Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 8, Number 1, 1 January 1991 — Inauguration theme evokes new horizons [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

Inauguration theme evokes new horizons

by Deborah Ward "Halawai," capturing the spirit of coming together to face Hawaii's future, was the theme of the 1990 inauguration of Gov. John Waihee and Lt. Gov. Benjamin Cayetano on Dec. 3 at 'Iolani Palaee bandstand. Mary Kawena Pukui defined the word halawai in Hawaiian as meaning "from zenith to horizon." It was, in her description, "an expression mueh used in prayers. In calling upon the gods in prayers, one mentions those from the east, west, north, south and those from zenith to horizon." The occasion was marked by a full day of public activities and entertainment. To start the festivities, high school bands from eaeh island paraded, with auxiliary marching units and flag teams. The parade was also in celebration of 150 years of public education in Hawai'i. Drummers sounded the dynamic pulse of the Pacific in a pre-inaugural salute featuring Chinese, Japanese, Okinawan, Samoan, Tongan and Tahitian drums. The Kahuku Third Ward Tongan Choir and the Honolulu Boy Choir joined with a choral salute. The oath of office was administered to Gov. Waihee and Lt. Gov. Cayetano by state Supreme Court Chief Justice Herman Lum. It was followed by a 19-gun salute by the Hawaii Army Nahonal Guard and pealing of bells from St. Andrew's Cathedral, Kawaiahao Church and the Cathedral continued page 23

Elected dignitaries join Gov. and Mrs. Waihee in inaugural procession from 'lolani Palaee.

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Gov. Waihee takes the oath of office at the Palaee bandstand.

Members of the Royal Order of Kamehameha.

The Palaee Guard

lnauguration from page 6 of Our Lady of Peaee. Following the inaugural addresses the puhlie was invited to a program of entertainment, "Nana i mua," "Looking ahead," in the state capitol rotunda. Gov. Waihee's inaugural address recalled the discovery of the Hawaiian islands by early Polynesian voyagers. He called upon the people of Hawai'i today to join in a new journey of discovery: to build upon cultural diversity instead of divisiveness, to "rediscover our inseparability with nature" and to guard Hawaii's environment. "Ours is an oeeanie covenant. We kept it when we called for the destruction of the drift-gill net oeean walls of death and rallied others across the world to our cause. We kept it when we called for nahonal sanity in the use of Johnston Island, and our Pacific Island neigbors eame to our side. We will keep it with Kaho'olawe. She will return to us and we will return to her, proud and peaceful." Waihee also called for school reform as a "eommunity voyage" for schools that are "second to none." He pointed out both new opportunities for worldwide political change and technological advances amid "dangerous waters" of a federal budget deficit, problems in American cities, global warming and the threat of a Middle Eastern war. To deal with these will mean going beyond the successes of today to the horizon of the 21st century, he said. "Let us discover our greatness, not by anchoring ourselves to old mindsets, but by breaking free and challenging a society to be its very best. Therein lies the greatest discovery of all — the fulfillment of our complete potential. Homes for our families, universal health care, a Pacific people defining our destiny with the courage of that very first eanoe."