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Waipi'o Valley A Cultural Kipuku                                                Ke Ola Magazine March / April 2022

3/7/2022

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Kūlia immersed in one of many lo'i at Napo'opo'o. Photo courtesy of Kūlia Tolentino Potter.
   It’s December 22, 2021 and Kūlia Kauhi Tolentino Potter greets volunteers from Sam Houston State University (SHSU) at the Waipi‘o Valley lookout. It’s pouring rain and a work day is looking doubtful, but they are full of spirit, having completed a week-long exploration of the island as part of a university geography class conducted by SHSU professors Ava Fujimoto Strait and John Strait.
   Kūlia prepares to chant—a request for the rain to clear, allowing the work to be done; she asks the students to join their hearts with hers. As she chants, clouds begin to shift and the whole atmosphere changes. When she is finished, the rain has stopped. Whether coincidence or not, it’s clear that Kūlia’s entire being is in touch with the elder souls of Waipi‘o Valley.
PictureJesse Potter, Kulia's husband and president of the board of directors of Pohaha I Ka Lani with their youngest daughter, Kamanawa, at Napo'opo'o Village with Hi'ilawe in the background. Photo courtesy of Kulia
Waipi‘o: Deep Roots
   In his book, Voyage: The Discovery of Hawai‘i, Herb Kawainui Kanē imagines the first humans to approach the island in search of a new home. “And then the valley opened before us—a wide valley many times larger than our home in the south. Several waterfalls coursed down its northern walls, and as the valley opened to view, two majestic falls of identical size could be seen cascading side by side down a dark chasm in the high southern cliffs.” 
   With its abundant lo‘i (taro patches) and seven heiau (temples), including Paka‘alana, once the most powerful spiritual site in all the islands, the valley is a kīpuka (a calm, deep, timeless place) containing reminders to all those that enter of the ancient origins of Hawaiian culture.
   Kila is a name that has been passed down through Kūlia’s family and is a beloved ali‘i of Waipi‘o Valley, the youngest son of Mo‘ikena the ali‘i nui of Kaua‘i. After Mo‘ikenaʻs death, Kila became the high chief of Kaua‘i. On the journey to take his father’s bones back to Tahiti, he was left in Waipi‘o Valley by his two jealous brothers. He lived as a commoner until his true identity as the high chief of Kaua‘i was revealed, and then became konohiki (land manager). During his time as a commoner, he gleaned much about farming. He passed that knowledge on to the valleyʻs farmers, who  were able to  grow an abundance of food.  
   This abundance has carried through the centuries. Historically, Waipi‘o Valley has been the “bread basket” for other communities experiencing famine and drought and Kūlia carries on that tradition with food boxes delivered to the community Waipi‘o has also endured the destruction wrought by attacking chiefs, tsunamis, floods and the ravages of misguided schemes. The valley is  in need of help and native daughter and lineal descendent, Kūlia has made caring for the valley her kuleana (responsibility).

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Kūlia shares native stories and wisdom with Drew Kapp's HCC and UH Hilo students. Photo courtesy of Drew Kapp
Waipi‘o is Kūlia’s kuleana, inherited from her father and going back countless generations. A native of Honoka‘a, Kūlia spent many “small kid” hours roaming the valley with her father and grandfather. No longer in possession of land in Waipi‘o, on the weekends Kūlia’s family helped work the lo‘i of others. When most kids were playing ball, Kūlia was slogging through the mud, pulling weeds and planting or harvesting kalo (taro). Most keiki would balk, but her love for Waipi‘o took root and grew in her heart.
   Kūlia was a student of Ku Kahakalau, who, with her husband Nalei, created the Hawaiian Academy, a school within a school at Honoka‘a High School to teach Hawaiian studies. In 1997 the couple helped open Kanu o ka ‘Āina, a Hawaiian culturally based charter school in Waimea.
   When Kūlia left for college, she carried the valley with her. During her time at University of Hawai‘i at Hilo, she engaged in Hawaiian studies, education and anthropology. While there, all she could think about was coming home.
   She got her chance when she started teaching in Keaukaha, and began taking students into Waipi‘o Valley. Like her teacher, Aunty Ku, she noticed that students who were struggling in the classroom suddenly came alive, easily absorbing the lessons of the valley, as if the knowledge and wisdom had lain dormant within them, waiting for the right conditions to emerge. When they returned to the classroom there was a new sense of purpose and confidence that set many of them on a path to success.
   In 2001, Kūlia formed Pōhāhā I Ka Lani, a nonprofit that now hosts two or three workshops and volunteer groups a week, educating people about Hawaiian cultural practices, as they work to mālama (care for) the valley. Pōhāhā I Ka Lani’s initial kuleana was the stewardship of six acres, and now also includes five parcels below Hi‘ilawe at Napo‘opo‘o Village, Koa‘ekea (lookout), and most recently, the rim lands which include parcels in Lalakea, Mahiki, Kilohana, Waikaileo, and Puakalehua mā. 
PictureSam Huston State University students working the lo'i. Photo courtesy of Ava Fujimoto Strait
Many Hands, Many Hearts
   Volunteering in the valley is a work of aloha that demands an open-hearted willingness. The first challenge is actually getting into the valley. The first people to enter the valley most likely came by water, which had its own challenges. The journey there is a short, steep hike, and before the construction of a road, could be perilous.
Hiram Bingham describes his 1847 trip into Waipi‘o:
   “With one hand clinging to little shrubs and strong grass, and with the other thrusting a sharpened staff into the earth to avoid sliding fatally down the steep, I attempted it. Friendly natives of the valley ascended part way to meet and assist me.”
   Walking on a widened paved road, the SHSU students need no assistance to enter the valley. They are enveloped in moist fragrant air as the valley floor and its drifting mists beckon them down into an emerald vortex. At the end of the day, they will retrace their steps, this time trudging upslope—body tired, but heart elated.
   Over the years, the valley has drawn many volunteers from all over the globe, as well as Hawai‘i. All have sensed the mana (spirit) that is Waipi‘o, and left the valley  changed . “Theyʻre in awe. Just to be standing in an ancient taro field. In the mud, mosquitoes. But theyʻre giving back. It’s a humbling experience. Sustainability has a deeper meaning. It changes how they move through the world after that,” relates Ava, also a descendant of Hāmākua.

PictureHCC and UH Hilo students cutting ginger in the valley. Photo courtesy of Drew Kapp.
Nestled at the foot of Hi‘ilawe falls, Napo‘opo‘o Village was originally one of the largest settlements in the valley. Because of its isolation, it’s impossible to bring in machinery, or to haul materials out. Through volunteer help, green waste has been composted, rock walls have been rebuilt, and lo‘i reestablished.  
   “Different school groups helped us open up the lo‘i. We didnʻt sell taro. We donated to school events and now we give to families,” said Kūlia. A distant echo from the past when there were poi factories in the valley that supplied Hāmākua, Pa‘auilo, Waimea and Waiki‘i with poi, hauled up in mule trains.
   Napo‘opo‘o has also been planted with a community garden that contains natives and endemics used for both la‘au lapa‘au and cultural practices such as hula. “We had no money so we used whatever we had. It was all overgrown so we made a community garden. It has everything people need for food and cultural practices. Every kind of flower for hula, and banana, breadfruit, sugarcane, 15 milo trees, kukui and hala,” shares Kūlia.

PictureSam Huston State University students volunteering at Koa'ekea (lookout). Photo courtesy of Ava Fujimoto Strait.
This is mirrored up at Koa‘ekea, the lookout, where lush native gardens thrive. This was made possible when the County of Hawai‘i purchased the property through the Public Open Spaces and Natural Resources (PONC) program and awarded the stewardship to Pōhāhā I Ka Lani.
   “It had been a dump site. There were 13 abandoned vehicles, 50 loads of trash, and an abandoned lunch truck with a banyan tree growing from it. We cleared it all out and planted natives. The community came out and helped. Uncle Toko came with his torch and helped us with the lunch truck. People brought weed whackers, plants they grew and helped us to cook,” recalls Kūlia.

PictureJesse and Uncle Walter Wong talk rock wall story. Photo courtesy of Kūlia Tolentio Potter.
Building a rock wall to protect the rim lands is another recent project involving many hands, guided by kahuna pohaku, (rock wall expert) Uncle Walter Wong, and many volunteers who have given their time and effort to Waipi‘o.
   Today a Growth International Volunteer Excursion (GIVE) group is assembled at the entrance to one of the rim land sections. Their introductions are wide-ranging across the continental US and they have come together for the first time, with a common purpose: to give back.
   One of the volunteers asks: “Is there anything around here that can be used as medicine?” Kūlia identifies honohono, which is a plant that can be used to seal wounds in the absence of a first aid kit. After a short lesson about the uses of the ti plant, the volunteers get to work clearing weeds and grass from around large boulders, what Kūlia identifies as “protectors”, on either side of the entry.
   As difficult and demanding as the work can be, Kūlia continues to live up to her name as one who strives with strength and wisdom to share the gifts of Waipi‘o Valley that have touched the lives of so many.
 
For more information: pohahaikalani.com

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Ikaika no Kohala: A Community Connects through Story and Art                Ke Ola Magazine Jan / Feb 2022

1/14/2022

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This panel depicts three of the many sacred sites or heiau, with Kohala Mountain, an important water source, in the background. Photo by Jan Wizinowich
  When the historic Kohala Village HUB (KVH) building was lost to fire in March 2019, a heart center of the community vanished. Then a year later covid hit, disrupting  community connections. These dual tragedies inspired folks at KVH to find a way to help the community re-energize and strengthen connections. 
  “The mural was born out of a wish to find ways to reaffirm our connectedness as a community even while the needs of addressing covid have isolated us,” shared KVH founder, Bennett Dorrance. 
  This latest endeavor is just one of many in Kohala’s history of unified strength in the face of adversity.
  With the idea of art and story as a heart connection, resident artist for KVH, Raven Diaz and outreach director Joel Tan decided on a mural project that would enclose the slab where the KVH main building once stood, becoming a meeting place surrounded by Kohala stories rendered in art.
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Opihi is a rich source of food from the sea. Photo by Jan Wizinowich
PictureCommunity mural artist Kanoa Castro and his two daughters, Kekapa and Kawelo working on the pueo panel. Photo courtesy of Raven Diaz
Preparing the Ground
  Starting in May 2020, Joel and Raven began to lay the ground work. They invited Kanu o ka `Āina principal and community artist, Kanoa Castro to join the team and spent two months interviewing kūpuna and other community members to gather stories and ideas to be featured in the mural. “We wanted to highlight who and what Kohala is during times of challenge, how we respond and what's important,” explained Raven.
  Notices inviting ideas were also posted all around the community that led to three Zoom sessions and many phone conversations. “We kept it real broad like: What is important for us to know about Kohala? If people were born and raised here we asked about history and traditions; if they had moved here, we asked about their experiences.” explained Joel.
  These conversations, “Sparked ideas behind the mural and we turned those ideas, stories, thoughts into visual images,” explained Kanoa.
  Meanwhile the KVH maintenance crew built the walls around the slab and painted them with yellow primer, creating a canvas ready for Raven and Kanoa to pencil in the stories and by mid-June the panels were ready to come to life.
  The next step was to lay down a base coat or background. A call out to the community yielded a diverse group of painters for seven painting days throughout the rest of June until the end of July. “It was a mixed crowd. Elders, local artists and a lot of keiki,” said Raven.
  At the entrance to the plaza are two sheets, one with the QR code for the self-guided tour, available any time. The other is a long list of names of the many contributors to the project.

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The `iwa, whose name means thief in Hawaiian, is known for its extraordinary ability to steal fish from the beaks of other birds in mid-flight. Photo by Peter Wizinowich
Picture"It's such a powerful process when you paint and think about something then it shows up in your life." Photo courtesy of Raven Diaz
The Vision Emerges
  The mural, which encloses the square, is a mixture of the Kohala community’s cultural, historical and ecological mana`o.  
  The first panel is a pastoral scene that highlights the essence of Kohala. Rolling green pastures and pu`u; and grazing horses, highlighting Kohala ranching; all flooded by sunrays kissing the land and backed by ocean waters. A kupuna is sharing traditional knowledge with a keiki while sitting under the koaia tree, also known as the “Communitree”, where people can add their names to the leaves. 
  Two stories relating to sustainability and facing challenges are pictured in the mural. The stories of I`ole the rat are quintessentially Kohala lore and many of the participants in the talk story sessions mentioned them. The panel shows a graphic of the story of how I`ole the rat saved the people from starvation and features the net filled with all the harvest hung in the heavens by Chief Makali`i.  I`ole is scrambling up a rainbow to gnaw through the ropes securing the net, releasing the food to all the people.
  The food shortages caused by the pandemic are just the latest in the challenges faced by Kohala folks and the spirit of generosity and sharing what you have captures the spirit of the community. The next panel on the wall is of our canoe Makali`i. A traditional responsibility of the canoe and her navigators is to provide food for the people, but Makali`i also represents a community pulling together with generosity.
  Another traditional Kohala story shared was Punia, which is illustrated on the makai side wall. The story is told in a series of images that creates a bridge between past and future.  In the story, Punia’s father is eaten by a shark when he is diving for lobsters. With his father gone, Punia takes on the role of food provider and finds a way to outsmart the sharks, and emerges victorious.
  The story wall of Punia bridges from historic legend to contemporary times and inspires the images that follow. Punia and his mother receive a flag in commemoration of a fallen soldier who, just as Punia’s father, was taken before his time.

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Punia and his mother receive a flag in commemoration of a fallen soldier who, just as Punia’s father, was taken before his time. Photo by Jan Wizinowich
The next two panels symbolize the legacy of tradition emerging in the present and features the Kohala High School basketball team, who were victorious at the state regional champions last January, flanked by Punia and his father. 
  In the final panel, by receiving the lei kukui, a symbol of lasting strength, Punia follows his legacy and goes on to become a medical doctor who, with a caduceus in one hand and soil in the other, champions social justice and respect for the `āina. 
  Featured on the wall parallel to Punia is a representation of the deep spiritual roots that underlay the community. At the center of the display are three pahu drums, eliciting the rhythmic sounds of ancient hula, at the heart of Hawai`i’s cultural practices.
  This is bordered by a panel depicting three of the many sacred sites or heiau, with Kohala Mountain, an important water source, in the background. The Mo`okini heiau, which is near King Kamehameha’s birthplace, was rebuilt in the 13th century through the efforts of 18,000 stone passing men, stretching from Pololū. Mo`okini was Kamehameha’s spiritual home until he was advised to build a heiau in preparation for his enormous task of unifying the islands. Again, a massive effort ensued with thousands positioned in a work line and resulted in Pu`ukoholā heiau. The third site pictured, Ko`o Heiau Holomoana, a navigational heiau located just south of Mahukona, is an historic training ground for young navigators and a place of ceremony.   
  Kohala’s history is immersed in the legacies of King Kamehameha, who exemplified strength and resourcefulness. The panel bordering the pa`u on the other side is a representation of the `aha`ula or royal cape worn by Kamehameha, made up of the yellow `o`o feathers contrasted with the red feathers of the apapane.
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Participants in the talk story sessions mentioned encounters with pueo that signified a warning or the marking of an important event. Photo by Jan Wizinowich
Feed the People
  The east wall speaks to the ecology of Kohala and features the many plants that have fed Kohala for generations. Many of the Kūpuna spoke of gathering food from the ocean and the cliffs of Kohala. The first panel pictures opihi and at the bottom of the cliffs, tucked away in caves are menpachi, a favorite of Kohala fisherman, pictured at the far end of the east wall.
  Another panel features Kalo an essential food plant brought to Hawai`i by the first Polynesians. There are many different kinds of kalo and Kohala has its own special variety called bakatade, which is Japanese for hard-headed.
  Also featured is breadfruit, an abundant food provider; and an awa grove, created by Eric Dodson, Kohala artist and medicinal plant grower. Awa is a canoe plant that has many uses and has been an important part of Kohala’s la`au lapa`au, as well as being a ceremonial drink prior to big endeavors such as ocean voyages.
 
Language of Lei
  Lei are woven throughout the mural, just as they are woven throughout Hawai`i life. 'Ohi'a lehua, ancient symbol of the strength of Pele graces the heiau panel. In the panel representing Kamehameha, it changes to a unique Kohala plumeria lei, inspired by Aunty Maile Napoleon, formed with pedals bent back to create a rounded shape.
  The lei plumeria transforms into a lei hala in the next panel, representing the completion of a phase and the starting of a new one, and for talk story participants a reminder of a special grove of hala in Niuli`i, the location of an historic sugar cane camp.
 
Feathered Spirits
  The mural also includes a large image of pueo, a quiet guardian and aumakua for many families. Participants in the talk story sessions mentioned encounters with pueo that signified a warning or the marking of an important event.
  Centered on the east wall is a large image of the `iwa or frigate bird. The `iwa, whose name means thief in Hawaiian, is known for its extraordinary ability to steal fish from the beaks of other birds in mid-flight. The name Ka`iwakīloumoku was given to Kamehameha to commemorate the “stitching together” of the Hawaiian islands, and connotes someone with great expertise and daring.
  The essence of Kohala is hard work, pulling together, resourcefulness and a spiritual connection to the natural world, and the mural project has provided an opportunity to build anew from the ashes. “It's such a powerful process when you paint and think about something then it shows up in your life,” concluded Raven.
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A kupuna is sharing traditional knowledge with a keiki while sitting under the koaia tree, also known as the “Communitree”, where people can add their names to the leaves. Photo by Jan Wizinowich
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St. James' Circle: A Hub of Resilience                                      Ke Ola Magazine Mei - Iune 2021

5/12/2021

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PictureHeadmaster James Taylor on the front porch of the original chapel, built in 1912, surrounded by vibrant poinsettias. photo courtesy of Jane Taylor
It’s Thursday morning and St. James Circle in Waimea is a humming hive of activity. The church kitchen is abuzz with volunteers cheerfully chopping ingredients, then cooking and filling pans with the evening’s weekly community meal. Another group of volunteers readies the St. James Thrift Store for business. Soon a yoga class will be assembling at Waimea Yoga and Waimea Country School students will be dashing across the grass for their daily physical education class and little ones will be gathering at Small World Preschool.
The Circle in the Making
   St. James Circle evolved from a small group of dedicated worshipers who met in various homes, to a circle of buildings forming a synergy of positivity. With the arrival of Reverend Frank Merrill in 1911, plans for the new church, dubbed St. James the Great, quickly got underway with the order of a church building from American Portable House Company of Seattle. 
   With the building on the way, a search for a place to put it began. That’s where Mabel Beckley, great-granddaughter of John Palmer Parker, came in. She approached Parker Ranch manager AW Carter, who granted them a 50 x 100 foot plot in the area of the old Waimea Courthouse.
   In December 1912 church members celebrated their first Christmas Eve service and provided the first community Christmas celebration: “On Christmas Eve, members of St. James’, Mrs. Henry Beckley, her sister Miss Maud Woods, and Miss Nora Keawe, began a tradition at the town hall, part of which is still continued in Waimea today; they provided a Christmas tree and a Santa Claus to distribute gifts for the children of the town.”*
   In 1930 the Sharritt and Arioli families donated the three acres of rough pastureland bounded by Waikoloa Stream that was to become St. James Circle and, “The chapel was braced, lifted onto a stone sledge, and pulled by two Percheron horses to the new site.”*

PictureSt. James graveyard was established in the early 1930s. Photo by Jan Wizinowich
The next addition was a graveyard, where Samuel Parker Jr., son of Samuel Parker and Panana Napela, was interred in 1934, followed four years later by original church member, Carolyn Sharratt. Eventually the graveyard was bounded by low rock walls and bordered with ‘ōhia and jacaranda trees.    Sometime in the 1930s two or three small houses were connected together and placed in the northwest corner of the property and eventually became the vicar’s residence, which is the current church office. The rest of the buildings of St. James Circle originated from World War II and the educational needs of the community.

PictureOnce serving as the Vicarage, the building now serves as the church office. photo by Jan Wizinowich
When the 2nd Division Marines arrived in Waimea from one of the bloodiest battles of World War II, they were in dire need of a hospital and took over Waimea School and Waimea Hotel, leaving students to attend classes at various alternative locations and homes.
   Waimea needed a school and in 1943 the Seabees got busy constructing the canec buildings that are still standing today. Canec was a building material made from bagasse, a fibrous material that is the byproduct of sugarcane processing. From 1943– 1945, with the exception of the commandant’s house (southwest corner), Waimea School students attended classes in those buildings.

PictureThe original canec buildings, renovated and updated, serve to provide the community with schools and a yoga center. photo by Jan Wizinowich
The Hawai‘i Episcopal Academy and the Roots of Hawai‘i Preparatory Academy
   When the war ended, the buildings were left empty and the circle was eerily quiet, but not for long; a seed had been planted and when Bishop Kennedy observed the empty buildings, he saw them as a way to meet a community need and began to make plans for a school. By the fall of 1949, working with local businessmen, Bishop Kennedy and St. James Church, they opened the Hawai‘i Episcopal Academy (HEA).
   Interviewed for this story, Dave Coon (teacher 1950-1951; mission vicar 1954-1957), recalls arriving in the summer of 1950. He was immediately put to work in what later became the James Spencer building (northeast corner). “When I arrived in the summer of 1950 the Reverend Paul Savanack was the interim headmaster. We looked at the building and walked inside and it was totally bare. Empty. And he said here’s a lot of lumber over here, make a library,” remembers Dave.  
   The buildings now housed students, teachers and classrooms. Moving around the circle starting from the James Spencer building, you come to the building that now holds the Thrift Store. “There were three of us teachers at the road end of it. The rest of the building was a dormitory and at the end was a room for another teacher,” said Dave. 
   Then moving south, “The Waimea Country School building was a dormitory for girls and a teacher, who more or less ran the building. The Small World Preschool building was the kitchen and dining room and the whole Waimea Yoga building was classrooms,” said Dave.

PictureLynn Taylor with daughter Jane, flanked by two unidentified children, looking north toward the current church building. photo courtesy of Jane Taylor
James Taylor arrived in 1954 to begin a 20-year career as headmaster. The original chapel was still standing just west of the current church building and served as the headmaster’s office. But the American Portable House Company of Seattle hadn’t figured on the ka makani winds and sometime in the early 1960s the chapel had to be disassembled and removed.
   The upper campus of Hawai‘i Preparatory Academy opened in 1961 and once again St. James Circle was reconfigured. The elementary classes began by Lynn Taylor in 1958 now expanded to fill the space and along with elementary school classes, the circle continued to provide housing for faculty.
   By now, the twenty-year-old canec buildings were beginning to show their age. Howard Hall and his wife, Pat, arrived in 1964 to begin a 40-year teaching career at HPA and lived in the north end of the Waimea Country School building. “The canec walls were so waterlogged that by the end of the year, the tacks holding Pat’s artwork rusted through,” remembers Howard.

PictureSt. James' Episcopal Church built in 1950, a gift from Parker Ranch's Richard Smart. photo by Jan Wizinowich
Parker Ranch Connections
   Richard Smart had always had a special relationship with St. James’. Mrs. Mabel Beckley and her sister, Maud Woods, two of the original members, were his cousins. Also Fr. Merrill had married Richard’s parents in 1912, baptized Richard in 1913, and buried Richard’s mother in 1914.
   In 1950, Richard decided to present the church with a new building and by mid-October 1950, ground was broken by James Kurakawa and his cadre of ranch carpenters (which included church member Dempsey Harada) for a one-story, 100 by 24-foot redwood building, “to take care of the social as well as the spiritual needs of the Mission.”*
   While the new church was being constructed, Dave Coon loaded HEA students, o‘o bars and other implements onto a flatbed truck and headed up Saddle Road to Humu‘ula to collect pahoehoe, which was used for the front walkways and the bell tower facing, “installed by a crew directed by faithful vestry member James Spencer.”* The first service in the new church took place in March 1951 with cross-sections of the community, in the spirit of inclusion.

PictureOnce a dorm and faculty housing, this building now houses the thrift store that helps to support St. James community outreach. photo by Jan Wizinowich
St. James Circle Growing Community Connections
   In the spirit of aloha, the congregation of St. James Church has opened their hearts beyond the sanctuary doors and view the buildings and resources of St. James Circle as something to be shared. The church has become a meeting place for support groups, Boy Scouts and veterans and until the pandemic, a place for Sunday afternoon worship conducted by the Marshallese ‘ohana.
   “Outreach is key to who we are today and the seeds that were planted years ago have taken root and are blossoming now,” said Reverend David Stout, in his tenth year as St. James Rector.
   The Thursday community meal, a joyous affair, began in 2016. “The parish ‘ohana wanted a feeding ministry. They wanted to try it and see who came. Sue Dela Cruz and Tim Bostock took it on and it turned into a party every Thursday in the pavilion with live music. People came and shared a meal. A festive event that fed both body and soul,” said Reverend David. 
   With the pandemic, the meal program has both expanded and contracted. More than 600 meals are now distributed in a drive-through on Thursdays from 4:30 to 6:00. “People in the drive-through are asking when we can gather again. The meal is really the greatest event I’ve ever promoted,” said Tim, who is a professional event promoter.
   The gathering place, Savanack Pavilion (western edge), donated in 1973 by Julia and Tommy Rodenhurst, started out as a place for the annual fundraising plant sale. It now serves as a support kitchen for the community meal, mostly prepared in the church building, but there are plans to, “wrap the whole operation into one with a fully commercial kitchen and share it with a number of people,” said Tim.
   St. James Circle has been given the title “Hub of Resilience” by granting organization, Vibrant Hawai‘i. Through their support, St. James sponsors 175 meals a week, prepared by Ippy’s Restaurant and delivered to kūpuna in the community.
   “The property we’ve inherited is a great blessing. We are stewards of it in our time, to continue to be a place of worship, education and community connections,” concluded Reverend David.
   Mahalo nui for contributing to this story: Everette Knowles, Jo Pilz, Dave Coon, Jane Taylor, Tim Bostock, Reverend David Stout, Sue Dela Cruz and Howard and Pat Hall.
 
For more information: stjameshawaii.org

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Hawaiian Naming Traditions: A Cultural Legacy                      Ke Ola Magazine Sept. / Oct. 2020

4/29/2021

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PictureWena is the red glow of sunrise or the rosy glow in a cloud associated with Pele. Photo by Barbara Schaefer
According to Ka Haka ‘Ula O Ke‘elikōlani College of Hawaiian Language professor Dr. Larry Kimura, Hawaiian language was and still is a “treasure house embedded with the whole way of seeing the world. It adds to the whole richness of being on earth and approaching different concepts in different ways.” This is at the heart of Hawaiian naming practices. When a Hawaiian name is bestowed, a connection is made, a story told, history preserved, someone honored, a hope expressed.

Colors, Clouds, Rain—Names for All Reasons
   There are many different terms that describe colors. For example, Wena is the red glow of sunrise or the rosy glow in a cloud that can be associated with Pele. Hā‘ena is a red-hot burning, such as rage or anger and is also the name of a place in Kea‘au on Hawai‘i Island that is known as the playground of Hi‘iaka, favored sister of Pele.
   “Hawaiian language has more precise names for colors and nuances of color names. I see a yellow ti leaf but the word we use for that yellow is pala, not melemele. It is ripe or aged. It captures the peopleʻs perspective. How they see things around them,” explained Dr. Kimura.
   The basic word for cloud is ao, but there are dozens of terms for various clouds. Ao pua‘a describes a grouping of various sized cumulus clouds, resembling a pua‘a (mother pig) with her piglets gathered around her. Malu is Hawaiian for shelter and a ho‘omalumalu describes a sheltering cloud.
   Rains are a unique experience depending on one’s location. In Waimea there is a rain called uhi‘wai. Uhi can mean a covering, a veil or film, so uhi‘wai refers to a light misty rain that comes in the afternoon and feeds the crops. In Hilo the misty rain is kani‘lehua, because it quenches the thirst of the lehua blossoms.
PictureTutu Mary Kawena Pukui, Hawaiian scholar and co-author of the definitive Hawaiian dictionary. Photo courtesy of Bernice Pauahi Bishop Museum.
Naming People
   In Hawaiian language tradition, words have power; a name was a person’s most precious possession, a force unto itself. Or in the words of Mary Kawena Pukui, “A name became a living entity...identified a person and could influence health, happiness and even life span.”
   Hawaiian names also offer a glimpse into a person’s life. “As Hawaiian speakers, when we hear a name in Hawaiian, its meaning or significance is often apparent. The language carries meaning and the listener is impacted by the meaning and significance of a name,” explained Dr. Kimura.
   There are three types of names which refer to the relationship between humans and the spiritual world: Inoa pō, inoa hō‘ailona, and inoa ‘ūlāleo. Inoa pō is a name that comes in the night through a dream to a family member and given to a baby. Pō means night but in a larger sense, it means source, the time before the beginning, a connection with the ancestral world. 
   An inoa hō‘ailona, or sign name, was found when “a family member might have a vision, or see a mystic sign in the clouds, the flight of birds, or other phenomenon that clearly indicated.” An Inoa ‘ūlāleo, or voice name, might be found when someone hears “a mystical voice speaking a name directly or in an oblique message,” a voice on the wind.
   A name from one of these three origins must be given or risk sickness and death. Mary Kawena Pukui’s own birth illustrates this. After she was born, an aunt was given an inoa pō, but she did not bestow the name. Kawena became ill and during a ho‘oponopono the aunt revealed the inoa pō. The original name was ‘oki (cut, severed) and the inoa pō was given, restoring her to health.

PictureKa'iu Kimura, director of the 'Imiloa Astronomy Center holds one of the charts with name suggestions. Photo courtesy of 'Imiloa Astronomy Center.
Inoa Ho`omanao: History Preserved
   Naming preserved shared history. Inoa ho‘omana`o are names that provide brief historical reminders of past events. “Let a grandmother call out to a child, ‘Come here, Keli‘ipaahana’ (“the industrious chiefess”) and everyone within hearing remembered Po‘oloku, the beloved chiefess who kept her people busy and prosperous, and even personally dug holes for planting bananas.” 
   Often a person or place has more than one name such as our own Hawai‘i Island, commonly known as the Big Island but also called Moku o Keawe. Why is that? The answer provides some island history. The name is derived from a 17th century chief, Keawe‘īkekahiali‘iokamoku, great-grandfather of Kamehameha I, whose reign over the island was peaceful and prosperous.
Inoa Kūamuamu: Reviling Names
   Some children were thought to need protection from harmful spirits and were given such names as Makapiapa (sticky eyes) or Kūkae (excrement). The hope was that the spirit would be disgusted and stay away from the child. After a few years, the reviled name was ‘oki (cut) and the child was given a new name.
   Inoa Kūamuamu were also a kind of negative commemorative name. This kind of naming was used when someone who lived close by had hurt or insulted the family. The family then gave the baby a name that would be a constant reminder of the offense.
Lineage, Prophesy and Tribute
   Names were also selected to show family descent, as in the case of ‘Umi-a-Līloa. “Līloa, 50th king in succession after Wākea, the traditional founder of the Hawaiian people named his son ‘Umi-a-Līloa, meaning ‘Umi, descendant of Līloa’.” 
   Family lines and migrations are also revealed in names, as well as tribute to the accomplishments of the bearer. “Defeated enemies gave Kamehameha I the name Pai‘ea (hard-shelled crab) as a tribute to their conqueror’s impenetrable courage and endurance.”

PictureStudents began the workshop with a symbolic ti leaf lei, connecting them to ancestral sources of knowledge. Photo courtesy of 'Imiloa Astronomy Center.
Hawaiian Naming in the 21st Century
   Over the years, Hawaiian language retained fewer speakers with the influx of outside influences and a new social milieu. Naming traditions, which provide insight into the Hawaiian world view, changed as well.
   “Our language captures many aspects of traditional culture that we donʻt practice anymore,” said Dr. Kimura. “If youʻre raised in todayʻs world, itʻs hard to be comfortable about reviling names or commemorative names that may have peculiar meaning. The most common way people think about that kind of name is that itʻs negative or odd. They avoid it,” he added.  
   A serendipitous series of encounters and events created an opportunity to delve into Hawaiian naming practices and brought the Hawaiian language onto the world stage.   Initial plans were already underway to explore the possibility of giving Hawaiian names to astronomical objects discovered from Mauna Kea or Haleakalā. Then, in the fall of 2017 an interstellar asteroid entered our solar system.
   Dr. Kimura was asked by his niece, Ka‘iu Kimura, director of ‘Imiloa Astronomy Center, to name this unique new object. Aided by modern day technology, the process he went through mirrored traditional Hawaiian naming practices based in close observation and reflection.
   “It appeared to be like something thatʻs coming in to check us out. Some kind of a spacecraft from some outer planet, like a spy. Fairly quickly the name came to my mind: ‘Oumuamua, an advance guard, coming to check us out,” said Dr. Kimura.
   A series of informal meetings between Dr. Kimura and Doug Simons, director of the Canada-France-Hawai‘i Telescope, Alan Tokunaga, retired astronomer, and John Defries, a Hawaiian businessman who sparked the idea of using Hawaiian names for new astronomical discoveries, began in January 2018.
   This gave birth to A Hua He Inoa (calling forth a name), a program through the ‘Imiloa Astronomy Center. In October 2018 a weekend workshop was held to engage young Hawaiian speakers from the islands of Hawai‘i and Maui in Hawaiian naming traditions. 

PictureStudents display the final names for the two asteroids. Photo courtesy of 'Imiloa Astronomy Center.
Using the Kumulipo, Hawai‘i’s traditional creation chant which is a masterpiece of evolutionary documentation, and other sources, they delved into the thought processes of the ancestors to initiate a reconnection and “call forth names” in honor of two designated discoveries made possible by Hawai‘i astronomy. They also peered into the world of astronomy, visiting ‘Imiloa Astronomical Center and the University of Hawai‘i Observatory on Mauna Kea, observing the behaviors of the asteroids.
  By the end of the weekend they had agreed on names for the two asteroids: 2016 HO3 was named  Kamo`oalewa, Kamo`o meaning a fragment or offspring that will now alewa, orbit on its own; and 2015 BZ509, was named Ka`epaoka`āwela, which is an asteroid near the orbit of Ka`āwela (Jupiter), but is `epa or mischievously moving in the opposite direction. 
   “This was a new opportunity. These Hawaiian speaking students never thought theyʻd be asked, let alone dreamt that they could use their Hawaiian language and cultural knowledge to name these kinds of objects,” reflected Dr. Kimura.

PictureThe first image of a black hole, named Pōwehi by Dr. Kimura. Photo source: Hawai'i Tribune Herald.
Since the initial A Hua He Inoa workshop, other astronomical discoveries have been given Hawaiian names, including most recently Pōwehi, (embellished dark source of unending creation), the first image of a black hole to ever be captured. 
   “We are reviving new generations of Hawaiian speakers, which requires the establishment also of our Hawaiian cultural identity by being involved in renewing this naming process so that someday it can become normal as before. One little way of reconnecting,” concluded Dr. Kimura.
 
Referenced work:
Nana I Ke Kumu: Look to the Source V. 1 Pgs 94-98
Hawaiian Dictionary. Mary Kawena Pukui / Samuel H. Elbert
papahanaumokuakea.gov/education/cultural_hawaiian_names_wind.html 
kumukahi.org

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Hā‘ena is a red-hot burning, such as rage or anger and is also the name of a place in Kea‘au on Hawai‘i Island that is known as the playground of Hi‘iaka, favored sister of Pele. Photo by Jan Wizinowich
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Canoe Connections Across the Pacific: The Kauai Community College’s Maritime Voyaging Program

3/16/2021

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    The voyaging canoes are a reawakening of the old songlines, knowing without words, heard in the stillness between breaths, the shout and pulse of the wind as it creates an atlas of clouds and dances the water’s surface hinting at the primal powers shifting below. Songlines, which are, “…the equivalent of maps of experience… combine mythology with family and clan history,” are drawing listeners from all Pacific cultures to embark on the journey that follows from the heart, to engage with the wisdom of the ancestors. Hōkūleʽa was a contemporary starting point but her voyages have, in retracing the paths of the ancestors, awakened the songlines for others. “Every day there is at least one canoe on the water in the Pacific,” observes 'Onohi Chadd Paishon, Pwo navigator and canoe captain.
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Dennis Chun and maritime students lashing down the training canoe. Photo by Jan Wizinowich
    It’s April 2012 and there are a group of maritime students from Japan with their Kauaʽi Community College teachers Dennis Chun and Kyoko Ikeda, getting hands on sailing experience with the Makali`i crew, using smaller training canoes contributed by Hualalai Bertlemann. I’m sitting with Pomai Bertelmann and Kyoko Ikeda as Dennis and the students lash down the waʽa for the day. Located just north of Pelekane Bay, the small dock in front of the YMCA sailing program compound, next to Hale Kukui, Makali'i headquarters. When they’re finished it’s all in the water, including Dennis, who soon joins us.
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Maritime students lash down the training canoe. Dennis and 'Onohi center foreground. Photo by Jan Wizinowich
    The 2007 Hōkūleʽa voyage to Japan was the songline that connected Japan with the island of Kauaʽi and a traditional voyaging course at Kauaʽi Community College (KCC). But the voyaging connection with Japan goes back further to Tiger Espere.  Pomai Bertelmann explains, “Tiger started out on Hōkūleʽa and moved to Waimea and helped with the building of Makaliʽi. He was the one who founded Nā Kalei Waʽa, but after a while, 1998, Tiger moved to Japan.  He lived in Japan for a while and in moving to Japan he actually was taken care of by the community of Shichirigahama and Kamakura. And while he was there he was writing for one of the magazines there and really being inspired by the people; he was really inspired at that time to build a vessel. Tiger passed away 4 or 5 years ago. It was right before the voyage in 2007.”
    One special connection was made between Tiger and Tora Mosai, a professor at one of the universities. Dennis explains: “They actually hit it off, connected. He teaches, well he used to teach at a university where some of the students that are here attended. He did extensive research on maritime conditions around the world. He was so inspired by Hōkūleʽa. Even before Hōkūleʽa he did research on Polynesian Voyages. Some of his research was in Japan, the early era of the discovery of Japan, ancient names and mythologies and what he’s finding is a lot of connections in Polynesia with Japan in those early years. What he was finding is that there seems to be more contact and more communication, more interchange than modern people believe. We think insular, little spheres, but you know there’s the larger sphere of the whole ocean…they (Tiger and Mosai) inspired the rest of the community about building a vessel.”
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Tiger Espere at the helm of Hōkūleʽa as she arrives in Kamakura, Japan. http://archive.hokulea.com/holokai/2007/japan_6_yokohama.html
    The inter-institutional arrangement of Japanese Maritime Colleges and Kauaʽi Community College, came about through some serendipitous connections between Dennis, Kyoko and Tomoki Oku.  Dennis had gotten to know Kyoko through preparations for the 2007 voyage. “When they were planning the sail to Japan she was part of a team of East-West Center grad students, who were charged with developing the educational program for the voyage from Hawai'i, to Satawal on to Okinawa with Alingano Maisu. Kyoko had professional training as a translator. She ended up at the East-West Center; that’s how she got involved with Hōkūleʽa.  Kyoko was asked, because she was part of the team that developed the ed materials and because she was from Japan, to help translate.” 
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Program founders, Dennis Chun and Kyoko Ikeda at Kawaihae. Photo by Jan Wizinowich
    Dennis came aboard Hōkūleʽa in Japan on the 2007 voyage, where he also met up with Tomoki Oku and Kazu Nishimura, the pilots the Japanese government provided as a guide to the unfamiliar waters.  Tomo, who was on faculty at one of the maritime colleges, was completely astounded by Hōkūleʽa.
    “So he came on, it was a job you know, the government was paying him.  But then he got on Hōkū and he was like wow, non- instrument. He knew instruments upside down backwards, celestial navigation upside down backwards, but without instruments and then the whole cultural side of it, the background, the basis, the foundation of maritime traditions, it was like wow, heavy yeah.  Both of them, Kazu as well as Tomo were just awed by the whole thing, really got involved and it became more than just a job. ‘We’re going to take care of you in Japan and we want to learn from you guys too.’”
    At the heart of voyaging is old knowledge that lives in the unconscious mind and allows navigators to connect with the tangible world through intangible means. Tomo got a glimmer of  this while on a training sail to Kauaʽi from Oʽahu.
    “So he came on and mid-channel we was talking story, it started raining, pouring, no can see the stars and he goes, ‘How can you tell where you going?’ I told him, you got to feel the waves. In the middle of the rain, he kind of threw it out, ‘Hey, what if I bring students? Would you guys be open to do something with maritime students?’  You know, local style, yeah sure come. These guys when they say something, they serious, they going to find a way to do it.”
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Hōkūleʽa arriving at Yokohama, Japan. http://archive.hokulea.com/holokai/2007/japan_6_yokohama.html
    With the realization that Dennis taught college students, Tomo started thinking about an institution to institution arrangement. When they returned to Oʽahu, Tomo flew back to Japan on a separate flight from Dennis who was headed to Kamakura, Japan. “I call ahead and ask Kyoko if she can translate for me when I go to Kamakura to do this talk over there.  She’s at the airport waiting for me, Tomo comes in and Tomo’s black cause he was sailing with us, we were all dark. She sees the back of Tomo wearing a Hōkūleʽa shirt and, ‘Oh, that must be Dennis’, so she goes, gets closer and then, ‘Oh, that’s not Dennis. How come he’s got a Hōkūleʽa shirt and he’s carrying a dry bag and the flight just came from Hawaiʽi?’ So she was talking to Tomo and he was saying yeah, I was just sailing to Kauaʽi on Hōkūleʽa.  And she says, ‘You know this guy Dennis?’ And he says, ‘Yeah, he was my captain, he’s on the next flight.’ I get off the plane and the two of them’s over there and we kind of re-unite.”
    Dennis was scheduled to give a lecture, “Kamakura was trying to build this canoe; they asked me to come to talk about what are the challenges to building a canoe from a grass roots standpoint.  Cause we’re (Kauaʽi) building our canoe and it’s 10 years in the making.  I can tell you all the challenges, a long process, so I talk about that. What is the focus? You got to have a good reason. What’s your foundations? You got to have committed people, some financial income, it’s always a struggle.”
    Tomo quickly decided to seize this opportunity, “He lives in Toyama, on the whole other side of the island. So he rushes home, drives back to Kamakura and he sits in, listens to the lecture and he stays over night with us and we end up talking story, the three of us (Tomo, Kyoko, Dennis) until 3:00 in the morning and in that time, the three of us develop this concept, this idea, even a curriculum you might say on integrating Polynesian wayfinding into Japanese maritime curriculum on navigation and decide to move forward and try to develop an international agreement.  I flew back to my college after that, he goes back, Kyoko’s like the go-between.  Kyoko’s kind of like the glue in a sense; she’s the one keeping us grounded. She knows from the English as a second language standpoint, what are some of the pitfalls, what are some of the ways to get these kids to open up, get them to work to increase their own language abilities.”
    In record time, this dynamic triumvirate had a formal agreement. “Within 9 months we had an international agreement signed, we have exchanges, we have the president coming over, meeting us, seeing our campus. Real formal people, they coming in a suit and tie and I’m in jeans and a t-shirt.  You know I got to wear an aloha shirt, I got to wear shoes, you know, I don’t have nice pants.  But it’s cool and they invite us to go there to see their place and that’s within 9 months. 
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Hōkūleʽa is greeted by Kamakura surfers. http://archive.hokulea.com/holokai/2007/japan_6_yokohama.html
    In March, we got this program and then the students come over. Then the second year all of a sudden, we’re bringing in all the other 4 maritime colleges.  I go back to Japan again, cause I got to go visit all these maritime colleges, promote the program, explain to them.  The first year (2009) I tell Pomai and Nohe can these guys come, we no more canoe but I like to take them out. I want a cultural experience for them, but really down home.  It’s growing, it’s still growing and it’s only 3 years, but very positive on all sides.”
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Japanese maritime students and program staff. https://www.forkauaionline.com/japanese-cadets-aboard-nippon-maru-visit-kauai/
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Shine On: The Peace Poles of Hawai'i Island                                Ke Ola Magazine / Ianuali - Pepeluali

1/12/2021

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PictureThe Rotary Club of Kona Sunrise installed a peace pole at the Innovations Charter School. Photo courtesy of Rotary Club of Kona Sunrise.
Dark times call for light. This is the spirit behind the Peace Pole Project, a movement that is planting beacons for peace across the planet. Since its founding, the Peace Poles Project has spread worldwide with the first poles outside of Japan planted beginning in 1983. More than 200,000 peace poles have been planted in over 200 countries, many in sites of historic and ongoing strife. With the support of The Peace Pole Project promoted by The World Peace Prayer Society, as well as other groups such as Rotary Clubs, the movement continues to grow.
Seeking Peace
   The planting of peace poles emerged from the spiritual journey of Japanese philosopher and author, Masahisa Goi. His spiritual path emerged from the dark hours of post-World War II; he realized in the course of his healing work, that people needed help healing their emotional side as well as the physical. To that end, he sought a simple practice that could be done by anyone. 
   After completing a course of rigorous spiritual training, Masahisa Goi founded Byakko Shinko Kai, an international grassroots organization that transcends cultural, religious, and political boundaries with the vision of promoting world peace through the prayer: “May Peace Prevail Upon Earth,” the first Peace Pole with that message, was planted in 1955 in Hiroshima.

PictureHilo Rotary Club members hosted an Open World delegation from Russia and together they planted a peace pole in Kuhio Kalaniana'ole Park. Photo courtesy of Charlene Iboshi.
Putting Hawai‘i Island Peace Poles on the Map
   On Hawai‘i Island, a committee made up of five East Hawai‘i Rotary Clubs is shining a light on peace through several projects including peace poles. The vision of the Rotary Clubs’ Peace Committee “is not just avoiding conflict, but lifting the community and creating the opportunity for everyone to move forward,” said committee coordinator and Rotary Club of South Hilo member, Charlene Obashi.
   Five years ago, the committee, which is made up of members from Rotary Clubs of Hilo, South Hilo, Hilo Bay, Pāhoa, and Volcano, began their initial efforts with addressing homelessness. The first step was to give voice to the needs of the homeless in East Hawai‘i. This led to several projects such as working with Hope Services and other organizations to provide food, paint shelters, and plant food trees. “The idea of peace poles bubbled up out of our Peace Committee,” said Charlene. 
   Their peace work added an international element when, in the fall of 2019, an Open World (OW) delegation visited Hawai‘i from Russia as part of the Peace Committee’s “Let’s Work it Out” series. Along with visiting energy research labs and sharing knowledge, the OW delegation and Rotary Club members planted a peace pole at Kuhio Kalaniana‘ole Park in Keaukaha.
   Since beginning their program, the Peace Committee discovered many peace poles already planted on the island, some in need of refurbishment, and all in need of location and placement on a map, which became an ongoing committee project. 
   No journey away from home is complete for Bob Juettner, committee member and member of Rotary Club of Hilo Bay, unless he can verify another peace pole or two. Bob has faithfully been placing peace poles on the map with GPS coordinates that the committee hopes to use to create an app. When we spoke, Bob was off to West Hawai‘i on the trail of two new poles installed there; he also shared that a new peace pole was in the works for Kohala.
    “We have a dream that people will take a trip around the island and visit the peace poles and make a journey, internally as well as externally,” explained Tim Hansen, special programs director at the Hilo Prosecutor’s Office and Rotary Club of Hilo Bay member.

PictureAs part of the STARS program developed by the Hilo Prosecutor's Office, a peace garden and peace pole was installed. Photo courtesy of Tim Hansen.
Peace Poles around the Island
   Positive ideas, like sparks, can light fires. In 2018, when Al Jubitz, co-founder of the Rotarian Action Group for Peace, came to Hawai‘i Island to share some of the work being done nationally, he sparked island Rotarians into action.
   Since that time, West Hawai‘i Rotary Club members have planted peace poles at several locations including Innovations Charter School. “The kids are a good way to start,” said Nestorio Domingo, Rotary Club of Kona Sunrise member and past president. In addition, the club has also planted peace poles at the Old Kona Airport Park, the West Hawai‘i Civic Center, and Pālamanui Community College
   Probably one of the oldest peace poles on the island resides at Paleaku Peace Garden. A group from Japan brought a peace pole to the island, seeking a home here. Their journey brought them to the Paleaku Peace Garden in Captain Cook where it was planted overlooking the Kona coast, amongst the many other symbols of peace from a myriad of cultures and faiths.
   Peace poles have been planted for many different reasons as a symbol of awareness, a meditational focus for healing, to honor a loved one, or commemorate an event. In Pāhoa, now in the process of recovery from the 2018 volcanic eruptions, a peace pole, sponsored by the Rotary Club of Pāhoa Sunset, was planted at the newly opened Puna Kai Shopping Center and displays the message “May Peace Prevail on Earth” in eight languages. 
   “The peace pole stands as a reminder to think peace,” said Deborah Nichols, Rotary Club of Pāhoa Sunset president. “The Rotary Club picked Puna Kai Shopping Center because it represents a new beginning for our little town,” she added.
   If you have occasion to visit the Prosecutor’s Office in Hilo, in the midst of daily human drama, you will find STARS Peace Garden planted with a peace pole, a memorial to the victims of homicide and their families.
   “When we established the garden in Hilo, we knew we wanted a peace pole. We wanted peace to prevail in our community and also in our hearts. The presence of the peace pole in the garden helps people who visit to center and focus. It’s not only to remember our loved ones who were killed, but it’s also for the community and the person who did that harm. It’s an individual journey, a community journey and a world journey,” reflected Tim.
   The peace pole at Tutu’s House in Waimea was planted in September 1995, the 50th anniversary of the bombing of Hiroshima. Sophie Oki, then the director, invited Tyrone Rheinhart, who was in Hawai‘i with a delegation of 47 Japanese visitors, to plant a peace pole.
  The pole was replanted when Tutu’s House moved to their current location and the recipients of Medtronicʻs “Live On. Give On.” award (sponsored by Earl Bakken) created a garden around it. The following year when the award recipients came, the cap was taken off the top of the Peace Pole and they wrote messages of peace to be sealed inside.

PictureRotary Club members from Volcano and Hilo gathered to install a peace pole at the Volcano Art Center in Volcano Village. Photo courtesy of Charlene Iboshi.
Volcano Art Center: Community Hub
  Paul Field, president of Rotary Club of Volcano was contacted by Charlene about planting a peace pole. “The Volcano Art Center is the hub of the community so we decided to install it there. Mike Nelson and the art center jumped right in. We had a little ceremony with 10 people. We have a plaque under the pole that explains it,” said Paul.
   During the ceremony, artist Julie Williams shared her story. “Last year when I went to Hiroshima and saw the peace pole there, I thought it would be so great to have one at the Volcano Art Center [VAC] and then Paul told me that the Rotary Club would like to donate one,” explained Julie.
  But the VAC isn’t going to stop there. “This pole has inspired another project at the art center called the Positive Post Project. We are reaching out to six artists and other service clubs to do smaller posts that will have artwork and a positive statement and will be planted along the edge of the forest,” she added.  

PictureMembers of the Hilo Rotary clubs and the Russian delegation installing a peace pole in Kalaniana'ole Park, adjacent to Lili'uokalani Gardens. Photo courtesy of Charlene Iboshi.
Lili‘uokalani Garden: A Community Treasure
   Another peace pole was discovered in Rakuen, an area behind Suisan that is part of Lili‘uokalani Gardens. Landscape architect Kazuo Nakamura developed a waterfall that flowed into a pond that could be viewed from the Nihon Cultural Center, now the Hilo Bay Café.
   “At some point between the Nihon Cultural Center and Hilo Bay Café, the peace pole was installed. But the pathway and the pond and the grounds surrounding it have become overgrown and the pole text has been painted over. There's an effort to restore that area around the peace pole as well as the peace pole itself. It’s a real community treasure. You just put the word out that something needs to be done and people show up. The Rotary Clubs came out like gangbusters,” said K.T. Canon-Eger, founder and president of Friends of Lili‘uokalani Garden.
   The aloha spirit of Hawai‘i Island has rich resources for peace and so it’s no surprise at the number of peace poles here. Peace begins in the heart of the individual and is about making connections and creating communities that foster beauty and become beacons of peace amidst the chaos of our modern world.

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Hawaiian Naming Traditions: A Cultural Legacy                           Ke Ola Magazine Sept / Oct 2020

9/15/2020

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PictureHā`ena is the tern for a red-hot burning anger and is also the name of one of the playgrounds of Hi`iaka, Pele's favored sister. Photo by Jan Wizinowich
  According to Ka Haka ‘Ula O Ke‘elikōlani College of Hawaiian Language professor Dr. Larry Kimura, Hawaiian language was and still is a “treasure house embedded with the whole way of seeing the world. It adds to the whole richness of being on earth and approaching different concepts in different ways.” This is at the heart of Hawaiian naming practices. When a Hawaiian name is bestowed, a connection is made, a story told, history preserved, someone honored, a hope expressed.
Colors, Clouds, Rain—Names for All Reasons
   There are many different terms that describe colors. For example, Wena is the red glow of sunrise or the rosy glow in a cloud that can be associated with Pele. Hā‘ena is a red-hot burning, such as rage or anger and is also the name of a place in Kea‘au on Hawai‘i Island that is known as the playground of Hi‘iaka, favored sister of Pele.
   “Hawaiian language has more precise names for colors and nuances of color names. I see a yellow ti leaf but the word we use for that yellow is pala, not melemele. It is ripe or aged. It captures the peopleʻs perspective. How they see things around them,” explained Dr. Kimura.
   The basic word for cloud is ao, but there are dozens of terms for various clouds. Ao pua‘a describes a grouping of various sized cumulus clouds, resembling a pua‘a (mother pig) with her piglets gathered around her. Malu is Hawaiian for shelter and a ho‘omalumalu describes a sheltering cloud.
   Rains are a unique experience depending on one’s location. In Waimea there is a rain called uhi‘wai. Uhi can mean a covering, a veil or film, so uhi‘wai refers to a light misty rain that comes in the afternoon and feeds the crops. In Hilo the misty rain is kani‘lehua, because it quenches the thirst of the lehua blossoms.

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Wena, the name for the rosy glow of the clouds at sunrise. photo by Barbara Schaefer
PictureHawaiian language and cultural scholar, Mary Kawena Pukui. photo courtesy of the Bernice Pauahi Bishop Museum
Naming People
   In Hawaiian language tradition, words have power; a name was a person’s most precious possession, a force unto itself. Or in the words of Mary Kawena Pukui, “A name became a living entity...identified a person and could influence health, happiness and even life span.”
   Hawaiian names also offer a glimpse into a person’s life. “As Hawaiian speakers, when we hear a name in Hawaiian, its meaning or significance is often apparent. The language carries meaning and the listener is impacted by the meaning and significance of a name,” explained Dr. Kimura.
   There are three types of names which refer to the relationship between humans and the spiritual world: Inoa pō, inoa hō‘ailona, and inoa ‘ūlāleo. Inoa pō is a name that comes in the night through a dream to a family member and given to a baby. Pō means night but in a larger sense, it means source, the time before the beginning, a connection with the ancestral world. 
   An inoa hō‘ailona, or sign name, was found when “a family member might have a vision, or see a mystic sign in the clouds, the flight of birds, or other phenomenon that clearly indicated.” An Inoa ‘ūlāleo, or voice name, might be found when someone hears “a mystical voice speaking a name directly or in an oblique message,” a voice on the wind.
   A name from one of these three origins must be given or risk sickness and death. Mary Kawena Pukui’s own birth illustrates this. After she was born, an aunt was given an inoa pō, but she did not bestow the name. Kawena became ill and during a ho‘oponopono the aunt revealed the inoa pō. The original name was ‘oki (cut, severed) and the inoa pō was given, restoring her to health.

PictureDr. Ka'iu Kimura, Director of the 'Imiloa Astronomy Center holds one of the charts with name suggestions. photo courtesy of 'Imiloa Astronomy Center
Inoa Ho`omanao: History Preserved
   Naming preserved shared history. Inoa ho‘omana`o are names that provide brief historical reminders of past events. “Let a grandmother call out to a child, ‘Come here, Keli‘ipaahana’ (“the industrious chiefess”) and everyone within hearing remembered Po‘oloku, the beloved chiefess who kept her people busy and prosperous, and even personally dug holes for planting bananas.” 
   Often a person or place has more than one name such as our own Hawai‘i Island, commonly known as the Big Island but also called Moku o Keawe. Why is that? The answer provides some island history. The name is derived from a 17th century chief, Keawe‘īkekahiali‘iokamoku, great-grandfather of Kamehameha I, whose reign over the island was peaceful and prosperous.
Inoa Kūamuamu: Reviling Names
   Some children were thought to need protection from harmful spirits and were given such names as Makapiapa (sticky eyes) or Kūkae (excrement). The hope was that the spirit would be disgusted and stay away from the child. After a few years, the reviled name was ‘oki (cut) and the child was given a new name.
   Inoa Kūamuamu were also a kind of negative commemorative name. This kind of naming was used when someone who lived close by had hurt or insulted the family. The family then gave the baby a name that would be a constant reminder of the offense.
Lineage, Prophesy and Tribute
   Names were also selected to show family descent, as in the case of ‘Umi-a-Līloa. “Līloa, 50th king in succession after Wākea, the traditional founder of the Hawaiian people named his son ‘Umi-a-Līloa, meaning ‘Umi, descendant of Līloa’.” 
   Family lines and migrations are also revealed in names, as well as tribute to the accomplishments of the bearer. “Defeated enemies gave Kamehameha I the name Pai‘ea (hard-shelled crab) as a tribute to their conqueror’s impenetrable courage and endurance.”

PictureHawaiian language students began the workshop with a symbolic ti leaf lei connecting them to ancestral sources of knowledge. photo courtesy of 'Imiloa Astronomy Center
Hawaiian Naming in the 21st Century
   Over the years, Hawaiian language retained fewer speakers with the influx of outside influences and a new social milieu. Naming traditions, which provide insight into the Hawaiian world view, changed as well.
   “Our language captures many aspects of traditional culture that we donʻt practice anymore,” said Dr. Kimura. “If youʻre raised in todayʻs world, itʻs hard to be comfortable about reviling names or commemorative names that may have peculiar meaning. The most common way people think about that kind of name is that itʻs negative or odd. They avoid it,” he added.  
   A serendipitous series of encounters and events created an opportunity to delve into Hawaiian naming practices and brought the Hawaiian language onto the world stage.     Initial plans were already underway to explore the possibility of giving Hawaiian names to astronomical objects discovered from Mauna Kea or Haleakalā. Then, in the fall of 2017 an interstellar asteroid entered our solar system.
   Dr. Kimura was asked by his niece, Ka‘iu Kimura, director of ‘Imiloa Astronomy Center, to name this unique new object. Aided by modern day technology, the process he went through mirrored traditional Hawaiian naming practices based in close observation and reflection.
   “It appeared to be like something thatʻs coming in to check us out. Some kind of a spacecraft from some outer planet, like a spy. Fairly quickly the name came to my mind: ‘Oumuamua, an advance guard, coming to check us out,” said Dr. Kimura.
   A series of informal meetings between Dr. Kimura and Doug Simons, director of the Canada-France-Hawai‘i Telescope, Alan Tokunaga, retired astronomer, and John Defries, a Hawaiian businessman who sparked the idea of using Hawaiian names for new astronomical discoveries, began in January 2018.
   This gave birth to A Hua He Inoa (calling forth a name), a program through the ‘Imiloa Astronomy Center. In October 2018 a weekend workshop was held to engage young Hawaiian speakers from the islands of Hawai‘i and Maui in Hawaiian naming traditions.   

PictureHawaiian Language students display the final names for the two asteroids. photo courtesy of 'Imiloa Astronomy Center
sing the Kumulipo, Hawai‘i’s traditional creation chant which is a masterpiece of evolutionary documentation, and other sources, they delved into the thought processes of the ancestors to initiate a reconnection and “call forth names” in honor of two designated discoveries made possible by Hawai‘i astronomy. They also peered into the world of astronomy, visiting ‘Imiloa Astronomical Center and the University of Hawai‘i Observatory on Mauna Kea, observing the behaviors of the asteroids.
  By the end of the weekend they had agreed on names for the two asteroids: 2016 HO3 was named  Kamo`oalewa, Kamo`o meaning a fragment or offspring that will now alewa, orbit on its own; and 2015 BZ509, was named Ka`epaoka`āwela, which is an asteroid near the orbit of Ka`āwela (Jupiter), but is `epa or mischievously moving in the opposite direction. 
   “This was a new opportunity. These Hawaiian speaking students never thought theyʻd be asked, let alone dreamt that they could use their Hawaiian language and cultural knowledge to name these kinds of objects,” reflected Dr. Kimura.
Since the initial A Hua He Inoa workshop, other astronomical discoveries have been given Hawaiian names, including most recently Pōwehi, (embellished dark source of unending creation), the first image of a black hole to ever be captured. 
   “We are reviving new generations of Hawaiian speakers, which requires the establishment also of our Hawaiian cultural identity by being involved in renewing this naming process so that someday it can become normal as before. One little way of reconnecting,” concluded Dr. Kimura.
 
Referenced work:
Nana I Ke Kumu: Look to the Source V. 1 Pgs 94-98
Hawaiian Dictionary. Mary Kawena Pukui / Samuel H. Elbert
papahanaumokuakea.gov/education/cultural_hawaiian_names_wind.html 
kumukahi.org
For more information:
larrykim@hawaii.edu

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Hāmākua Jodo Mission: A Beacon for Peace                               Ke Ola Magazine May - June 2020

6/3/2020

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Present Jodo Mission temple. Photo by Sarah Anderson
Like a guardian spirit, the Hāmākua Jodo Mission (HJM) sits on a slope above the old plantation community of Pa‘auhau, backed by the gravestones of the many generations of members who attended and contributed to the temple. With a one-time congregation of more than 600 worshipers, it is now sustained with just a handful of elderly members who endeavor to maintain the spirit and history of the Japanese in Hawai‘i.
Picture1918 dedication of the new temple. Photo courtesy of NHERC Heritage Center.
Origins
   In 1868, the first Japanese immigrants arrived in Hawai‘i to face harsh conditions in an unfamiliar land. They were forced to labor for long hours in sugarcane fields, with no traditional social structures such as the religious practices they left behind. This led to an untenable situation.
   The next group of Japanese workers, who arrived in 1885, were under government contracts between Hawai‘i and Japan, and were promised better conditions. Instead, the harsh treatment by the field bosses continued.
   Sometime in 1894, the Imperial Consulate General of Japan, Hisashi Shimamura, paid a visit to the Hāmākua Coast. During that visit, members of the Japanese immigrant community suggested the idea of building a home temple in Hāmākua. Mr. Shimamura was so pleased with the idea that he pledged $300 to get construction underway. 
   Temple founding members Tanikichi Fujitani and Shoichi Hino were instrumental in securing the pledge from the Japanese Consulate. The rest of the $3000 construction costs were raised by Mr. Fujitani and the founding Reverend Gakuo Okabe, who visited house-to-house, collecting donations.
   “When times were tough, they only ate bananas to survive in their tireless effort to obtain donations,” said youngest active temple member Sandy Takahashi. “Reverend Okabe was known to travel around carrying an Amida Buddha statue on his back. He would tirelessly walk around with it, spreading the teachings of Buddhism and raising funds to build a home temple,” she added.
   Opened in 1896, the original temple, which was named the Hāmākua Bukkyo Kaido (Hāmākua Buddhist Temple), renamed the HJM in 1951, was located in Pa‘auhau Mauka, the geographic center of the five sugar plantations.
   The oldest Japanese sanctioned Buddhist temple in Hawai‘i and possibly the United States, the 24 by 36-foot structure stood on an acre of land, surrounded by sugarcane fields, with another acre designated for the cemetery. When the current temple was built, this original building was converted into a kitchen and dining hall, which is still in use today.

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It took Mr. Eizuchi Higaki, Mr. Tanaka and one other workman two years to finish two carved transomes. Photo by Sarah Anderson
PictureCurrent temple altar. Photo by Sarah Anderson
Temple Reborn
   In 1909, Reverend Ryoyu Yoshida became the fourth minister to serve at the HJM. It was under his leadership that a new temple, Konpondō (main prayer hall), was completed in 1918, under the direction of Umekichi Tanaka. Mr. Tanaka had moved back to Pa‘auhau in 1916, and had been trained by his father as a miyadaiku.
   Miyadaiku carpenters only build shrines and temples, use no nails or metal of any kind and are renowned for their elaborate wooden joints. The buildings they construct are among the world’s longest surviving wooden structures, which is certainly borne out by the 102-year-old HJM temple. 
   The Pa‘auhau plantation donated the materials, built a road to the site, and helped haul materials there; however, the construction was a community project with more than 270 people directly involved. With the efforts of several carpenters under the supervision of Mr. Tanaka, and only working weekends, the construction took two years.
   The plantation also gave permission for the removal of four koa trees from the forest, located at the back of the property. These were used to carve the two distinctive transoms guarding the altar and the altar piece itself.
   When the temple was finished, a lean-to was created for the koa logs. Eizuchi Higaki, whose youngest son George is a current temple member, was a plantation machinist. Mr. Higaki, along with Mr. Tanaka and another unknown carpenter, came to the temple every day after work for two years until the carving was finished. Each hand-carved transom depicts a fierce dragon a-swirl amidst an elaborate wave design, symbolizing a close connection to the oceanic world.

PictureGravestone of Katsu Goto. First grave in temple graveyard. Photo by Sarah Anderson
A Community Center and History Keeper
   The HJM served as a place of worship where immigrants could gather as a community and take refuge from the rigors of plantation work. Along with regular services, the temple offered Sunday school, kabuki-type plays, music, and traditional crafts such as shishu (Japanese embroidery) taught by Mrs. Yoshida (Reverend Yoshida’s wife).  
   The temple’s cemetery along with the stories of the many generations of temple members, tells the history of an island community that spans across the Pacific. One of the first graves, once the temple was built, was that of Katsu Goto, who arrived in 1885. Mr. Goto became a spokesman in a labor dispute between Japanese workers and the plantation, and in October 1889 was found lynched from a pole on main street Honoka‘a. When the temple was finished, members transferred his remains to the temple cemetery and erected a large gravestone. Revered in his hometown of Oiso, Japan, the municipal museum there has created a memorial exhibit honoring Mr. Goto. 
   The cemetery has an array of headstones ranging from carved marble, to carefully arranged boulders, to simple stones. The stones are the resting place of unknown immigrants whose families had perhaps returned to Japan. It is also the resting place for Japanese laborers whose graves were transferred from nearby Kukaiau.  

PictureLongest serving reverend Kogan Ekuan. Photo courtesy of NHERC Heritage Center.
Longest Serving Reverend Kogan Ekuan
   Reverend Kogan Ekuan served the community from 1937–1977 and is remembered fondly. However, his years of service were interrupted by a twist of fate that highlights the ongoing connection between Hāmākua and Japan, despite world events.
   Reverend Ekuan was in Japan tending to his ailing mother when the US entered World War II. Earlier in 1941, his wife Kimie had died while giving birth to twin daughters, along with one of the twins. Reverend Ekuan’s mother-in-law, Tome Oda, came from O‘ahu to take care of her newborn granddaugther and the Ekuanʻs other two young sons. During the time Reverend Ekuan was away, Tome kept the mission open as a community center and gathering place. Upon his return in 1948, services and temple activities resumed.
   Daughter Yoshiko remembered, “When my father came back, he started a Sunday school; we went down makai for services. At the temple we had the Hana-matsuri service to celebrate the birth of Buddha. And what was really cute was my father made a play, a shibai, where the Sunday school children would be the actors and actresses.”

PictureTemple president Masa Nishimori, and members Suye Kawahima, Sandy Takahashi and George Higaki, whose father carved the transome. Photo by Jan Wizinowich
A Beacon of Light
   The handful of elderly members continue to keep the temple in perfect working order, preserving their history and honoring their ancestors. Along with a contingent of elderly members who do an annual work day to prepare for Obon, church president Masa Nishimori is a constant presence.
   “Trimming trees, hauling filled wheelbarrows clear across the property and back, mowing the yard, raking leaves, and doing various handyman work are just some of the things he does, so that the property is kept in good condition,” commented Sandy.
   The future of HJM is uncertain, but it continues to be a regular destination for both Japanese and mainland visitors. The remaining members hope to see it preserved for future generations as a center for learning and remembrance.
   Every Buddhist temple contains a munafuda (dedication board), which is placed somewhere high in the rafters. Like a time capsule, along with a recording of the construction details including names of the people and funders, the Hāmākua Jodo Missionʻs munafuda also contains a prayer for the future:

May there be harmony below the heavens with the sun and moon shining
brightly.
May the wind and rain be timely and disasters and calamities not arise.
May nations be bountiful, people be safe, and armies and weapons not used.
Let us revere virtue and humanity and cultivate respect and humility.
For more information:
Historypin.org: Hamakua Jodo Mission
Visit: North Hawai‘i Education and Research Center’s Heritage Center
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To Walk With the Ancestors:                                               Lapakahi and the North Kohala Coast                                       Ke Ola Magazine   March / April 2020

3/11/2020

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PictureLooking north towards Mahukona from the south point of Lapakahi. Photo by Jan Wizinowich
 

  Lapakahi State Historical Park (LSHP), a significant cultural complex along the leeward coast of North Kohala on Hawai‘i Island, is a time portal through which we can glimpse the thriving life of Hawai`i’s early settlers and a touchstone for Hawaiian cultural practitioners. Once a thriving fishing village and upland field system, it is also the center piece of Kohala coast land preservation efforts.
  The Kohala district, a peninsula that points NW, is unique in that it is neatly divided between windward and leeward or i loko (inside) and i waho (outside). The leeward coast provided calm waters and rich fishing grounds and as the population grew, an upland field system.
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A reconstructed house site built with bamboo and pili grass thatching. Photo by Jan Wizinowich
PictureSea water was poured into hollowed out stones, evaporating to leave pa'akai (salt). Photo by Jan Wizinowich
Evolution of an Ahupua`a
  Initial settlements were centered in the valleys on the lush windward side of the peninsula. But sometime in the 1300s, it is thought that a growing population expanded to the leeward side, creating settlements such as Lapakahi.
  Beginning in the late 1960s, Lapakahi has been the focus of a series archaeological excavations initiated by Richard Pearson and Roger Green who conducted one of the first studies of an ahupua`a in its entirety.  Ahupua`a generally run from the mountain to the ocean and were a functional organization in which `ohana could harvest and exchange resources.
Lapakahi began with Koai`e, a fishing village located on a small cove with a coral beach and a canoe landing. There is no way of knowing for sure, but related `ohana probably made their way overland or traveled by canoe to find a calm landing place to settle. Now a marine sanctuary, the reef provided and still provides an abundance of life sustaining food in the form of fish, shellfish and seaweed.
  Eventually, with the increase in population, the fishing village expanded upland into the dryland forest, which probably consisted of such plants as a`ali`i, iliahi and koai’a. Terraced fields were created and watered from the Kohala Mountain watershed, which they harnessed into auwae (irrigation canals).
  The population continued to expand and starting in 1450, the Lapakahi field system would be continuously developed and intensified and divided into smaller sections with permanent boundaries. House sites evolved from temporary shelters used during the growing season to permanent residences. It is estimated that food production in the ahupua`a peaked out towards the end of the 18th century and that most of the residents were gone by the early 1900s.

PictureEntrance to Lapakahi State Historic Park. Photo by Jan Wizinowich
A New Era
  Although Lapakahi was no longer an active community, it continued to be a place of healing and knowledge. Papa Henry Auwae, a noted Hawaiian healer born in the early 1900s, spent time at Lapakahi as a child studying with kahuna la`au lapa’au (traditional Hawaiian healers) there.
  “There were kahuna that dealt with mountain plants and those who dealt with coastal plants and some of the coastal kahuna lived at Lapakahi.  Papa also said that the water off the coast of Lapakahi was the water used for healing,” said Momi Naughton, who interviewed Papa for the Smithsonian Folklife Festival in 1989.
  Lapakahi was also visited by local Kohala residents for fishing and recreation. “The Akonipule highway was not there. That was very significant for Lapakahi; it was very inaccessible for many people. The only people who knew about it and used it were Kohala people and ranch people. It was and still is very good fishing grounds,” recalls Fred Cachola.
  Fred, who was born and raised in Kohala, remembers trips to Lapakahi with his Boy Scout Troop in the 1940s and 1950s. “The plantation truck would pick us up at the scout hall in Hala`ula and take us to Mahukona. We’d bring canned goods and cabbage and onions. No coolers. We packed water in 5 gallon military surplus water cans. We walked the coastal road, fished, swam and earned merit badges,” said Fred. “At that time, it was choked with kiawe. It was so thick, the only way you could walk was on the trail,” he added.
  The kiawe was removed during the process of the archaeological excavations, which began in the late 1960s with the Koai`e fishing village. During a series of digs, archaeologists found the remains of a village complete with all the necessities of life.
  Koai`e Cove provided a launching area for canoes with the foundations of a hale wa`a (canoe house) nearby. Archaeologists also uncovered the remains of house sites that were lashed pole constructions, on rock wall foundations and thatched with pili grass. Salt was crucial and there are several pohaku pa`akai (salt making stones), large flat rocks with bowl like indentations that held the evaporating sea-water.  A well dug for fresh water was also found.
  With close connections to the spirits of the land, there are the remains of a heiau (place of worship) constructed on a promontory; Ku`ula, a stone fishing god, who received part of the fishermen’s catch, sits on the south point overlooking the ocean.  Archaeologists also found several burial sites.
  An extensive field system, which was part of the Kohala field system, was discovered in the upland portion of the ahupua`a. A network of trails connected the mauka (mountain) and makai (shoreline) areas, as well as providing access between field sections. The main stone-lined trails were also hollowed out, perhaps to collect rain water runoff.
  There are also upland house sites that evolved from temporary, seasonal shelters to established permanent homes, reflecting the evolution and settlement of the Lapakahi ahupua`a. It was in this upland area that kalo (taro) and `uala (sweet potato) were grown. These were shared with the shoreline fishing families in exchange for ulu, octopus, shellfish, various reef fish, seaweed and salt.
  In 1973 Lapakahi State Historical Park, which now consists of 279 acres, was established. In 1979 the park was extended to include a Marine Life Conservation District to protect the rich diversity of coral and fish along the coast. The restoration of native plants at Lapakahi such as ma`o (native cotton), milo, hinahina kahakai, `ilima and niu (coconut) provide an outdoor botanical classroom for la`au lapa`au practitioners and visitors.
  The park is a place where residents and visitors can get a glimmer of what life was like in pre-contact Hawai`i. But the healing spirit of the land lives on for members of Na Haumana La`au lapa`au o Papa Auwae (NHLLOPA) who meet there annually in October to share and perpetuate healing traditions passed to them from Papa Henry Auwae. The NHLLOPA has also been responsible for caretaking the park since 2010, initially through an agreement with the State Parks and now sponsored through the Friends of the Future.

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Ku'ula, the fishing god where fisherman left a portion of their catch. Photo by Jan Wizinowich
PictureA rock shelter flanked by milo trees. The wood was used to make bowls and canoe paddles. Photo by Jan Wizinowich
Walking with the Ancestors
  Lapakahi is a pearl amongst a strand of settlements along the leeward Kohala coast, which has the most pre-contact historical, cultural archaeological sites in the State of Hawai`i. The spirit of the lands of Kamehameha I have called out to the hearts of the community, making the Kohala coast the focus of concerted land preservation efforts by several groups and agencies.
With the North Kohala Community Development Plan as guide, the non-profit corporation, Kohala Lihikai, made up of five land preservation groups, has been a driving force behind the efforts to preserve the Kohala coast as a, “…recreational and educational resource for future generations of residents and visitors,” according to Toni Withington, North Kohala community advocate and spokesperson for Kohala preservation efforts.
  The bulk of the funding for the purchase of coastal lands has come from the County’s 2% Open Space Fund and the State’s Legacy Land Preservation Program. In addition to that the Trust for Public Lands and Hawaiian Islands Land Trust, federal grants and private donors have also contributed.
  From 2010 to 2017, the efforts of volunteer groups and community members raised 20.9 million dollars and preserved 390 acres along the North Kohala coast, with many acres pending purchase. Just south of Lapakahi, Kaiholena, was acquired in 2016. According to the Hawai’i Island Land Trust (HILT), “Kaiholena was once a thriving community as remnants of heiau, massive halau, burial sites, and village complexes are still visible.  Kaiholena has been said to have numerous, pre-contact intact cultural and archaeological sites in Hawai‘i with over 200 sites that qualify for the National Historic Register found there.”
  Along with the acquisition of coastal lands, is the need to establish access by identifying and maintaining historic trails. Organizations such as E Mau Nā Ala Hele, the Ala Kahakai Trail Association (ATA) and the Ala Kahakai National Historic Trail have added both financial and trail development resources to the preservation efforts.  
  The 2016 purchase of Kaiholena South by the ATA (with the support of numerous organizations and individuals), added to Kaiholena North and Central, provide a total of 10 miles of protected coastline and potential trail. Preservation efforts are ongoing with the ultimate goal being a North Kohala coastline free of development and with community access for recreation, fishing and historic preservation.
  Lapakahi is a window into the past, but also the beginning of the re-awakening of Hawaiian ancestral spirits who live on through the land and the voices of the Kohala community.


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Tutu's House: Celebrating 25 years of Community, Health and Wellness    Ke Ola Magazine Nov / Dec 2019

11/11/2019

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PictureEarl Bakken: A celebration of a life well lived. Photo courtesy of FOF.
   Nowhere is the aloha spirit of the Waimea and Hawai‘i Island communities more evident than at Tutu’s House. Dropping by on any given day, one can find a constant flow of activities where community members are making connections, building relationships, sharing new skills, and seeking health and wellness information.
   Tutu’s House has thrived for the last 25 years as the result of the heart/mind connections of a community of people who believe in the power of love. Based on Hawaiian values, Tutu’s House is a place of wisdom, knowledge, and acceptance.
   Tutu’s House was primarily the brainchild of Earl Bakken, who was encouraging North Hawai‘i Community Hospital to include a resource center in the hospital. Originally slated to be a part of the NHCH, by the time the hospital finally opened in 1996, Tutu’s House had been in operation for two years and had outgrown any purview or space that might have been available at the hospital. 
   Tutu’s House is a blend of western, complementary, and cultural approaches to health and wellness. At the time of its inception, Earl was on the board of the Friends of the Future (FOF) and had a special focus of health and wellness. The inventor of the implantable pacemaker, Earl was steeped in medical science but saw the importance of relationship beyond technology.
   “His idea was a combination of tech and love. He noticed that it [the pacemaker] worked better depending on who installed it. High tech and high touch need to go together,” said Richard Spiegel, who gave Tutu’s House its name. “We were all looking at how to manifest that and make it useful for individuals and the community,” he added.  
   Working within FOF, Earl and a handful of like-minded community members laid the philosophical foundation of a place where people could come for non-judgmental acceptance and the wisdom that only a tutu (grandmother) could provide.

PictureTutu's House participants can sample movement activities such as chair yoga. Although Zettelyss Amora has moved away from Hawai'i, she returns frequently and leads other activities. Photo courtesy of FOF
Program Leaders
   A gem with many different facets, Tutu’s House has been the beneficiary of a series of dedicated program leaders. When it opened in 1994, long-time community members Noni Kuhns, program leader, and Linda Kalawa, ‘ohana facilitator, were at the helm. 
   Having led cancer retreats using alternative therapies, Noni came to the attention of Earl, who enlisted her help to get the then-unnamed resource center underway.
   “When people saw their [Noni and Linda’s] faces, they really had a connection to them in the sense that if they were part of it, it must be a good place. They gave it its initial form, what it was meant to be, based on the importance of relationship and connection,” explained Susan Maddox, FOF executive team leader. 
   During the first seven years, the Tutu’s House calendar provided a range of classes to promote healthy living including vibrational healing, meditation, listening partnerships, sleep wellness, and biofeedback. These were enhanced by creative offerings such as hula and ‘ukulele.
   In 2001, the next program leader, Dana Moody, came to Tutu’s House. Originally a photojournalist, Dana approached Tutu’s House with an offer of a slide presentation of the around-the-world journey she took with her sister, Peggy, who also offered a series of communications classes.
   In the six years Dana was there, she guided Tutu’s House through two moves from the original tiny space in Parker Ranch enter to a larger space there, and finally to their current location in the rear building of the Kamuela Business Center.
   Dana continued to explore the intersection of medical fields and alternative approaches to health and wellness, adding yoga and women’s groups to Tutu’s House, including a women’s cancer support group. During her tenure, she also traveled to Washington DC to share the Tutu’s House story at a health and wellness conference.
   The current program leader, Lorraine Urbic came to Tutu’s House from a life of community service through the foster care system. Tutu’s House provided space for her to recruit and train foster parents and gave her a longtime appreciation of the programs available.
   “I was always intrigued by Tutu's House but with working and raising children, I couldnʻt come. What Iʻve tried to do during my 12 years here is to expand the program to have things scheduled after-hours and on weekends so that people who are 40-hours-a-week people can enjoy what can happen here,” explained Lorraine.


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The Tuesday morning 'ukulele group gathers weekly to share music, laughter and lunch. Photo by Jan Wizinowich
PictureRunning for more than 10 years, Gretchen Geisler has led the knitting group with creativity and fellowship, here with January Heron. Photo courtesy of FOF
Offerings
  During those initial years, Tutu’s House, “continued to expand that definition of health and wellness. It took on a life of its own and it wasnʻt by design. There wasnʻt that notion that weʻre going to do this, this, and this, and we were going to work towards specific outcomes. It was allowed to unfold in the way it worked in the community and the way it was effective for folks,” reflected Susan. 
   Along with funding resources, Earl was a conduit through which Tutu’s House could be connected to the world community and such pioneers of mind/body medicine as Dr. Oz and Harvard professor Dr. Herbert Benson, to name just a couple.
   With a philosophy based on community connections and relationships, Tutu’s House has provided the space and support for community programs that are multifaceted and continue to broaden the concepts of health and wellness.
   “Every person who came into Tutuʻs House was a gift to me and my goal was finding out what that gift was. Either a story they shared or an experience and a learning lesson,” remembers Joan Campbell, Health Maps leader.
   The quilters’ group meets on a regular basis and has expanded to the dyeing of fabrics. FOF Resource Development Leader Michelle Medeiros asks: “What does a creative endeavor have to do with health? The longevity of a person can be predicted based on the number of social interactions that person has on a daily basis. Also, the quilting and knitting groups check up on each other, and the quilting group even created a driving schedule for a member that had to go to Hilo for chemo.”
   Space is open to anyone who has a passion for something that they want to share; credentials are not necessary. One of the most successful programs has been the writers’ group, began by the late John Holland. “He showed up week after week and sat in that room and wrote. Eventually one or two people came and now it’s grown in number and to professional levels of publishing and readings,” said Lorraine.
   The Tuesday morning ‘ukulele group is another longtime offering. Began by Aunty Elaine Loo and carried on by Aunty Margie Spencer, it continues, now led by a group member. Participants make joyful music, and share laughter and lunch.

PictureMaureen Garry shares approaches to Build a Better Brain twice a month. Photo courtesy of FOF
Nested Programs
Health maps and Earl’s Garage were additional dimensions of the program offerings of Tutu’s House, expanding the range of people served.
 
Health Maps
   Seeing the need for health education and information sources, Earl also guided an adjunct program called Health Maps in 1996 and hired public health specialist, Joan Campbell, to assist. The internet was really starting to grow and to make a dizzying amount of medical information available.
   “They would have a diagnosis where they were being challenged by their health and they wanted to learn more. Iʻd go online and help them find information about it,” explained Joan. 
   This was balanced out by the wisdom of Hawaiian health practices. One early mainstay was la‘au lapa‘au practitioner, Henry “Papa” Auwae. Papa offered many presentations on traditional Hawaiian healing, which blends spirituality with tangible plant medicines. “One of my favorite times was when Papa Henry Auwae would come in. He shared so much about Hawai‘i and healing,” said Joan.
   Although Health Maps focused on science, it was embedded in the Tutu’s House philosophy of love and connection. “Opening up and talking to people about your life, and sharing and taking the time to do that was super important, and part of the healing process. That was foundational for me,” remembers Joan.
 
Earl’s Garage
   Earl’s Garage is a program that was near and dear to Earl Bakken’s heart. Began in 1999 with help from Parker Ranch, it is a re-creation of sorts of the garage where, with only a few basic tools, Earl’s tinkering led to the invention of the implantable pacemaker. 
   Originally developed by Michelle Medeiros, who had arrived at Tutu’s House in 1998 as a volunteer and six months later was on staff, Earl’s Garage provides a place where kids can follow their curiosity, invent, and explore their world. Twenty years later, it’s still going strong. “It’s what Tutu’s House is all about. The sharing of our own gifts and passions. It helps kids recognize the gift of curiosity and how to develop it,” recalls Michelle. 
 
The Future
   For the last 25 years, Tutu’s House has touched the lives of many people and will continue to do so. What Tutu’s House will look like in the next 25 years will be guided by the reflections and inspirations of community members. “Because weʻre celebrating the 25th anniversary, I want to meet with people to ask them about their vision. Iʻd like to serve more people and have more variety. We are always changing because we have new participants,” said Michelle.
   While the world and our tiny community is constantly changing, Tutu’s House will continue to provide the conditions for positive growth, where Waimea residents and beyond can sink roots and strengthen each other.
 
For more information: tutushouse.org


Picture
Bernie Ohia, 'ohana facilitator, discusses the latest newsletter with Michelle Medeiros, FOF resource development leader. Photo by Jan Wizinowich
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