The island of Kapu is based on the real island, Ni'ihau, which is west of Kaua'i. There are less than 200 permanent residents all of Hawai'ian descent. Visitors are strictly limited. The residents are known for their shell leis (lei pupu).
When the girl from "Kapu" falls her necklace breaks. The necklace is based on one of the distinguishing products of the island upon which this fictional island is based, which are made of puka shells of the wart turbans or kahelelani'ila'ula, which wash up on the shore every winter. A lei made of these tiny shells can be worth thousands of dollars.
The map shows some fictional islands north of Moloka'i, with "Kapu" being one of them. The actual "forbidden island" is Ni'iau, which is the westernmost of the Hawai'ian island chain. The island is also depicted as being quite lush, but this is not the case with the actual island. As it lies in the "rain shadow" of nearby Kauai and as it does not have a peak with an altitude conducive to attracting rain, it has regular droughts. As first described by Captain Cook, the island was treeless. Trees, which have served to attract more rainfall, were brought in by a descendant of the settler who had purchased the island in the 19th century. Depending on the presence or absence of drought, the population varies from 30 to around 170,
Visitors, including relatives of the inhabitants, can only come by invitation. Much of the income comes from a U.S. tracking station, supplemented by scheduled hunts of the imported game by a limited number of foreigners.
The fourth different helicopter used by TC. Notice the N-number is on the tail boom instead of the transmission cowling and a different one from N1095A.
The title refers to the ancient set of Hawaiian laws or now is it translated "forbidden" or "sacred".