Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 25, Number 12, 1 December 2008 — 'Tyranny' response [ARTICLE]

'Tyranny' response

Here are a few questions for the writers of November's Tyranny and iwi exposed eolumn referencing Hawaiian religion in Mākua: Was King Kamehameha II' s order in 1819, abolishing the Hawaiian religion, its gods, the kapu system that supported it and heiau on all the islands be demolished, ever rescinded? Didn'tthe Kahunafully supportthe order, even to the extent that Chief Kahuna Hewahewa destroyed his own heiau? And were not all of our Hawaiian monarchs from King Kamehameha II to Queen Lili'uokalani, Christians? If it was not rescinded, then the religious activities mentioned aren't legitimate Hawaiian cultural practices and have no right to access Pililā'au Mākua Military Reservation. What many are unaware of is that while sins in the Christian

faith may be forgiven, breaking a sacred kapu (a sin) of a Hawaiian god usually results in death. And what's worth noting is that many of us Hawaiian and loeal veterans trained in Mākua. Further, it's not just haoles being denied training, but those of our families, friends and neighbors, whose bones and lives are far more sacred than anything in Mākua. Bill Punini Prescott Commander, Veterans ofForeign Wars Post 849 Wai'anae, O'ahu

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