Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 4, Number 6, 1 June 1987 — ʻNa Wai E Hoʻola I Na Iwi?' [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

ʻNa Wai E Hoʻola I Na Iwi?'

OHA lncreases Concern in Native Hawaiian Burials

By Linda Delaney, Lands Officer One of the most important areas that the Office of Hawaiian Affairs is increasingly involved with is the respectful and proper treatment of native Hawaiian burials. Within our traditional culture, human bones were a metaphor for a shared bond of plaee and family, of mortal strength and sacred power. Today we hear Hawaiians describe themselves as "Keiki O Ka 'Aina" or sing of "Ku'u 'One Hanau" — but older references refer to "Na 'Oiwi" and "Ke Kula Iwi," linking both the Hawaiian people and the land of birth to the bones, to the "iwi." Iwi kua mo'o — the backbone — referred to close relatives and royal retainers. And some of the highest cultural virtues used the figurative language of bones: "Mai Holehole Iwi" or "Mai Kaula'i Na Iwi I Ka La"/Don't strip the flesh from the bones or don't expose the bones to the sun — don't talk too mueh or criticize family in front of others. As with all such Hawaiian metaphors — what we may now think of only as poetic, also had literal meaning. Hawaiian culture cherished the bones of the dead. Respect and dignity required careful and proper disposal of the flesh as defiling. The religious rituals associated with this preparation easily led the haoles to believe that Hawaiians were cannibals. In fact, Malo recorded a little publicized Hawaiian reaction to this confusion. After Cook was killed, the English kept asking, "Did you eat him?" Hawaiians were horrified at the thought, and got the impression that the English must eat their dead — otherwise why would they even think to ask. Actually, Captain Cook and the four Marines who died with him were accorded the same treatment as chiefs. Recognizing the power of Cook, it is now believed that he was taken to Hale 'O Keawe at Honaunau, his bones to be ritually deified and added to the resonance of sacred power held within this protected equivalent of a Royal Mausoleum. When the kapu system was broken in 1819, Ka'ahumanu arranged for the bones of Hale 'O Keawe to be hidden in a cave. They were moved to the first royal crypt at Pohukaina in 1865, and then to Mauna 'Ala at the beginning of this century. Not all ali'i were treated in that way. Fearful that royal mana could be abused if bones fell into the hands of an enemy — great care and strict kapu hedged the rituals and final resting places of most ali'i. The ehoiee of such places was linked to the aumakua of the individual. An association with the mano often meant burial at sea. A linkage to Pele spirits could mean commitment to the flow of an active eruption or internment near Kilauea. Mo'o were identified with fresh water and stream areas. For most of the native populahon, though, family burials were in nearby caves or sand dunes. Kept close to where people lived and worked, care and protection of these areas were considered a family obligation. Mindful that even Na Maka'ainana bones were prized as fishhooks by the unscrupulous, no graves were marked and all evidence of fresh burials were carefully concealed. This concentration of burials in caves and sand dunes have proved the most vulnerable to disturbance and even destruction. In just the last few months, we have been notified of exposed bones at the Halekulani Hotel, in the sands fronting the Waikiki poliee sub-station, at Ka'ena Point, and along the proposed route of H-3. Because of the increased development pressures on the neighbor islands, we have also received reports of more exposed graves at Mo'omomi Beach on Moloka'i, at Wailea and Kapalua on Maui, and within the route and construction of Ali'i Drive improvements in Kona. Many of these burial areas were unknown until construction or the wind exposed them. However, certain sand dune burial areas have been known for years — but no law protects the rest of Hawaiian ancestral graves. The potential consequences of this omission are enormous. Perhaps the most famous example of the issues involved is Mokapu. Loeal residents were well-aware of the burials in the area — typical of such information, however, many assumed that the beach had been a battlefield. When the military condemned the land and began bulldozing in the late 1930s, even they realized that this was something more than the fallen of a forgotten war. To date, more than 1,000 individuals have been taken from the dunes at Mokapu. None of them have been re-

buried after nearly 50 years. Instead, they are retained or curated at the Bishop Museum as a study collection. T oday we still can't stop the removal of our traditional graves — but we ean assure that they are treated with more respect. The Kapalua sand dune area on Maui has the potential of being another Mokapu. Preliminary tests indicate that the area was used extensively and over a long period of time for burials. Twelve years ago, this area was placed on the State Register of Historic Sites as a Hawaiian cemetery. In 1980, Kapalua and more than 600 other culturallysensitive and significant sites were removed from the Register when the State Historic Places Review Board reacted to an Attorney General's opinion challenging the listings on a procedural technicality. Also still at issue is whether placement on the register represents a compensable "taking" of private property for public purposes. Without a government willingness to pay landowners for the value of historic sites and graves, the Register simply becomes a legal shadow of good intent without substance. Last year, the Legislature almost passed a meaningful Historic Preservation bill. But the Senate Ways and Means Committee — worried that such protections would interfere with development — refused to hold a hearing. This year, a bill of significantly-reduced scope was again killed in that committee. Without the protection of law, all we have is the persuasiveness of good conscience. During the Maui County Planning Commission hearings on the Kapalua project, community groups

and OHA Trustee Manu Kahaiali'i testified with a eoneem for the Honokahua dune burials. As a result, the commission added a condition to the shoreline management permit for the project. OHA was to be consulted in the disinternment and reinternment of graves. The Kapalua Land Company is the developer involved — a wholly-owned subsidiary of Maui Land and Pine. Although the subject is sensitive and complex, Kapalua Land Company is demonstrating the eommon care and love for Hawai'i best described by kama'aina. As a result, OHA and members of the Hui Alanui 'O Makena have been meeting directly with Colin and Richard Cameron, project archaeologist Dr. Paul Rosendahl, and the State Historic Preservation office. Still in working draft, the final agreement will address the needs for blessings, the highest professional standards and human conduct toward the remains, limited study and reinternment at a site mauka of the dunes. This agreement will prevent the desecration whieh occurred at Mokapu. But still unanswered are the issues of the prolonged curation or keeping of Hawaiian remains in museums and the laek of uniform standards of archaeological performance and study. The most persistent of questions is why — when the locations of many large burial areas are known — do the graves have to be moved at all? Perhaps the saddest Hawaiian expression regarding the bones is: "Na Wai E Ho'ola I Na Iwi?"/Who will care for the bones? The answer should be: "Na Makou."/We will.