Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 28, Number 1, 1 January 2011 — Setting our sights on 2011 [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

Setting our sights on 2011

Dr. PH„ R.D. t's time for New Year resolutions and, customarily, resolutions involve improvements in managing one's personal life. Hawaiian historian David Malo provides an interesting list of behaviors that our Hawaiian ancestors considered pono maoli (right). Malo felt that most Hawaiians practiced these behaviors, whieh were: 1) being patient (ho'omanawanui), 2) resisting temptation, 3) living thriftily, 4) not being a vagabond or shiftless, 5) not changing wives repeatedly, 6) being responsible and 7) not eating

someone else's food. Malo also said it was pono maoli for a man to marry, to raise children properly, to not covet a neighbor's possessions nor to beg for them. Our ancestors considered these prudent steps in one's life path. Does this offer any ideas? Our ancestors had other rules that managed the environment and natural resources in a pono way, to assure comfort and safety for everyone. For example, cultural protocol protected against wasting or polluting any freshwater source because with that abuse the water was lost forever. Severe penalties were levied against wrongdoers. Kūpuna and mākua started teaching keiki appropriate behaviors in early childhood, showing them how to protect their environment. A eouple of examples would be: maintaining walking paths by securing loose stepping stones for the next person,

and not tossing household trash and dust out the door. Hunters, planters, fishermen and artisans taught keiki kāne a myriad of ways to protect and respect the resources of the

oeean, forests and land. Ancient Hawaiians honored, appreciated and embraced the gifts of the gods, such . as water, fertile land, good ^ crops, abundant fishing, plants, etc., that supported ^ their comfort, health H and livelihood. Kawena H Pukui describes how eom- ^ pletely Hawaiians in Ka'ū embrace their land, as para- v phrased here: Hawaiians did not fear or cringe before, or

hate the power and destructiveness ofMauna Loa. Instead, tliey measured their personal dignity and powers in terms ofthis Mother mounUiin 's majesty and drama, naming their land Ka 'ū ( the breast). They loved Pele, endured herfuries and celebrated the drama of creation in their lives, in their songs and in sacred hula dramatizing the

"Woman ofthe Pit." Pele's family was embodied in clouds, thunder and lightning (Lono), in the verdure of theforest

( Wahine 'Ōma'o), in "Hi'iaka ofliving waters," the healer, and other encompassing cosmic terrestrial forces ofKa'ū. Hawai'i's resident populahon has increased to an estimated 1.4 mil-

lion and in-migration and visitor numbers eonhnue to rise. Problems caused by these large numbers are overcrowding, housing shortages, overuse of Hawai'i's resources

and infrastructure (roads, sewers, beaches, etc.), protecting limited k freshwater supplies, and man-

aging transportation, traffic, noise, pollution and 'ōpala. , Car crashes, pedestrian - accidents, destruction of I historic and sacred sites, I and homelessness are other I mounting community eon- ' cerns. It's worrisome that only a few demonstrate awareness of resource eonservation and, even fewer, their

kuleana to care for this land that has been entrusted to us. Hawai'i nei nō ka 'oi! ... But, for how long? What if we eonhnue to fail in protecting Hawai'i? Set resolutions to protect Hawai'i and make them standard behaviors. We all want our great-great-grandchildren to experience Hawai'i's beauty just as we do. ■

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By Claire Ku'uleilani Hughes,