Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 10, Number 8, 1 August 1993 — Young Hawaiian builds hōlua sled to follow his ancestors' path [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

Young Hawaiian builds hōlua sled to follow his ancestors' path

by Jeff Clark Moke Ka'āpana, a young Hawaiian with a fascination for acceleration, has fashioned a replica of the hōlua sleds Hawaiians onee used to navigate steep lava runs in days gone by. Nineteenth-century historian David Malo reports in Hawaiian Antiquities that "sliding down hill on the hōlua sled was a sport greatly in vogue among chiefs and people." While Ka'āpana's is made of maple and bamboo, the sleds of old were made of māmane and uhiuhi wood. A University of Hawai'iMānoa Hawaiian studies major, Ka'āpana said building the sled was all about "gathering mana." His project grew out of an ethnobotany class that required stu-

dents to replicate an Hawaiian artifact using plant materials. It took Ka'āpana three months working about 30 hours per week to construct his new toy. He said the correct way to ride the sled, whieh is 1 l-and-a-half feet long and several inches wide, is lying down head first. He expressed his appreciation to Bishop Museum for letting him study, photograph and measure the sled in their eollection. Ka'āpana plans to ride his hōlua later this month on the ancient hōlua slide at Pu'uhinahina in South Kona. "All my friends are excited. They're telling me, 'If you live, then we going ride it too.' I can't wait! Even if I crash, it's gonna be so mueh fun. ... 'cause I'm a

sucker for speed, that's why." I mua, Moke.

Moke Ka'āpana plans to test ride his hōlua this month on the island of Hawai'i. Photos by Jeff Clark

Moke Ka'āpana