Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 18, Number 10, 1 ʻOkakopa 2001 — ʻIkuwā marks Makahiki tribute to Lono [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

ʻIkuwā marks Makahiki tribute to Lono

By Manu Boyd Davida Malo's " Ka Mo'olelo Hawai'i" offers a fascinating glimpse into the lifeways of the ancients. The details given as to how our kupuna viewed their world and carried out their roles in society are impressive. Their sense of time was measured in lunar cycles, eaeh day a specific name correlating to the phase of the moon. Certain nights were kapu to eaeh of the four major akua: Kāne, Kū, Lono and Kanaloa, and dictated behaviors and appropriate tasks. The month of 'Ikuwā most closely correlates with October, says Malo, but variations based on individuals and different island traditions occurred. Meaning "loud roar," 'Ikuwā brings to mind an old saying. "'O 'Ikuwā i pohā kō'ele'ele, 'ikuwā ke kai, 'ikuwā ka hekili, 'ikuwā ka manu" ('lkuwā is the month when storms arise, the sea roars, thunder claps and the birds cause a din). 'Ikuwā marked the beginning of the Makahiki,

a four-month season dedicated to Lono, the god of the harvest, agriculture and peaee. Annual 'auhau or tributes to the akua and the ali'i were collected during this season. Any kind of work, especially fishing and farming, was dis-

allowed. The worship of other ki'i akua (images) was also forbidden, although food offerings could be made. On the night of 'Olepau, "Lonomakua," the makahiki god, was assembled. A 1 2-foot staff was crossed near the top with a shorter pieee, and a po'o (head) image was affixed at the top of the main staff. To the cross

beam was attached a long pieee of white kapa made from a legendary wauke (mulberry) plant that grew at Kūloli in Kona. Lei hulu (feather lei) were suspended from the cross pole, and, sometimes, the carcasses of ka'upu (albatross) birds. No flesh — skin and feathers only. The wooden cross of the image wou!d be consecrated with coconut oil. The assembling of this seasonal image was called ku'ikepa. Lonomakua was carried by an "amo akua," a highly honored position. The eyes of the po'o image faced behind as the amo akua and aeeompanying chiefly party moved ahead. Appropriate offering to the akua were feathers of the 'ō'ō, mamo and 'i'iwi birds whieh were greatly valued. Hogs and white kapa were also accepted. Gifts of pa'i 'ai or hard poi were offered to the akua carrier, who again figured prominently at the finish of the tax collections, lavishly fed mai'a, niu, kūlolo and 'awa by the ali'i. This act See MAKAHIKI on page 19

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Little was written about these priestly masks made of an ipu, 'uki grass and kapa, seen during the makahiki in 1778.

MAKAHIKI from page 10 was called "hānaipū." When the tributes of eaeh district were completed, the "pule hainaki" was chanted removing certain kapu from the land. The mele, "Ou Kino e Lono i ka Lani ," describes the many body forms of Lono in the clouds, and concludes saying, "E kū i ka malo a hiu!" (stand and gird your malo for the games). Activities that followed were mokomoko (boxing), he'e hōlua (hōlua sledding), no'a (a stone hiding game) and hula, drawing the masses to enjoy the spectacle of celebration. Captain Cook's Ianding at Kealakekua in 1778 occurred during the Makahiki. The billowing white sails on his ship's masts gave cause for mistaken identity. Throngs paddled out to greet the "floating island," bearing gifts of tribute for Lonomakua. The Kumu Lipo, the cosmogonic genealogy associated with the chief Lonoikamakahihi (Lono at the Makahiki season), was chanted in his behalf, but after three departures and a fourth return outside of Lono's Makahiki season, Cook was identifīed as a kanaka malihini, and after a skirmish, met his fate as a mere mortal. ■