Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 29, Number 3, 1 March 2012 — Making a move to mainstream kōnane [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

Making a move to mainstream kōnane

By ūiana Leone Kaua'i entrepreneur John Kaohelauli'i hopes to help revive the popularity of the ancient Hawaiian game of kōnane by making and selling portable game boards and promoting them through workshops and tournaments. "I eall it the greatest game neverplayed," Kaohelauli'i says of the game sometimes called Hawaiian eheekers. Though it dates back to at least the 1400s, like many other aspects of traditional Hawaiian culture, it heeame almost unknown between the arrival of missionary influences and the Hawaiian Renaissance of the 1970s. For Kaohelauli'i, the deceptively simple game in whieh players use hlaek and white 'ili'ili (stones or marbles) on a papamū (stone) or wooden game board has life lessons to teach its players. He speculates that the game could have had a connection to ancient Hawaiians' mathematical concepts used in voyaging and astronomy. Whereas the winner of western checkers is the person who ends up with more of his or her opponent's game pieces, in kōnane the objective is to leave your opponent with no possible moves. Or, as Kaohelauli'i puts it, "Last move win." The importance of that is brought home by the fact that Hawaiians are believed to have gambled on the outcome of the game with very high stakes, up to and including one's life, he says. Kaohelauli'i likes that the game was played by both wāhine andkāne, maka'āinana andali'i. Kamehameha the Great was known to be a masterful player, as was

Princess Ka'ililauokekoa of Kaua'i. "It teaches patience, critical thinking and strategic planning," Kaohelauli'i says. "It's the game of life." Kaohelauli'i was 8 years old when he first played kōnane with his father on O'ahu. His enthusiasm for the game was stoked by its inclusion in Kamehameha Schools' Explorations program. For a little while, he and his friends would play kōnane frequently, he recalls. Then it drifted into the background. But he kept the game board that his father gave him, and over the years, he'd go through phases of playing again, when he could find other players. When he drove a tour bus, he'd often play with a fellow driver during stops when they were waiting for their passengers. Kaohelauli'i sells kōnane games on his web site, hawaiiancheckers.com. They're also sold on O'ahu at the Bishop Museum's Shop PaeiAea, Native Books/ Nā Mea Hawai'i and the Waimea Valley gift shop; and on Kaua'i at the Kaua'i Museum, his Sole Mates shoe store and his daughter's Work It Out fitness gear store. He'll be teaching the game in workshops offered at Kaua'i Community College's Office of Continuing Education and Training April 12, 13 and 14, with a kōnane tournament to follow. The $16 cost of the workshop comes with a $16 gift certificate, good for the purchase of a kōnane game. Contact Kaohelauli'i at info@hawaiiancheckers.com. ■ Diana Leone, a veteran journa!ist, runs thefreelance writing and editing business Leone Creative Communication, on Kaua'i.

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John Kaohelauli'i hopes that the aneienl Hawaiian game of kōnane ean make a eomehaek. He makes and sells kōnane sets on hawaiiancheckers.com and at several O'ahu and Kaua'i retail locations. - Photo: Oiana Leone