Session two of the E Lauhoe Wa`a educator program offered by Nā Kālai Wa`a took place in Volcano and the Keauhou forest on October 24th and 25th. Ranging from after dark crater rim offerings to Pele with Halemaumau glowing in the distance to native tree planting, this holistic program weaves together myth, chant and story with the tangible skills of voyaging, such as plotting, this session’s sailing focus. After an evening offering to Pele, we returned to KMC to be treated to the story of Pele’s migration and historical place names, names buried under layers of human activity across the millennia, but which tell the stories of origin.
Roxanne Stewart looks on as students plot a course. On Saturday morning we gathered on the grass in front of KMC to chant the rising sun, feel the solid comfort of Mauna Loa and wonder at the flow of clouds and birds. After breakfast Roxanne Stewart, resource teacher from Ka `Umeke Kā`eo Public Charter School in Keaau, provided an introduction to Papaku Makawalu, a system of knowledge derived from the Kumulipo, (an ancient Hawaiian creation chant), that provides a way for learners to categorize and organize the natural world and encourages them to engage in keen observation. “It's not the curriculum in the binder we're used to. It's not a stagnant curriculum guide or pacing guide, it is a process,” said Stewart. The makawalu part of the term refers to the processing and analysis of information. “How do I take something I’m looking at and take it apart, deconstruct it and put it back together to understand it from a new perspective?” added Stewart.
After planting 350 native trees in the Keauhou forest preserve, we traveled further inland to a magical spot where the E Lauhoe Wa`a cohort finds anchorage in knee-deep kikuyu grass, a current of canoes. This place holds the story of Mauloa’s birth, the single hulled coastal canoe that was launched in 1993 and we have come to hear her story. As if the ancestors have gathered to listen, the wind is surging and ebbing, waves in the treetops, creating the illusion of a long ocean voyage. The story tellers are Maulili Dickson, Aunty
Deedee Bertelmann and Mike Manu, three people who experienced the field of aloha that was the miracle of Mauloa.
Deedee Bertelmann and Mike Manu, three people who experienced the field of aloha that was the miracle of Mauloa.
Clay Bertelmann For many, many generations the spirits of the ancestors have gathered, an unseen force that, like ocean currents, move our canoes in unpredictable, intangible ways. This force remained alive and nurtured within the hearts of the kūpuna, leading contemporary Hawaiians on a journey to an unprecedented cultural renaissance. The birth of Mauloa was a pivotal point on that journey. Hawai`i Island voyagers, Clay and Shorty Bertelmann wanted to build a canoe for Hawai`i Island and after consulting with the elders, they were told to first build a canoe using only traditional materials, tools and techniques. This began an almost two year unsuccessful search for trees large enough to build Hawai`i Loa and while the project had to be abandoned, it raised awareness of the vital connection between the `āina and the ocean. The ceremony to stop the project was attended by two chiefs from Alaska, who immediately offered to donate two trees, sending Nainoa Thompson across the Pacific to select the trees for Hawai`i Loa.
Aunty Deedee Bertelmann But the Hawai`i Island crew could not ignore their intention to honor the task given them by the elders. “They decided to make a single hull coastal canoe. These men were linked to cow-boying and became known as the cowboy crew. You just go and do it. Even if you don’t have the resources, you just got to get it done,” shared Maulili Dickson. Again, they searched for many weekends to find the right tree, with Papa Mau guiding them. “The men were fasting all day and ate at midnight. The animals kept manifesting. Birds, a pua`a constantly at the edge of the clearing,” recalls Aunty Dee Dee, as a single hawk circles our gathering, eventually taking off towards the sun, light rays glancing off iridescent feathers, flashing a glistening rainbow.
Mau Piailug and Tava Taupu lashing stones on canoe-carving adzes with sennit. Honaunau, early 1990s. Guided by Papa Mau Piailug, the tree was selected and they prepared for the work of cutting it. The men were cleansed and they had learned the chants. “Tiger Espere and John Keolanui were working on the tree. The tree was creaking and shivering. Finally Tiger got out his pū and began to blow. There was only a couple of inches cut out of the bark all around the tree, but as Tiger sounded the pū, the tree came gently down. It had been leaning one way, but it seemed to shift so that it came down and landed softly on the hāpu`u,” said Dickson.
Aunty Dee Dee takes up the story with, “The log was taken to Honaunau. They used sanding stones, ulu sap for glue, kukui for painting, hala for sails and coconut sennit. There were no nails, only lashing.” The entire process leading up to the launching of Mauloa was a continuous re-engagement with Hawaiian culture that fed the souls of all who were touched by it. Mike Manu remembers, “It was a good foundation and something I can’t forget. It gave me something to touch. I remember standing on a rock and chanting and now kids are chanting the same chants.”
The intentions of many people who shared a vision, breathed life into the voyaging traditions. From this miraculous endeavor came Nā Kālai Wa`a, a name that was given to the carving apprentices in 1991 by Keali`i Tau`a, which in two year’s time became the guardian canoe organization on Hawai`i Island. Now with such programs as E Lauhoe Wa`a, the effort to perpetuate the knowledge and wisdom that came on the wind, through the surge of the ocean into the hearts of many is, like a mysterious ocean current, moving our own canoes forward. Captain Chadd Onohi Paishon closed with the reflection, “We need to keep voyaging to remember. Need to be in the active process of doing. The younger generation is following in the wake of what started here with Mauloa.”
Aunty Dee Dee takes up the story with, “The log was taken to Honaunau. They used sanding stones, ulu sap for glue, kukui for painting, hala for sails and coconut sennit. There were no nails, only lashing.” The entire process leading up to the launching of Mauloa was a continuous re-engagement with Hawaiian culture that fed the souls of all who were touched by it. Mike Manu remembers, “It was a good foundation and something I can’t forget. It gave me something to touch. I remember standing on a rock and chanting and now kids are chanting the same chants.”
The intentions of many people who shared a vision, breathed life into the voyaging traditions. From this miraculous endeavor came Nā Kālai Wa`a, a name that was given to the carving apprentices in 1991 by Keali`i Tau`a, which in two year’s time became the guardian canoe organization on Hawai`i Island. Now with such programs as E Lauhoe Wa`a, the effort to perpetuate the knowledge and wisdom that came on the wind, through the surge of the ocean into the hearts of many is, like a mysterious ocean current, moving our own canoes forward. Captain Chadd Onohi Paishon closed with the reflection, “We need to keep voyaging to remember. Need to be in the active process of doing. The younger generation is following in the wake of what started here with Mauloa.”
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