Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 5, Number 6, 1 June 1988 — Kupuna, Keikis, Ke Kai Accent La Kukahekahe [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

Kupuna, Keikis, Ke Kai Accent La Kukahekahe

400 Attend Annual O'ahu Hawaiian Lanauaae Proararr

By Kenny Haina, Editor Ka Wai Ola O OHA It was a day for Kupuna, the Keikis of Punana Leo O Honolulu and Ke Kai as the annual La Kukahekahe day of activities and socializing in Hawaiian focused on these aspects in their relation to the sea and the water surrounding the 'aina. This was the theme of the day as more than 400 kupuna, young children, teenagers, adults and those taking up the Hawaiian language from various sources attended the refreshing all day program at He'eia State Park on the Windward side. The setting and weather conditions were perfect as Hawaiian speakers, near-Hawaiian speakers and would-be Hawaiian speakers immersed themselves in the various aspects of the planned program of the day. Again, it was another first class program put on by the sponsoring 'Ahahui 'Olelo Hawai'i whose officers, led by President Noe Losch and past president Robert Lokomaika'iokalani Snakenberg, planned the activities well. Except for the absence of a public address system, the activities developed beautifully. Following registration, pule and assembly, everyone was split up into small groups for fun activities (Hui I'a). A fish on the name tags identified the respectivegroups. The groups spread themselves all over the sprawling grounds of the area whieh earlier bore such names as Ulu Mau Village and Matson Point. Their locations were in concert with Ke Kai. Following a short break, there were 12 special ho'ike led by kupuna of the Windward District dealing with things about the sea. Eaeh group attended two or more of these special demonstrations. There were ho'ike on 'inamona and pa'akai, na limu, na i'a, opelu, he'e and kaula'i, nioi, ha'uke'uke, kaha i'a, mo'olelo, pupu Ni'ihau, koko, moku and ahupua'a. At most of the activities, there were many samples. It was delightful to see many of the Punana Leo keikis indulge themselves in the ha'uke'uke and raw he'e, eating these Hawaiian delectables as if

they were candy. Following a Hawaiian plate luneh catered by Haili's Hawaiian Foods, the participants reassembled for imi'imi or a scavenger hunt game, breaking up in several teams of 20. On a sheet of paper, the teams had to identify or locate objects according to the instructions whieh were written in Hawaiian. The response also had to be in Hawaiian. Then there was the ho'ike o na i'a where eaeh group shared a dance, song or anything they wanted to do. Among those performing were University Laboratory School (University High),

Frank Hewett and his Windward Community College Hawaiian classes, Kamehameha Schools, University of Hawai'i Manoa, Leeward Community College and of course, Punana Leo O Honolulu. There was no doubt that Hawaiian was the spoken language of the day. Everyone was encouraged to speak in Hawaiian no matter how shy they were. La Kukahekahe climaxed Hawaiian Language Week on O'ahu whieh began Sunday, Apr. 24, with church services entirely in Hawaiian at the Mauna 'Ala ehapel.

This is part of the crowd whieh just filed out of the ehapel at Mauna 'Ala following hana haipule Apr. 24 to kiek off Ahahui 'Olelo Hawai'i's La Kukahekahe Hawaiian Language Week.

Noe Losch is surrounded by this group of students during 'lmi'imi session.

'loli'i Hawkins gives an explanation during Hui l'a gathering of her group.

This is a Hui l'a group in a discussion relating to Ke Kai whieh is in the background beyond the trees. Ke Kai was the theme of this year's La Kukahekahe.

Punana Leo O Honolulu youngsters sing a song during Ho'ike O Na l'a when other groups also performed.