and earth.  Thus, the name should be pronounced as [mee-lee-la-knee whyna].  Often, however, the name of this school has been pronounced as MILILANI WA’ENA [mee-lee-la-knee wa-e-na] that means the time or period of hot fire.

Mililani Waena Elementary is located in the ahupua’a (smaller land division) of Waipio.  The school sits on a flattened ridge known as the Punalu’u Plains, between two major gulches:  Waikakalaua and Kipapa.  The Waikele and Kipapa Streams formed the gulches over centuries of slow but constant erosion.  Today, these streams are, for the most part, dried streambeds.  Every once in a while, however, when a constant downpour in the Ko’olau mountains occur, sufficient water will collect in these streams and begin the long journey to the lochs of Pu’uloa (Pearl Harbor). 

The area was well suited for agriculture and settlements of people in ancient Hawai’i.  Many who farmed this area found the coolness of the higher altitude much more pleasing than the windless, low lands found at the bottom of the gulches.  The forests in the deep, multiple valleys formed by the Ko’olau Mountains were rich with forms of food, building materials, and water sources.