Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 19, Number 2, 1 February 2002 — He keiki mea kupuna: It shows that the child has a grandparent [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

He keiki mea kupuna: It shows that the child has a grandparent

By Claire Hughes, Dr. P.H. , R.D., Department of Health

Not long ago, the kupuna in the family had many responsibilities whhin their 'ohana, They were best at solving all kinds of family problems and were especially skilled in resolving family and interpersonal disputes, They also either made or were actively involved in weighty family decisions - like where the family would live or build its home, who would perform certain tasks, and who deserved special treats, The kupuna nurtured the gifts and talents they identified in the keiki, They set the standard for behavior within the family, teaching and gently scolding young ones and more quietly directing the older children and makua, Most importantly, they were the custodians of the family history, They were the guardians of heahh and spiritual practices, they knew the family 'aumakua, special family chants, and implements and artifacts passed

down from

previous generations, The kupuna knew the historical role their family had played within the community, both in the distant and immediate past, They were able to make important historical connections for the family with their ancestors, The knowledge family elders had was substantial and was extremely important, Today's 'ōlelo talks about a keiki who has been properly instructed by a kupuna in the ways of the culture, īt was customary for the kupuna to assume full responsibility for raising the first-born grandchild from birth, This child spent many hours being trained and prepared by elders for the day when he or she would assume the kupuna role in the elan, The elders made sure that this punahele learned all of the family and elan "secrets," Transfer of information between the generations was often by demonstration or modeling, with the child learning by first observing and then mimicking the elders, īn addition to all the traditional skills, like spear-fishing, mending nets, etc, all keiki were

also taught thenecessary dom.es tic duties to keep the family home elean and orderly, īn ancient days, families W were large and usually lived ¥ in close proximity, This | allowed the elders to oversee the upbringing and care of all the children and grandchildren, including cousins, and even

aunts and uncles, Gradually, families began spreading out, Still, keiki and makua would seek guidance from their kupuna, some-

tim.es traveling for miles and to other islands to meet with them. Respect for elders remains a cultiiral valne and is still

visible, although the famil) circles are smaller today. Life moves faster, and while communication method.s have ad.vanced.

families spend far less time together and keiki are no longer given that close nurturing and teaching. This change has deprived our youngsters of fully understanding who they are, what their family strengths, achievements and skills were, and what the family

responsibilities to the 'ohana were, causing their identities to be weakened. Connecting our children

with their family stories is critical to their sense of identity, self-worth and family-worth, As we have moved away from the cultural

family methods of teaching, the compromise has been great, The 'ohana information that was previously transmitted by loving teachers, has been put aside for other kinds of learning and many of our youngsters and makua do not have full disclosure, knowledge and eonnection to those who eame before them, There is a school-based program that works with keiki and families to reacquaint themselves with the ancestral roles and helps to

re-

t ab 1 i s h the family connections that have either been lost or are

little used, This has

helped the children to become better adjusted to other classroom learning and seems to have given them a new purpose and role in their families and communities, My appeal is for the kupuna to gather and weave together all the missing pieces so that these vital connections ean be made within eaeh family, OHA artwork by Kapeau Kawai'ae'a. ■

Ol AKINO