Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 15, Number 11, 1 November 1998 — Kūlia i ka nuʻu [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

Kūlia i ka nuʻu

KAHIKO I Nu'uanu ka ua Wa'ahila. "Adomed is Nu'uanu by the Wa'ahila rain." ('Ōlelo No'eau No. 1309.) It was a weleome retum to Nu'uanu the moming of Aug. 19. The valley, known for its lush greenery, swelled with pleasantries and camaraderie as we gathered at Mauna ' Ala well before dawn. As the ealm before sunrise gave way to animation, we considered our shared past, events before us and those yet to eome. The "sash" of Līloa moved through our midst while the genealogy of this son of Kihanuilulumoku was proclaimed. The mo'okū'auhau was recounted throughout the day. Kūlia i ka nu'u, i ka paepae kapu o Līloa. "Strive to reach the summit, the sacred platform of Llloa." ('Ōlelo No'eau No. 1914.) During the procession of nā mea ali'i, we considered how, in the 19th century, the ali'i strove for the paepae kapu, for the best for Hawai'i. Consider Ka Lani Kauikeaouli, Kamehameha HI. Popularly associated with the māhele and often cited when we pmelaim

that "Ua mau ke ea o ka 'āina i ka pono," he also established education and health as priorities. In 1840, a law enacted a national school system supported by the Hawaiian government. In 1841, David Malo became the first superintendent of schools, and by

1850 the Kingdom had accepted the transfer of Lahainaluna, founded in 1831, from the American Missionary Board. Thus, Hawai'i has had the benefit of public education for more than 150years. The precursor of the Department of Health was established by Kauikeaouli in response to the small pox epidemic of 1853. In 1855, Ka Lani Alexander Liholiho, Kamehameha IV, recommended to the legislature that public hospitals be established i and that particular attention be paid to reducing the spread I

of foreign diseases among the native people. The legislature provided for hospitals in Honolulu and Lahaina and for a Board of Heakh with definite powers and duties.

Alexander Liholiho's queen, Emma, also embraced this endeavor and became personally involved. Their combined, private fundraising efforts contributed significantly to the incremental opening of the Queen's Hospital in 1859 through 1860.

Kamehameha V, Ka Lani Lot, ascended the I throne at a time when I the continued decline in the native population [ contrasted with the I growth of agricultural | development. While Lot 1 supported the in-migra-I tion of foreign, contract I laborers, he also imple- | mented the constitution | of 1864, whieh strengthened the crown, asserting its influence into | "every function of the | government." He is also I associated with the fortiI fication of kahuna and

hula practices at a time when foreign influences were burgeoning. Lunalilo embraced and enacted the principles of democracy. He was the first high

chief to be popularly elected king, whieh was affirmed by the concurring vote of the legislature. Though his reign was shortlived, his aloha for his people was expressed in his will establishing the Lunalilo Home "for the use and accommodation of poor, destitute and infirm people of Hawaiian blood or extraction, giving preference to old people." Kapi'olani, Kalākaua's queen, in her tum personally raised funds, in the manner of Alexander Liholiho and Emma, to establish the Kapi'olani Matemity Home. Kapi'olani Hospital continues to benefit from the Queen's vision and to comply with her motto: "Kūlia i ka nu'u." So we ean see the chiefs' "striving for the highest" manifested today in the public and ali'i trasts: public health and education, Queen's and Kapi'olani Hospitals, the Lunalilo Home for the elderly, the Kamehameha Schools, the Queen Lili'uokalani Children's Centers. Add to the list the public Hawaiian trasts that constitute the Department of Hawaiian Home Lands and the Office of Hawaiian Affairs and the needs of every phase of our lives are addressed by one of these trasts. As trastees we must demonstrate our worth to "Kūlia i ka nu'u, i ka paepae kapu o Llloa." ■

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