 "Hō`ala e nā Piko" by E. Kalani Flores. |  As raindrops we begin the journey. Photo by Kapulei Flores, Kapzphotography. |
Under heavy skies and pelting rains, we gathered at the Kahilu Theater lobby gallery for the opening of the 2019 annual Waimea Educational Hui (WEH) art exhibit. The hui was formed in 2007 with representatives of all Waimea schools and cultural practitioners with the goal of unifying Waimea schools through programs that perpetuate the history and culture of our community.
This year’s theme is: “Ka Wai E Ola, E Ola Nō A”; Water is sacred, Water is our responsibility, Water is Life. The artwork of Waimea students, family and community members graced the walls with the story of a raindrop, that most important first element of life, each piece, like one of many raindrops, blending together to tell the story of life, ola wai.
We gather on the threshold of the makai lobby gallery and as the rain drums out a tattoo, cultural practitioner Kalani Flores journeys ahead, chanting into the far reaches and offers a pikai, a clearing, cleansing and blessing. We gather close as Pua Case, our guide, asks us to imagine ourselves as a single drop of rain to begin our travels from the highest mountain to the deepest sea through the eyes of Waimea artists.
“The exhibit will take us as a drop from the sky to the mountain to the hillsides, from rainfall to waterfalls to waterways of Waimea, down to the seaside, fish ponds and finally to the far reaches of the ocean,” reflected Pua.
This great connection with water is built into the Hawaiian language in the most fundamental question: O wai kou inoa? What is your name? Or more accurately: Who is your water? Who nourishes you? But we are all nourished by Kāne and for this exhibit the question is: Aia i hea Ka Wai a Kāne? (Where is the water of Kane?)
This year’s theme is: “Ka Wai E Ola, E Ola Nō A”; Water is sacred, Water is our responsibility, Water is Life. The artwork of Waimea students, family and community members graced the walls with the story of a raindrop, that most important first element of life, each piece, like one of many raindrops, blending together to tell the story of life, ola wai.
We gather on the threshold of the makai lobby gallery and as the rain drums out a tattoo, cultural practitioner Kalani Flores journeys ahead, chanting into the far reaches and offers a pikai, a clearing, cleansing and blessing. We gather close as Pua Case, our guide, asks us to imagine ourselves as a single drop of rain to begin our travels from the highest mountain to the deepest sea through the eyes of Waimea artists.
“The exhibit will take us as a drop from the sky to the mountain to the hillsides, from rainfall to waterfalls to waterways of Waimea, down to the seaside, fish ponds and finally to the far reaches of the ocean,” reflected Pua.
This great connection with water is built into the Hawaiian language in the most fundamental question: O wai kou inoa? What is your name? Or more accurately: Who is your water? Who nourishes you? But we are all nourished by Kāne and for this exhibit the question is: Aia i hea Ka Wai a Kāne? (Where is the water of Kane?)
Monuments of sacredness. Photo by Kapulei Flores, Kapzphotography.
The first answer is the start of the day with the sun’s rays striking the water from the east.
Out there with the floating Sun,
Where the cloud-forms rest on Ocean’s breast,
Uplifting their forms of Nihoa,
This side the base of Lehua.
We enter the spiritual realm of all those who have gone before seeking knowledge and understanding of their world. Together we ponder beginnings and the sacred monuments humans have built that connect us to the sacredness above.
On Hawai`i Island that connection is received through Mauna a Wākea and the exhibit begins with a photo by Kapulei Flores in celebration of the constant presence of Poliahu in her mountain realm. This is followed by “Power of Mana” by Amy Gordon and “Snow on Mauna Kea” by Shelly Stimac, both community artists.
Out there with the floating Sun,
Where the cloud-forms rest on Ocean’s breast,
Uplifting their forms of Nihoa,
This side the base of Lehua.
We enter the spiritual realm of all those who have gone before seeking knowledge and understanding of their world. Together we ponder beginnings and the sacred monuments humans have built that connect us to the sacredness above.
On Hawai`i Island that connection is received through Mauna a Wākea and the exhibit begins with a photo by Kapulei Flores in celebration of the constant presence of Poliahu in her mountain realm. This is followed by “Power of Mana” by Amy Gordon and “Snow on Mauna Kea” by Shelly Stimac, both community artists.
 Photo by Kapulei Flores. "Poliahu is found in the snow on the mauna, as well as her other forms such as ice and water. Without the snow, ice, and water that Poliahu provides, the mauna would not be the same." |  Look to the heavens. Photo by Kapulei Flores, Kapzphotography. |
Anghor Wat by Brayden Jadulang. The theme of monuments to the sacred is woven throughout. Many of the artists in this section, who have delved into Archaeoastronomy with Waimea Middle School 6th grade social studies teacher Ms Yohon, have created renderings of the monuments built to connect with and understand the great beyond.
Moving east, we travel to Cambodia and the mysterious Anghor Wat, a massive temple to the Hindu god Vishnu and later a Buddhist place of worship. Built to represent Mt. Meru, the home of the gods, some of its towers line up with the sunrise at solstice.
Moving east, we travel to Cambodia and the mysterious Anghor Wat, a massive temple to the Hindu god Vishnu and later a Buddhist place of worship. Built to represent Mt. Meru, the home of the gods, some of its towers line up with the sunrise at solstice.
Top: photo of Pua's journey to Stonehenge. Below: "Pua at Stonehendge" by Tina Yohon. Photo by Kapulei Flores, Kapzphotography. Abu Simbel, in Nubia, upper Egypt, a desert land where the preciousness of water was understood. A monument to the Ramses II, the axis is positioned so that on 10/22 and 2/22, thought to be birth and inauguration dates for Ramses, the rays of the sun penetrate and illuminate the sculptures on the back wall.
We travel further east and north, to Stonehenge, an ancient astronomical site in England, as well as a place of worship and healing, and the destination of a spiritual journey for Pua Case, who brought waters from Mauna a Wākea to Stonehenge as an offering and was gifted waters in return.
North of England in the Orkney Islands stand the Ring of Brodgar. There are many unanswered questions about this monument, but it stands as testament to early worshipers.
We travel further east and north, to Stonehenge, an ancient astronomical site in England, as well as a place of worship and healing, and the destination of a spiritual journey for Pua Case, who brought waters from Mauna a Wākea to Stonehenge as an offering and was gifted waters in return.
North of England in the Orkney Islands stand the Ring of Brodgar. There are many unanswered questions about this monument, but it stands as testament to early worshipers.
Ahu Akivi by Goddess Gonsalves. Understanding the natural world and its many cycles was important to the survival of the ancients. Across the sea to Wyoming finds us standing on a mountain top in the middle of an astronomical calendar, called the Big Horn Medicine Wheel, a mountaintop astronomical calendar.
Sweeping south we are at Kukulcan in Chitchen Itza, Mexico, an early observatory containing sight lines for 20 different phenomena such as eclipses, equinox and solstice.
Also in Mexico in the area called Dzibilchaltun is the Temple of the Seven Dolls, where there is evidence of the recording of the vernal equinox, as well as Cenote Xlakah, a pool whose secrets have been a window into the past.
South to Peru where we find the Intihuatana Stone, an ancient Incan ceremonial site for winter solstice, whose name means, “Place to tie up the sun”. (painted in acrylic by Waimea Middle School 6th graders Jusani Dickens and Mikayla Pesta.)
And the last stop before returning home is Rapa Nui, where we find Ahu Akivi (by Goddess Gonsalves, Waimea Middle School 6th grade). These standing stones, or moai, are aligned to note the equinoxes and are believed to represent the ancestors, kings and important clan leaders of the original indigenous people.
Sweeping south we are at Kukulcan in Chitchen Itza, Mexico, an early observatory containing sight lines for 20 different phenomena such as eclipses, equinox and solstice.
Also in Mexico in the area called Dzibilchaltun is the Temple of the Seven Dolls, where there is evidence of the recording of the vernal equinox, as well as Cenote Xlakah, a pool whose secrets have been a window into the past.
South to Peru where we find the Intihuatana Stone, an ancient Incan ceremonial site for winter solstice, whose name means, “Place to tie up the sun”. (painted in acrylic by Waimea Middle School 6th graders Jusani Dickens and Mikayla Pesta.)
And the last stop before returning home is Rapa Nui, where we find Ahu Akivi (by Goddess Gonsalves, Waimea Middle School 6th grade). These standing stones, or moai, are aligned to note the equinoxes and are believed to represent the ancestors, kings and important clan leaders of the original indigenous people.
At the next station as raindrops gather on the mountain top, we find Wai a Kāne:
Yonder on mountain peak,
On the ridges steep,
In the valleys deep,
Where the rivers sweep.
Yonder on mountain peak,
On the ridges steep,
In the valleys deep,
Where the rivers sweep.
"Womb of Mystery" by Kira DeGaetano Souza. These pieces point to the varied and sometimes hidden realms of water. The “Womb of Mystery” an acrylic painting by Kira DeGaetano Souza, is perhaps a metaphor for us climbing from the watery world and returning to it as well.
“The Gift of Life” by son, Joaquim Souza, shows us the heart of the mauna and how it holds the waters of life for us.
The Flores / Case `ohana created a photo essay that tells the story of their connection to Manaua, the sacred rain rock of our Waimea where the community from child to elder bestow gifts of leis to ask for rain and leis to offer in gratitude when the elements provide. Another image is of the `ohana gathered at a sacred place where sacred waters have emerged to form a pond among the rolling green landscape.
“The Gift of Life” by son, Joaquim Souza, shows us the heart of the mauna and how it holds the waters of life for us.
The Flores / Case `ohana created a photo essay that tells the story of their connection to Manaua, the sacred rain rock of our Waimea where the community from child to elder bestow gifts of leis to ask for rain and leis to offer in gratitude when the elements provide. Another image is of the `ohana gathered at a sacred place where sacred waters have emerged to form a pond among the rolling green landscape.
Yonder, at sea, on the ocean,
In the driving rain, in the heavenly bow,
In the piled-up mist wraith,
in the blood-red rainfall
In the ghost-pale cloud form;
In the driving rain, in the heavenly bow,
In the piled-up mist wraith,
in the blood-red rainfall
In the ghost-pale cloud form;
The many guises of water. Photo by Kapulei Flores, Kapzphotography. The group of pieces that follow are ethereal images and wild rainbow colors, exploring the many faces of place. Collages celebrate water in all its many guises and sources.
Up on high is the water of Kāne,
In the heavenly blue, in the black piled cloud,
In the black cloud,
In the black mottled sacred cloud of the gods;
There is the water of Kāne.
This section contains the waterways of Waimea, an array of watercolors, acrylic, colored pencil and explores the patterns of water that surround and support us, showing an awareness of the seen and unseen water pathways, each piece a raindrop that forms a cloud of understanding.
In the heavenly blue, in the black piled cloud,
In the black cloud,
In the black mottled sacred cloud of the gods;
There is the water of Kāne.
This section contains the waterways of Waimea, an array of watercolors, acrylic, colored pencil and explores the patterns of water that surround and support us, showing an awareness of the seen and unseen water pathways, each piece a raindrop that forms a cloud of understanding.
Photo by Kapulei Flores, Kapzphotography.
Deep in the ground, in the gushing spring,
In the ducts of Kāne and Loa,
A well of spring water, to quaff,
A water of magic power – The water of life!
Life! O give us this life!
In the ducts of Kāne and Loa,
A well of spring water, to quaff,
A water of magic power – The water of life!
Life! O give us this life!
Images of the sustaining power of water, flowing from the mauna, the pu`u to feed and replenish the land. Fishponds thrive and life is given to the land. It is there before us, under us and around us.
Photo by Kapulei Flores, Kapzphotography.
Traveling to the eastside gallery picks up from where we left off from the fishponds and seaside to the breaking waves. The chant Hohola Ke Kapa announces that a voyage will be taking place for Makaliʻi led out to sea with food and rope prepared by area schools for the voyage of Makaliʻi to Mokumanana in early June.
Photo by Kapulei Flores, Kapzphotography.
The waʻa carrying the tiny drops of rain, now the fresh water on board, is the ancient ocean connection as witnessed by art pieces such as a diorama depicting “umu”, a pile of rocks used to trap manini. Models of great voyaging canoes and kites, the first sails used by humans, fly aloft. Graphite pencil drawings of canoe plants by 'Auli'i Case, photography and digital art, experiments with watery visions cover the walls. And the cycle is complete and the voyage begins. He inoa nō Kana.
"Reflection in Time" by O. Sarsona.
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