Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 2, Number 5, 1 Mei 1985 — Ahupuaʻa Talk Proves Interesting [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

Ahupuaʻa Talk Proves Interesting

By Marge Kaluna Community Resource Specialist East Hawaii

The concept of the ahu- | pua'a as taught in terms of I family systems provides one with a good illustration of how native Hawaiians provided their families with basic j needs of food, shelter and 1 clothing through sharing of ) the harvests from land and j sea. This was the result gathered from a one day

workshop on the ahupua'a recently at the First Hawaiian Bank meeting room in Kailua, Kona. It was sponsored by the Department of Education Hawaiian Studies Program eonducted by resource teacher Kau'i Billups and a resource team from Tlie Kamehameha Schools. Involvement and participation of those in attendance provided "hands on" experience. The resource team demonstrated how teachers ean creatively provide na'ao experiences in teaching concepts such as uka, waena, kai.

Using such terms as mokupuni (island), moku (district) and of course ahupua'a, the Kamehameha resource trio demonstrated the different land divisions in comparison to the ahupua'a. It was explained the ahupua'a was a similar land division whieh extended from the upland to the sea. The boundary was marked by the ahu (heap of stones), topped by the image of a pua'a (pig). All who lived within the accepted boundaries of an ahupua'a had the exclusive right to use whatever the 'aina (land) and the kai (sea) yielded. A kit on the ahupua'a provides charts, pictures, posters and flash cards whieh ean be used to enhanee learning of the concept of ahupua'a. It is available at The Kamehameha Schools for $30.

Group singing and exercises involving simple instructions enhanced learning of these simp)e concepts. The presence of more kupuna would have made the workshop more enjoyable. While the work shop was well organized and indicated contextual symmetry, more time should have been allowed to kuka informally. The excellent presentations, however, more than made up for these observations.