Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 21, Number 5, 1 Mei 2004 — Waiʻanae lineal descendants defend ancestral religious, birth and burial sites based on ʻponoʻ [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

Waiʻanae lineal descendants defend ancestral religious, birth and burial sites based on ʻponoʻ

Long-standing struggle reflects disparity between Native Hawaiian oral tradition, cultural and religious rights versus state records, power, politics and apparent discrimination By Manu Boyd Major heiau (temples) dedicated to Kāne, the god of creation, need urgent protection in the Wai'anae moku (district), say residents whose families have lived there for generations. A group called "Koa Mana," made up of residents who say their families have been the traditional caretakers of these sacred sites, have raised objections to the Wai'anae emergency access road now under construction, as well as to Board of Water Supply activities in the area. Such heiau as Kāneikapualena, Kāne'īlio, Kāne'ākī, Ukanipō, Pūnana'ula, Nīoi'ula, Kāne Kua'ana, Kāne Kaulele and the

wahi pana of Kāne including Kānehunamoku, Kāneana cave, Pōhaku o Kāne, Mauna Lahilahi, Kamaile and Puea in the Wai'anae moku have been fervently cared for and protected by the "kupuka'āina," whieh they define as "lineal descendants" of the original families of Wai'anae. Traditionally trained by their kūpuna in continuing aloha 'āina and mālama 'āina (respect and care for the land), their family kuleana is in protecting, preserving and maintaining Kāne cultural sites in the Wai'anae moku. Koa Mana members Theola Silva, Lueio Badayos, Alika Silva, Glen Kila, Clarence Delude, Kala'au Kila and others have spent more than three decades educating and working with the Department of Land and Natural Resources' (DLNR) Historic Sites Division (SHPD), military and other government agencies on preserving these historic and sacred places. Today, modern "improvements" such as waterworks, road excavations and beach developments are adversely

impacting the religious, burial and sustenance zones in the Wai'anae moku. According to Koa Mana, Wai'anae lineal descendants' tradi-

tional stewardship of these wahi pana has been passed down from generation to generation since the time of the Kumulipo (the source of life). Kupuna Lei Fernandez, Adrian Silva, Papa Kalā, Maxine

See WAI'ANAE on page 18

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A pu'u in the Kamaile area, whieh Koa Mana members say is the location of a heiau structure. (Inset) A Koa Mana member points out a pieee of coral in the rock structures, whieh the group says is indicative of heiau.

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WAI'ANAE from page 7

Hee, Jay Landis, Ivanhoe Nāiwi, Caroline Neil, Agnes Pililā'au Kim, Mercy Garcia, Agnes Cope, Lueio Badayos and Theola Silva and many more have been the vanguards in the protection of these sites. Today, Koa Mana members continue their kauoha, or mandates, to carry out the kuleana of their Wai'anae kupuna. Despite government claims, namely SHPD, that records do not exist documenting the burials, heiau and cultural sites in the Wai'anae moku, Koa Mana asserts that they have consistently provided documents, official site visits, viewing of petroglyphs, evidence of the rich history of the sites. They quote chants and oral histories, recorded by ancestors David Malo Kupihea, Harry Poe and in their family kuleana deeds. To protect the wahi pana and the indigenous history of the Kāne heiau, numerous site visits and meetings have been conducted with government and private agencies.

"Protecting these sites is about pono (righteousness). This is about love. Loving our kupuna and the 'ōpio yet to eome. Taking care of the pulapula, the children, will open doors. Government and private agencies by law are required to protect these Kāne heiau and burial grounds. They cannot deliberately be indifferent in selecting documents that allow desecration of sacred places," said Koa Mana member Alika Silva. Koa Mana members urge that "we must continue our history and linkage to our culture by educating the people in the history of the kupuka'āina lineal descendants and their heiau. Protecting heiau like Kāneikapualena is pono. Our kupuna built Kāne heiau throughout the Wai'anae moku to invoke aloha āina. It is not just Kamaile 'ili," they said noting other wahi pana such as Mākua, Kaho'olawe and Mauna Kea that are tangled in controversy. "The integrity of sacred lands across Hawai'i nei are in urgent need of protection. These sacred places of worship and burial sites need your kōkua to be protected," Koa Mana concluded. ■