Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 4, Number 2, 1 February 1987 — Hoʻolako 1987 Celebration also at Mauna ʻAla [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

Hoʻolako 1987 Celebration also at Mauna ʻAla

Pre-DawnProgram on Haleakala Summit Opens Year-Long Observance of Year of the Hawaiian

By Kenny Haina, Editor Ka Wai Ola O OHA and Stanley Ki'ope Raymond 111 Maui Community Resource Specialist Ho'olako 1987 — The Year of the Hawaiian — opened duringthepre-dawnhours Jan. 1 onthesummit of Haleakala on Maui with Office of Hawaiian Affairs Board Chairman Moses K . Keale Sr. and fellow T rustees Clarenee F.T. Ching of Oahu and Maui's Manu Kahaialii, complete with Ahu'ula, among the participants in a program of prayer, meditation and chants. Another program was held during the morning daylight hours a little later the same morning at Mauna 'Ala in Honolulu. lt was sponsored by the Daughters and Sons of Hawaiian Warriors with Healani Doane as eoordinator and OHA Administrator Kamaki A. Kanahele 111 conducting the program. National Park Service officials at Haleakala conservatively estimated the overflow crowd of residents and visitors to be about 1,000. The very first event kicking off The Year of the Hawaiian drew a small group of chanters, dancers, OHA Trustees and other Hawaiian supporters to greet the first light of the new year— Ho'olako 1987. Torch-bearing runner Pia Aluli completed his ascent to the 10,000 feet summit from his start at 6,800 feet Hosmer Grove. Aluli was met at the summit by Leslie Kuloloio and together they carried the torch to the cinder eone from where the Hawaiians began their eelebration. Participants braved the cold morning temperatures, chanting, dancing and meditating, trying to reach out to their ancestors. Chanter Kealii Reichel, Kumu Hula Hokulani Holt-Padilla, dancers Yukali Ohno and Cori Herrera and Kuloloio, were dressed in light, traditional garments more ideally suited for lower altitudes. Kuloloio in fact was dressed in only a malo at one point. OHA Chairman Keaie described the celebration as one of the most beautiful and inspiring events he has ever witnessed. "It was just magnificent. The setting could not have been more perfect. It was such a privilege to be there under a starlit pre-dawn morning and then watching the first sun moving upward, brightening the sky. It was very absorbing, making one feel in tune with the aina and the elements around him," Keale exclaimed. "We were giving back to the creator, to the aina," is the way Kuloloio described the event. The two and one-half hour Mauna 'Ala program was also heavily sedated with chants, meditation and addresses by Congressman Daniel K. Akaka and Hawaiian businessman and publisher John Dominis Holt of Topgallant Publishing Co. Everyone was asked to clear the Mauna 'Ala grounds and line up outside the gate where Cy Bridges chanted the mele kahea, requesting Curator Lydia Namahana Maioho permission to enter the premises. As keeper of the bones, she responded in her mele komo chant. The processional, led by the pulo'ulo'u stick borne by Melvin Kauila Clark and the spears of the Daughters and Sons of Hawaiian Warriors, began shortly after 9 a.m. with an estimated 300 people in attendance. Following the opening pule by the Rev. Darrow Aiona, Kanahele paid speciai tribute to T rustee Thomas K. (Unele Tommy) Kaulukukui Sr., calling him "a man of vision who has made the Hawaiians proud." "The Lord has given him mana and vision to do for his Hawaiian people what he must do. lt is about time his people are recognized and what better time than in this year of Ho'olako 1987: The Year of the Hawaiian," Kanahele declared. Kaulukukui first eame up with the idea of Ho'olako 1987 two years ago, first getting the OHA board to support it and from there it gained momentum to the point

where it received state and county appropriations. His goal in this special year is to instill pride in being Hawaiian, identify important Hawaiian values, raise the consciousness of the Hawaiian core and celebrate that reawakening throughout the year. "Other ethnic groups have done it so why not a year for the Hawaiians?" Kaulukukui had asked himself. Eaeh county has a Ho'olako committee organized by Kaulukukui, who also serves as president of Ho'olako

1987, and a blue ribbon committee. The respective county committees plan their own celebrations. Akaka in his opening remarks likewise commended Kaulukukui "for initiating and bringing this year-long celebration for Hawaiians to fruition; uplifting the spirit of Hawaiians and all ethnic groups who live on these beautiful islands." • See Pre-Dawn, Pg. 3

Unele Harry Mitchell of Keanae, left, with Office of Hawaiian Affairs Trustees Clarence F. T. Ching, Oahu; Board Chairman Moses K. Keale Sr., Kauai and Niihau; Manu Kahaialii, Maui; and the Rev. David Kaalakea in the pre-dawn hours on Haleakala. Note ahu'ula worn by the Trustees.

Office of Hawaiian Affairs Administrator Kamaki A. Kanahele 111, with Trustee and Ho'olako 1987 president Thomas K. (Unele Tommy) Kaulukukui Sr. following with wife, Felice, leads procession into Mauna 'Ala.

• Pre-Dawn, from Pg. 1 Akaka, looking at Hawaii's past, observed that King Kamehameha I and George Washington, first president of the United States, had similar visions — a nation united in peaee. "Although they never met, their legacies did meet. . ,Some might say their legacies collided and that the Hawaiians took the brunt of the impact. From a paradise that evolved from chiefdoms into a monarchy, the kingdom of Hawaii was forced into becoming a republic, a territory and finally one of the states of Washington's great dream. This all happened in a relatively short time and very little consideration was given to native Hawaiians," Akaka noted. The Congressman concluded: "For those of us who are Hawaiian, this history brings mixed feelings because of the injustices inflicted on the Hawaiian people. The task has now fallen on us to create a vision and a course of action for the future of our state. The pain is real and the challenges we face today are monumental. Fortunately, we ean also say that great strides have been made in recent years by the Hawaiian people. The highest elective office in our state is held by a man named John Waihee. The leader of the State House of Representatives is currently Henry Peters, a Hawaiian

(Rep. Richard Kawakami of Kauai has since replaced Peters). Our State Senate is led by President Richard Wong who is also Hawaiian. And recently a part Hawaiian named Henry Giugni, who previously was a top aide to Sen. (Daniel K.) Inouye, was appointed by the Senate leadership asSer-geant-at-Arms of that body. An interesting aside is the fact that most people don't know Henry is the first Hawaiian with the power to arrest the president of the United States. Interesting in that people purporting to represent the U.S. government illegally arrested our beloved Queen Liliuokalani and now we have a Hawaiian who has the legal authority to arrest the president of the United States." The accomplishments of these people, Akaka pointed out, show what heights Hawaiians ean rise to in today's world. "It is up to those of us who have reached positions of stature to help those who are burdened and repressed by the injustices of the past," he explained. Akaka pledged to "do all I ean in Congress to help. We are now working with agencies such as the Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Alu Like, E OlaMau andtheKamehameha Schools to meet this challenge." Holt explained the royal burials at Mauna 'Ala, how they eame about and where the remains of the aliis rest.

He then called up eaeh of the eight chanters in attendanee who told the crowd in chant about the people buried at Mauna 'Ala. Bridges, who is directly descended from Maui high chiefs, sat on the roadway and chanted at length on the Piilani geneology. He was followed by seven other chanters honoring other alii. They were: Ellen Gay— Birth chant, Kamehameha I. Kamuela Chun — Chant of praise, Kalanikualiholiho, Kamehameha II. Punahele Lerma — Birth chant, Kauikeaouli, Kamehameha III. Kimo Alama — Mele inoa no Alexander Liholiho, Kamehameha IV; Lot Kapuaiwa, Kamehameha V; mele no ka haku o Hawaii, pnnee of Hawaii. Puakea Nogelmeir — He mele no ka mo'i Lunalilo. Pualani Kanahele — Mele no Pauahi Bishop. Nalani Kanakaole Zane — Mele ha'ikupuna no Kaleleonalani. The closing prayer was offered by Kahu David Kaupu, ehaplain at the Kamehameha Schools. A Hawaiian aha 'aina for invited guest followed. Kanahele and Kaulukukui, who was the only Trustee in attendance, were both attired in their ahu'ula.

Congressman Daniel K. Akaka

John Dominis Holt

Office of Hawaiian Affairs Trustees greet the first rays of the sun on Haleakala. Left to right, they are Board Chairman Moses K. Keale Sr., Clarence F.T. Ching and Manu Kahaialii.

Melvin Kauila Clark, far left, stands watch over pulo'uīo'u stick during entire ceremony. Also standing watch with their spears are these members from the Daughters and Sons of Hawaiian Warriors, from left to right, Doiron Tan, Watters O. Martin Jr., Wise Nieola.