Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 30, Number 5, 1 May 2013 — Ua paepae ʻē ʻia ka pōhaku: LOOKING TO OUR ANCESTORS [ARTICLE]

Ua paepae ʻē ʻia ka pōhaku: LOOKING TO OUR ANCESTORS

By Bryan Kamaoli Kuwada

Ma ko'u 'ohana, nui nā mo'olelo e pili ana i ku'u kupuna 'o Louis Kauanoekauikalikokahalaopuna Pānui - 'o Tūtū Man kona inoa kapakapa - no kona ma'a loa i nā loina Hawai'i. He kahuna lā'au kāhea 'o ia, he lawai'a, he mea a'o 'Ilio (no ka lawai'a kekahi manawa), a he pa'a mo'olelo nō ho'i. 'A'ole na'e au i launa iā Tūtū Man, ma waho aku o nā mo'olelo a ku'u 'ohana i ha'i ai, no ka mea ua hānau 'ia 'o ia ma ka M.H. 1863 a hala ma ka M.H. 1960. He 'umeke kā'eo maoli 'o ia, i ka 'ōlelo a kahiko. 'A'ole na'e kona kūlana he 'umeke ka mea nui; 'o ka mea nui kāna hānai 'ana aku i

ka 'ai no loko o ia 'umeke. 'A'ole loa 'o ia i ho'oili hou wale aku i nā mo'olelo i ili iā ia. Ha'i 'ia i ka wā kūpono, ho'ololi iki 'ia paha no kahi manawa kūpono hou aku, a mālama 'ia nona iho inā 'a'ole kūpono ka ha'i hou

'ana. Like ka hana a ia po'e haku mo'olelo me kā ka po'ehakulei. Naka haku e wae akahele i nā pua a wili me nāmea hiehie 'ēa'e i lei. Hahai ka haku

i kā kāna po'e kumu i a'o iā ia a me nā loina o ia hana, akā 'o ka haku 'ana, he hō'ike ia o ke akamai a me ka maiau o ia haku lei a mo'olelo paha. E like me ka lei, inā he kohu maika'i ka loina, ho'oili 'ia; inā 'a'ole, mālama 'ia

nou iho a waiho wale 'ia paha. 'O ia ke kumu e pono ai e ho'omaopopo i ko kākou mau kūpuna ma ke 'ano he po'e i wae akahele i nā 'ike a me nā loina kūpono e hānai ai i ko lākou mau 'ohana a me ka lāhui aloha o kākou.

He koho pa'akikī nō ke kūpa'a ma hope o ka nohona Hawai'i i ia au hulihia. He kuleana nui ka mālama a ho'oili 'ana i ia 'ano mea, a ua ho'okae 'ia ko

kākou mau loina e kahi hapanui o ka po'e i hiki mai i 'ane'i no waho mai, 'o ka mikionali 'oe, 'o ka selamoku 'oe, 'o ke kumu kula 'oe, 'o ke kālepa 'oe, 'o ka loea kālai'āina 'oe, a pēlā aku. Wahi a lākou, 'a'ohe wahi kōā iki no ia 'ano loina i kēia "au o ka holomua." No

lākou, 'o ka nohona Hawai'i kahi ālaina i ke ala holomua. No laila, pono nō e ho'omaopopo a ho'omana'o i ke kila o ka pu'uwai o kēia po'e pa'a mo'olelo a mo'okū'auhau, e la'a me Kamakau, Kalākaua, Lili'uokalani, Po'omaikelani, Emma Nakuina, S.N. Haleole, S.L. Peleioholani, Kahikina Kelekona, J.K. Mokumaia, Z.P.K. Kalokuokamaile a me kahi helu hou aku o ko kākou mau kūpuna. 'A'ole lākou i kū ma ka 'ao'ao a nānā i ka hana o ha'i; ua kū ha'aheo i mua o kēia po'e nemanema a koi ho'okikina i ka waiwai o ko kākou nohona Hawai'i a me nā mea 'ē a'e i kū ā lāhui kā'oko'a kākou. Mālama ua mau pa'a mo'olelo lā i kēia mau waiwai ho'oilina i mea e pono ai ka lāhui, i mea e holo mua ai ka lāhui, a i mea e ola ai ka lāhui. Wahi a Joseph Poepoe, ka pa'a mo'olelo hanohano, i ka makahiki 1906: "(O) ka makaukau ma na Moolelo o kou Aina Makuahine ke keehina ike mua ma ke Kalaiaina e hiki ai ke paio no ka pono o ka Noho'na Aupuni ana." He kahua ka loina, ka mo'olelo, a me ka mo'okū'auhau o mua no ka hanana o kēia au, a 'o ka po'e pa'a mo'olelo ke paepae ana i ka pōhaku. 'O ia

nō ke kumu e ho'omaopopo ai i ka pa'a mo'olelo ma ke 'ano he hana, 'a'ole he kūlana wale nō. No laila, ke 'a'a kākou i ka hula, ke hō a'e i ka 'ike he'e nalu ma ka hōkua o ka nalu, ke 'ai i ke kole, ke 'ai i kalo mo'a, ke mea, ke mea, ke mea, pono nō kākou e ho'omaopopo i ke ko'iko'i a me ka pa'akikl o kā nā kūpuna na'i 'ana i ka pono no kākou 'oiai ua ili ia 'ā'ume'ume iā kākou e ho'omau i ia mau hana i kā'eo mau ko kākou 'umeke. TRANSLATION n the fall of 1886, Kalākaua chartered the Hale Nauā, a Hawaiian organization open to both men and women (a rare thing at the time) dedicated to reinvigorating traditional knowledge and practices but also studying the latest developments in science, art and literature, and making sense of them in eulturally appropriate ways. Within a year, its ranks swelled to over 200 members, making it one of the largest fraternal organizations in Honolulu and a polkieal and eultural force in the kingdom. For daring to insist on the validity and importance of Hawaiian knowledge in the modern era during its five years of existence, the Hale Nauā was fiercely attacked in newspapers and pamphlets by the opponents of the monarchy, who characterized it as a return to heathenism and barbarism. The society was such a threat to the power of the haole businessmen that the editors of the newspaper Ka Makaainana made this declaration in 1895: "A o kekahi ka hoi o na kumu i kahulihia ai o ke Aupuni Moi, no ka Ahahui Hale Naua." ("And another of the reasons that the monarchy was overthrown was the Hale Nauā society.") Like Kalākaua, our ancestors recognized the power of our knowledge and traditions, and the Hale Nauā was but one way they sought out and interwove foreign and native knowledge to reaffirm Hawaiian identity and benefit the lāhui. Hawaiians such as Joseph Poepoe, Kahikina Kelekona, J.H. Kanepuu, J.K. Mokumaia, E.K. Lilikalani, Emma Nakuina, Po'omaikelani, Z.P. Kalokuokamaile, S.L. Peleioholani

and my kupuna Louis Kauanoekauikalikokahalaopuna Pānui were known for their efforts passing on our mo'olelo, mele and traditions. Some knew several different languages and would quote the Roman philosopher Cicero or the American poet and educator Henry Wadsworth Longfellow in their mo'olelo. Others would travel around the islands and write about the traditions of the places they visited. And still others had deep knowledge about their particular places. Yet all too often we see these diverse Hawaiian intellectuals all lumped together as vessels of the oral tradition, merely passive receptacles of knowledge whose stories are nothing more than word-for-word reproductions of the oral tradition. These ideas do a disservice both to our kūpuna and to the vibrant and ever-growing nature of our oral traditions. Rather than sticking to an unchanging script passed down through the ages, our kūpuna carefully chose the right stories to tell at the right times, sometimes emphasizing certain aspects for one occasion, while playing up other parts for a different oeeasion. They also chose whieh of our customs and stories were still appropriate to practice and pass on to their children. Ignoring the active role our kūpuna played in creating and adapting the oral tradition ignores their bravery in continuing to practice our traditions and tell our stories in the face of massive population decline and tremendous pressure to assimilate. As we take part in our own struggles for poliīieal and intellectual sovereignty, the puhlie outcry against the Hale Nauā reminds us of the potential ramifications of insisting on a strong and modern Hawaiian identity anchored in our traditions and stories. But being aware of our intellectual genealogies and the struggles that our kūpuna went through to pass on our traditions also reminds us that the foundations of our identity have already been laid by those who eame before, and all we need to do is continue to build. ■ Bryan Kamaoli Kuwaāa is a student, translator, teacher, editor and researcher living in Pālolo i ka ua Līlīlehua e kilihune nei.

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This month Ka Wai Ola welcomes a new monthly feature written in 'ōlelo Hawai'i. An English translation is provided by the author.