Kahamoana

The previous capital of Keʻao Waoki, Kahamoana is a historical resort town in the Kono'i Commonwealth, famous for its natural hot springs. The water filling the springs is geothermally heated by the dormant volcano, Kauhia, and have long been known to be rich with minerals that promote general wellbeing, but which have been proven to improve recovery times, especially from arcane maladies, and to reduce infections and surgical complications. The water's healing properties are believed to be a blessing from Kauhia.

by Connie Kutz

Government

The city council meets in the Town Hall on the morning of every new moon. All citizens are allowed to attend and table a motion to be discussed and voted on at the next meeting, or an emergency motion that must gain the support of at least ten percent of attendees in order to be discussed in the same meeting. A motion must gain at least seventy percent approval before being passed. There are no financial or age requirements placed on citizens who wish to attend, speak or vote at the meetings.

Assets

Thanks in no small part to the confluence of its previous social and cultural significance, proven healing spa, and sheltered location, Kahamoana has one of the best hospitals in the commonwealth and is a popular destination for people with chronic conditions.
Outside of the hurricane season, the town's population may increase by up to fifteen percent, made up of patients and guests in the network of convalescent homes and spa resorts spread across the mountainside. Many of these are reclaimed and repurposed embassies, left over from the city's history as the island's capital.

History

A historic resort town and site of religious pilgrimage since the Fourth Age, in the last hundred years, Kahamoana has begun courting international tourism and has cultivated transport links to $AIRFIELD_NAME - an international airfield capable of accepting aeroplane and zeppelin traffic - and extended the ferry service around the coast to Melelela in order to attract more visitors.

Old vs New

The rise in tourism has led to persistent debate over balancing the needs of the town and desires of the tourists, with efforts to preserve the 'old town' heritage depriving residents of new and upgraded amenities, tourists being unwilling to adapt to the local pace of life, and the demands of catering to the "incomers"' expectations fuelling the degradation of their traditional lifestyle, with more residents working longer hours and in service-sector jobs, and spending less time on the arts and family.

Tourism

In addition to being a site of pilgrimage for the indigenous kana'ōnah tribes, the wide, deep bay is a popular destination for families of esaanla, who travel thousands of kilometers to swim in the healing waters of the bay. Young esaanla often come ashore at high tide and may be found napping in rockpools and playing with local children on and around the jetties and boardwalks, or following fishing and pleasurecraft, while adults and elderly esaanla enjoy sunbathing on the sandbar and entertaining curious landfolk. A series of anchored rafts allow adult esaanla, who are too large to come ashore, to socialise with terrestrial species and Kahamoana is one of the few places in the world where the titanic esaanla elders make regular contact with people outside their own species.
Kana'ōnah families flock to the bay when the esaanla arrive, bringing their children to climb over the elder, picking deep-sea lice from their scales; the lice, which can be as large as a mango, are a parasite to the esaanla but a delicacy in the local cuisine.
An essential part of Kono'iwae culture is community singng, dance, and theatre; during esaanla visitations, the townsfolk move these events to the quayside or onto the rafts, so the esaanla can see and participate. The new picturehouse is set up to projects onto sails for the townsfolk and oceanic tourists, and on these nights, the bay bacomes filled with boats of locals and rafts of esaanla laced together to watch the show.

Type

City

Population

12,322

Inhabitant Demonym

Kahamoawae

Location under

Aeho'ai

Included Locations

• 17 Embassy Row

Owning Organization

Kono'i Commonwealth

Demographics

Permanent residents:

• 83% Kana'ōnah (10,227)
• 9% Tepetlactl (1,109)
• 4% Ialya (493)
• 2% Esaanla (267)
• 2% Yutaaq (225)
• 0.01% Zoshuku (1)
• 0.01% Magen (1)

by Nathan Ziemanski