Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 6, Number 12, 1 December 1989 — Aloha — what direction? [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

Aloha — what direction?

by Clarence F. T. Ching Trustee, O'ahu

In the old days, when people traveled in Hawai'i, no one really was a stranger. Even if you never saw a person before in your life, he was never a stranger. When people saw someone coming, they would say, "They look tired." They knew that the person eame from

afar. They would say, "Mai! Mai! E Ai!" Come and eat, and caress. They would say, "After you are fed and when you are rested, we'll find out who you are." Clyde "Kindy" Sproat, the singing cowboy from Pololu Valley, North Kohala, Big Island, is telling this story in introducing one of his popular melodies. "The stranger would have responded: 1 was hungry. I was tired. I could go no more. You gave me your bed to sleep on.' That's right. In those days when there were no guest rooms, in giving and receiving 'Aloha,' you slept on the floor and the stranger slept on the bed." What was this wonderful, "aloha" philosophy and lifestyle? It was definitely worlds apart from the Alo — ha one hears thrown about in Waikiki, something that somebody could probably mistake for a tourist mating eall. However, it may be the password that could bring together in kinship and mutual respect the citizens of our Hawaiian nation, of America and the world. "Aloha" is the key that gives entry to the wonderful world of Hawaiian philosophy and thought. The definition of "aloha" includes a hodgepodge of greetings and feelings — love, affection, eompassion, mercy, pity, kindness, charity; greeting, regards; sweetheart, loved one; beloved, loving; to love, show kindness, mercy, pity, charity, affection; to remember with affection; to greet, hail. All of these dimensions sound great to the eommon ear. However, coupled with the mind and thoughtof the Hawaiian, the word is transformed into a mueh higher level. The definition is the skeleton upon

whieh the flesh, blood and guts are hung, transforming a seemingly lifeless frame into a living reality. When experiencing a situation similar to Kindy's, Nana Veary, in her new book Change We Must, told of her grandmother's response — "I was not feeding the man; I was entertaining the spirit of God within him." Nana continues, "This practice of honoring the other was so mueh a part of the culture that it needed no name. Today we eall it the 'aloha spirit,' but to the Hawaiians of old it was inherent and natural. They lived it. To feed a stranger passing by is pure aloha. Today we have to be taught it because we are so far removed from the Hawaiian culture. And we have given it a name." Nana goes further, "The word is imbued with a great deal of power. I do not use the word casually. Aloha is a feeling, a recognition of the divine. It is not just a word of greeting. When you say 'aloha' to someone, you are conveying or bestowing this feeling." There are those who believe the "aloha spirit" will someday engulf the world and help to create something that this planet has never seen, a world of acknowledgement, honor and respect between individuals, even between nations. But let us not get too carried away with things yet. Yes, we are Hawaiian and the "aloha spirit" is a Hawaiian concept. Just because we are the descendants of those who were the source, it does not follow that eaeh of us is an automatic heir. We will find, if we haven't realized it yet, that the "aloha spirit" has no preferred colors. Just because one is brown does not guarantee that one has it, or even a right to it. In fact, if one looks around, a lot of non-brow-nies have this fine quality. Aloha becomes a part of one's attitude or spirit or both. Wherever it comes from, it dwells on the inside, and it ean be taught, learned and felt. Many of our kupuna were good examples of its practice. We ean learn from their example. "Aloha" starts out as a conscious quality that must be identified, felt and acted upon. When we perfect ourselves as individuals, we ean then perfect ourselves as a people. As part of our eonsciousness, it becomes part of our mana. When it becomes part of our unconsciousness, we beeome "aloha." This mechanism ean heeome eontagious. We ean send it out to affect others in the world.

Sometimes OHA trustees are thrust into almost impossible situations whieh provide channels for the "aloha spirit" to manifest itself. There was an OHA community meeting scheduled on Lana'i a eouple of months ago. Trustees Manu Kahaialii, Louis Hao and I decided, knowing that there were no available hotel rooms on the island, that w e should go anyway. Thinking that we could spend the night down at the beach if we had to, Louis Hao brought along a blanket and I took a sleeping bag. Manu Kahaialii brought just himself. But the aloha spirit eame through. When Unele Sol Kaopuiki heard of our plight, he made arrangements for us to spend the night. We expressed our thanks in the pule that was said before we retired and we blessed all those who were connected to the house we were temporarily gifted with. We accepted our benefactors' and Lanai's aloha, and hopefully, we left some of our own. The question of the single definition for Hawaiians comes up again in January 1990. Eaeh of us probably weighed its implications in last year's referendum and are again ready to cast the same vote. While those who oppose the issue have been very vocal, I expect that the 80 percent vote in favor of the issue will remain about constant. Most of the 20 percent who voted against the single definition last time did not consider the guarantees to the 50 percent Hawaiians, reserving to themselves the rights (such as to Hawaiian homesteads) for instance that they already had. While most kupuna, I suspect, voted the way they did in hopes that their less than 50 percent grandchildren would be receiving benefits, some said, "I want my share now. I've been waiting a continued on page 23

Trustee Ching

from page 20 long time. So after I get my share and after I am gone, then you ean include my less than 50 percent grandchildren." Sometimes even kupuna and makua have to be reminded that as keepers of the aloha spirit, they must share that aloha with their progeny and other 'ohana. It is possible that we get aloha only if we are willing to give aloha. After experiencing the almost constant stream of OHA-bashing by our usually angry critics, I sometimes wonder what happened when the aloha spirit was passed out. While sincere dialogue in discussing diverse views should be encouraged, let us not forget, as Nana reminds us, that eaeh of us should recognize the spirit of God in eaeh other and treat eaeh other accordingly. Should aloha be so easily displaced by egos? When OHA's trustees made the decision to register Hawaiians worldwide (Operation 'Ohana) and when they went to the mainland to get input on the Blueprint, some said, "With all of the problems we have here, why go there to look for

more?" We must remind ourselves that many of us went to the mainland to survive economically. Some went for adventure. Others went to be educated. Some were forced into labor by their King. The kanaka who were at Sutter's Fort when gold was discovered in California, or who tramped the western continent with the Hudson Bay Company, might not have been there by ehoiee. Others have gone there because their health required it. For whatever reason, there are Hawaiians on the continent, and they eonhnue to be part of us. Some of them identify with their Hawaiian roots even more than some of us who have stayed. They are our brothers and sisters. They suffer from the same maladies that we do. They are us. The trustees decided for all of us that we are irrevocably united with eaeh other by aloha. We must put our sometimes unreasonably selfish and egotistic feelings behind us. Let us be real Hawaiians and continue to be the people who are the reservoir of, and disseminators of aloha. After taking care of our necessities, let us be generous and spread that aloha to the rest of the world. Then let the earth be consumed by it. Mahalo ke Akua! Aloha ke Akua! Trivia: Name a eommon wood used for net floats and a wood used for net sinkers. Call Laura at 946-2642.