Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 27, Number 5, 1 May 2010 — Men's conference builds strong kāne [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

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Men's conference builds strong kāne

By Liza Simon KaWai Ola When the first Native Hawaiian I men's conferenee convened in 2006, it was applauded for taking traditional concepts of manhood and retooling them as guideposts for productive living in contemporary times. Response was so good that the I organizers are planning a simi- i lar event for June. In particular, 'Aha Kāne 2010, as the event | is known, will draw attention ; to the Native Hawaiian warrior code. Instead of girding up for , battle, however, fighting for self- ; respect and social justice will be : the focus of three days of work- i shops, sports competitions and educational demonstrations. "A heads up to the spouses of participants: Don't be surprised if your

husband comes home wanting to turn off the TV and take an evening walk with the family instead," said Gordon 'Umi Kai, one of the main organizers of 'Aha Kāne. "This is all about empowering ourselves to make positive changes." Billed as a health conference and sponsored in part by OHA, the event will provide native men and boys a ehanee to wala'au with one other and with professional experts on everything from lomilomi to modern leadership strategies. Kai said the underlying concept is a broad cultural definition of heahh that bridges physical, spiritual and mental well-being. On the conference's roster are many traditional activities aimed at putting this concept of health into action. There will be a traditional ho'okūkū ha'iōlelo - a battle of wits where contestants express their flourishes of oratory in the language of ehoiee - 'ōlelo Hawai'i. One of

the main events is hakakā a moa, literally "ehieken fight," where opponents square off while posing on one leg with one arm behind the back. It's as boisterous as a boxing match, but not unlike the less physieal ho'okūkū ha'iōlelo, it also builds flexibility and mental acuity. "When we talk about the warrior ethic, the term halanee comes into play a lot," said Kai, noting that in the Hawaiian martial art of lua, practitioners trained to express both masculine and feminine qualities - the duality of Kū and Hina, respectively. They learned to distinguish between situations that required yielding and flexibility versus force, said Kai. But, he adds, this knowledge and the discipline it required was on the wane for decades as Hawaiian culture heeame eclipsed by westernization. As a result, Kai, who grew up in O'ahu before the 1970s renaissance of lua and other aspects of Hawaiian heritage, feels

that his generation knew liūle about concepts of manhood that sustained their ancestors. "There was always the missing element of a strong native male role model in my life, especially since my father passed when I was just 7 years old," Kai recalled. At Kaimukl High School, he looked to the occasional male teacher or eoaeh for guidance, but he didn't know the fortifying power of his Hawaiian identity until he eame under the inAuenee of Kahauanu Lake. An eminent Hawaiian musieian and cultural practitioner, Lake helped a teenaged Kai to discover his family genealogy, to make poi, to learn Hawaiian mele and to take pride in his roots. Later, as a tour escort, Kai used Lake's teachings to answer visitors' cultural questions. "It felt good that I could be authentic and I didn't have to fake it," he said. Not surprisingly, Kai helped to

hatch the idea for the 'Aha Kāne along with several of his peers who shared his positive experience of a Hawaiian cultural reawakening. At a lua workshop nearly a decade ago, Kai began the conference planning process with elinieal psychologist Kamana'opono Crabbe, now the Director of OHA's new Research Line of Business. "Our carry on from the workshop was to take the message of cultural identity and halanee within oneself to the rest of the Hawaiian population," said Kai. Kai and Crabbe along with fellow lua practitioner Billy Richards helped organize the inaugural 'Aha Kāne in 2006 that drew 500 kāne, representing a range of ages and professional and educational backgrounds. All three men serve as co-direc-tors of 'Aha Kāne. Community support was also encouraging. The association of Native Hawaiian physicians volunteered time to do men's heahh screenings in 2006. The group will serve again at this year's conference. Kai quips that too mueh Kū and not enough Hina may lead some participants to indulge in resistance to the screenings. "But you won't get the official conference T-shirt until you get screened," he adds playfully. On the serious side, he said the reconvening of the 'Aha Kāne in 2010 marks growing recognition of the alarming disparities in rates of chronic disease affecting all Native Hawaiians, kāne included. But it is his dream that 'Aha Kāne is a growing movement that will heal native lives with the vitality of culture. "It was always preached by Hawaiian warriors that you had to take care of yourself and your home first, before you go into battle," said Kai. "The idea today is to feel good about who you are first and then you ean make a bigger contribution to home, work and community." ■

'Aha Kāne 2010 June 18-20 Fri., 8 a.m.-ll p.m. Sat., 6 a.m.-ll p.m. Sun., 6 a.m.-4 p.m. Windward Community College • Activities include: Ho'okūkū Ha'iōlelo (Hawaiian Language 0ration) Competition, health screenings, lomilomi, athletic competitions, oli workshops, hula kahiko and traditional warrior arts demonstrations. • June 11 registration deadline; late registration accepted upon space availability • Limited scholarships available For information onfeesand registration, ahakane.org

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