By NorthwestHawaiiNews When Papa Mau, who came to Hawai'i from Satawal in the west Pacific, guided the Hōkūleʽa on her first voyage to Tahiti, the ancestors had his back; he was navigating in unfamiliar waters, yet his trust in the knowledge of his ancestors never waivered.
All successful voyages, whether on water or land, are guided through a connection to forces we cannot control, but that we can connect with. When we reach out for the ancestors, we also reach back to find the wisdom to navigate our own seas.
“He waʽa he moku, he moku he waʽa.” There is no experience more powerful than being on a vessel in the middle of the ocean and realizing that control is an illusion and that the way forward lies in connection; connection to the elements, to the vessel and to the ʽohana gathered on the deck. The voyaging canoes provided a spark that ignited practitioners to action and they continue to be a guiding star and a floating classroom for the re-connection with cultural values and practices of the ancestors.
All successful voyages, whether on water or land, are guided through a connection to forces we cannot control, but that we can connect with. When we reach out for the ancestors, we also reach back to find the wisdom to navigate our own seas.
“He waʽa he moku, he moku he waʽa.” There is no experience more powerful than being on a vessel in the middle of the ocean and realizing that control is an illusion and that the way forward lies in connection; connection to the elements, to the vessel and to the ʽohana gathered on the deck. The voyaging canoes provided a spark that ignited practitioners to action and they continue to be a guiding star and a floating classroom for the re-connection with cultural values and practices of the ancestors.
One of those practices is kite flying and this year kites have taken flight at Waimea Middle School and Kanu o ka ʽĀina. About two years ago, Pomai Bertelmann, seeming to channel the ancient spirits, drew the image of a kite as part of a design she was creating; it caused a spark that inspired her brother Kealiʽi, Pua Case and other members of the ʽohana waʽa to research the kite. According to Hawaiian spiritual beliefs, there are three kite forms: in the water, it is the sting ray; on top of the water the sail of the canoe and above the ocean the kite soars up to the inverted dome of the sky to navigate through the stars.
They also discovered that kites have made appearances in Hawaiian historical events; Pua Case, citing the kite flying protest organized by Kauikeaouli (King Kamehameha III) on seeing the erosion of traditional Hawaiian practices, commented, “I was not aware of the kite as a symbol of protest until we began to revive it. It’s active, but not intrusive or aggressive. I don’t agree with this, so I will fly a kite.”
Kealiʽi expanded on that manaʽo and described another dimension to Kauikeaouli’s kite flying demonstration:
I think that when they flew kites in mass, and there is one moʽolelo that says I think there were over 200, that they were flying it as a symbol of their commitment to certain traditions and things that were important to them. So when we started teaching the kite making for this time now as part of the voyage of the Hōkūle`a, we started teaching it, as a recommitment and a symbol of our continuation of the voyaging traditions now but also for our community to show their support for the voyage, when the canoe leaves in June.
They also discovered that kites have made appearances in Hawaiian historical events; Pua Case, citing the kite flying protest organized by Kauikeaouli (King Kamehameha III) on seeing the erosion of traditional Hawaiian practices, commented, “I was not aware of the kite as a symbol of protest until we began to revive it. It’s active, but not intrusive or aggressive. I don’t agree with this, so I will fly a kite.”
Kealiʽi expanded on that manaʽo and described another dimension to Kauikeaouli’s kite flying demonstration:
I think that when they flew kites in mass, and there is one moʽolelo that says I think there were over 200, that they were flying it as a symbol of their commitment to certain traditions and things that were important to them. So when we started teaching the kite making for this time now as part of the voyage of the Hōkūle`a, we started teaching it, as a recommitment and a symbol of our continuation of the voyaging traditions now but also for our community to show their support for the voyage, when the canoe leaves in June.
This year Kealiʽi Bertelmann created a very special kite for the annual untitled piece project at Waimea Middle School, where the artist brings in the piece and then the students get the opportunity to name it. Kealiʽi describes his kite, which was named Poʽai Pili Aloha (circle of unbroken love):
The reason I did the kite as a circle or the lupe lā is because I wanted to make sure, it was a way to honor Kanehoalani, the god of the sun. Kanehoalani, in some geneaologies is the father of Pele. The mother in that geneaology is Kaikahinaliʽi. It has to do with their function in the environment. That genealogy has to do with the sun and how the sun affects the earth at certain times. So that’s how I explained it to the kids. So it’s dyed, the base color is yellow; I dyed it with olena. There’s red stripes…. that’s the lava flows of Pele and acknowledging her father and her connection to Kanehoalani. Some of the symbols represent my family. Seven iwa birds that represent my seven nieces and nephews. There’s black lines that look like they don’t have a beginning and an end. I did that on purpose because that represents genealogies and for Hawaiians, we actually trace our genealogies, not just back to people, but to the gods.
The reason I did the kite as a circle or the lupe lā is because I wanted to make sure, it was a way to honor Kanehoalani, the god of the sun. Kanehoalani, in some geneaologies is the father of Pele. The mother in that geneaology is Kaikahinaliʽi. It has to do with their function in the environment. That genealogy has to do with the sun and how the sun affects the earth at certain times. So that’s how I explained it to the kids. So it’s dyed, the base color is yellow; I dyed it with olena. There’s red stripes…. that’s the lava flows of Pele and acknowledging her father and her connection to Kanehoalani. Some of the symbols represent my family. Seven iwa birds that represent my seven nieces and nephews. There’s black lines that look like they don’t have a beginning and an end. I did that on purpose because that represents genealogies and for Hawaiians, we actually trace our genealogies, not just back to people, but to the gods.
And those gods are alive in the mysterious forces around us as they always have been. Before humans ventured out into the Pacific, before kites, before sails, there was the wind, an invisible presence of swirling change. Did early humans stand on the western edge of the Pacific and gaze at the sky, observing bird flight and the lift of the updrafts? Or perhaps they were caught in a storm, watching as trees fell and shelters were lifted. Would it be any wonder that early humans would have seen that power as a spiritual presence.
Kites were used by early voyagers to read their world and make contact with the beyond. The great power of human intelligence rests in observation, to really sense the objects and processes of their world as ideas and make unique connections between them. In this sense, the kite became the first sail, eventually evolving into a way of capturing the wind and pushing voyagers out onto an ocean, untouched by human contrivances.
We can no longer venture out on an untouched ocean, but it makes the voyage of Hōkūleʽa that much more poignant. When Hōkūleʽa departs for her worldwide sail, there will be a quiver of kites waving her off, soaring aloft and inviting the power and protection of the ancestors to sustain and guide the voyagers along their journey. The image of the kite being drawn up into the ocean of planets and stars by cosmic winds is a portal to timelessness and hope.
Kites were used by early voyagers to read their world and make contact with the beyond. The great power of human intelligence rests in observation, to really sense the objects and processes of their world as ideas and make unique connections between them. In this sense, the kite became the first sail, eventually evolving into a way of capturing the wind and pushing voyagers out onto an ocean, untouched by human contrivances.
We can no longer venture out on an untouched ocean, but it makes the voyage of Hōkūleʽa that much more poignant. When Hōkūleʽa departs for her worldwide sail, there will be a quiver of kites waving her off, soaring aloft and inviting the power and protection of the ancestors to sustain and guide the voyagers along their journey. The image of the kite being drawn up into the ocean of planets and stars by cosmic winds is a portal to timelessness and hope.
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