Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 25, Number 11, 1 November 2008 — Creating our own Frankenstein(s) series: science and religion through a telescope [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

Creating our own Frankenstein(s) series: science and religion through a telescope

As I sat listening to proposals of another telescope

(size of Aloha Stadiuni) to be erected on Mauna Kea and all the presumptions

as to what this venture will bring: like job security, eeonomie revival of sleepy Hilo town, native Hawaiians achieving scientific careers in science and astronomy, the endless educational scholarships within the University of Hawai'i system, internships and fellowships, and the opportunity for Hawai'i to be recognized as the world's astronomy center, I could only reflect as to what this mountain meant to me. As a younger man, this mountain has allowed me to experienee gusts of freezing winds, and

yet gentle mists that kissed my face. I stood beside ancient 'ōhi'a and giant hāpu'u that nurture the nectar-sipping 'apapane, 'i'iwi, 'elepaio and 'amakihi. I lay in the dancing grass as scattered sheep and cattle graze dewy and tender shoots, while the pua'a tills and topples the earth bringing up ancient seeds to sprout and regenerate its "soul." Its cavernous and scaled cliffs bring gentle, yet often raging streams filled with 'o'opu and 'ōpae, warabe and guavas, mango and mountain apple and kukui. As I approach the shore I drift, floating with eaeh breath of the sea with the palani and manini and the uhu and weke and pāpio, and I patiently, effortlessly wait for the strike to garnish my table for my family to feast. This mountain has blessed my posterity from its peak to the

depths of the sea; even now, it nourishes me as my candle for life grows dim - how ean I "dis" dat"? My skill in stalking mountain beasts has passed from my son to his, and hopefully to his grandson someday. This mountain has always been there for my family and the ancients before me. It's always provided us with sweet meat and fish and fruits and greens on our table - 1 cannot surrender it. As a newspaper boy in the mid'60s I saw the blackened dot begin to take shape, then painted white. I could not understand why my heart ached inside until I realized it was the raimning of huge pilings as stakes pounding passed her heart and deep into her womb. As I toured O'ahu upon my enhstment in the Army, did my heart rupture with pain against the pounding stakes to house tourists and big business. The

pounding of stakes pass through iwi kupuna, further removing life from the 'āina - will the continued invasion and desecration ever stop? One lady who is in favor of the Thirty Meter Telescope (TMT) owns a business in Hilo that has been seriously impacted by the current economy. Though she admits to not believing in God, she has respect for those who do, yet cannot see what relationship the mountain and religion (culture) has anything to do with building a telescope and creating business opportunities for the islanders. It appeared that she was more concerned with "bottom-line and profit-margin thinking" than the traditional concerns of the host culture. In other words, dispense with this native nonsense and let's make some money already - let TMT happen. 01d-timer Mr. John Ota, with an unwavering voice, blasted the TMT project and said that all you need to do is to open your eyes wider instead of narrowing your eyes through the lens of a telescope to see the universe. And Mr. Paul Neves, Royal Qrder of Kamehameha, said it even more profoundly, "education through desecration is not education at all." I see Mauna Kea as the apex where Lono himself had stood before ascending to heaven upon visiting his "other flock" after his crucifixion in the 01d World. From a spiritual perspective the apex (Mauna Kea) is the alpha of the spiritual, whieh reaches toward the universe, eternal and everlasting. The omega of the physical stretches from the apex to the depths of the sea and is finite. In a sense my experiences in this life have been both physical and spiritual. In order to gain a more spiritual awareness though, I've had to assume less in the nature of physical things. Upon lessening my consumption for the physical was I made aware of my hunger and thirst for further knowledge of the universe and all that it had to offer; I don't want to imagine any-

more, I'd like to know more truths. I readily understand how science and religion (culture) connects in order to achieve a clearer picture of knowledge - after all, isn't the glory of God intelligence? Hawaiians arepassionate explorers; we are of the heavens and of the earth. We sailed the horizons because we had a desire to know what was beyond, and depended upon the stars for guidance, eenturies before the Europeans began contemplating the world being flat. What we do spiritually as Hawaiians, the White Man fashioned tools for. To detennine the accuracy of either - the stars or the sextant - both depended on faith. One faith in God, the other faith in the person who fashioned the tool; henee, one receiving perfect knowledge, the other depending on man's intellect. I think that man's intellect has a great desire to seek this perfect knowledge that we as natives of the land, sea and sky hold inseparably within. It's gonna be hard for scientists to connect with the perfect knowledge if they fail to recognize His existence. No matter how high the mountain reaches the heavens, or how mueh the magnifying lens sharpens in intensity, or how massive their fashioned tools may be - the vision will always be blurry without His Majesty's face in the picture. .īeno Enoeeneio writes about the many hats he wears. Email him at poiniman _Jeno@msn.com. ^

NĀ PĀPALE ■ MANY HAĪS

By Jimmy F. "Jeiiū'' Enneenein

Orion-lndependence Enoeeneio values the sweetness of God's gifts so his family and friends ean enjoy a bountiful harvest. - Photo: Couttesy ofJeno inoeeneio