Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 5, Number 7, 1 July 1988 — Makaku [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

Makaku

Obsolete Art Form

By Rocky Ka'iouliokahihikolo 'Ehu Jcnsen 4

For laek of a better word, I shall borrow the word Totem [Ototeman] from the Ojibwa Indian Tribe in order to expound a bit on an obsolete Hawaiian art form. I've tried unsuccessfully to assemble a number of word phrases in order to create our own word describing the same . . . let me see, there's Ho'ailona Lahui, but that seems too contrived. I really believe that the word used to describe elan totem had more to do with the "spirit" of the thing than the "thing" itself. Our ancient kanaka maoli were divided into many social segments and also many tribal and sub-tribal elements. Kanaka maoli is the name of our race . . . then we break down into lahui, hui, iwi and 'ohana well describing the substructures to whieh we clung to in the past. Strange about the word 'ohana . . . in Maori it is written Kohanga, and is translated as "nest" . . . in Hawaiian nest is punana, a derivative of their word punanga whieh translates into "secluded" or "plaee of refuge". Personally I like to use the word iwi to designate "tribe". Oh yes, and it should be understood that we Hawaiians lived in tribes, before we were dispersed by the great wars of unification and the visitation of the ha'ole. Lawa, back to totem, the most famous symbolism of totem that has survived to this date, one that is visible to all who have traveled the islands or have dabbled for any length in our historical culture is the "centipede petroglyph" . . . not a centipede at all . . . our islands did not have centipedes. The correct name for that dramatic petroglyph is mo'o, from the word/phrase iwikuamo'o [backbone] . . . Here again, the original meaning of mo'o survives in our obsolete dialect as moko, retaining the meaning of lizard . . . used in the petroglyphs as visual symbolism to describe family lineage and the succession of generations. In truth, it wouldn't be wrong then in calling our totem, mo'o ki'i. Unfortunately, we have only five designs that fall into the modern category of totem. Remember, that originally, totem meant "an object serving as the emblem of a family or elan and often as a reminder of its ancestry." So, in essence many of our single statues are totems as well because they truly are emblems of our iwi and are a reminder of our ancestry. Getting back to the five remaining statues . . . four of whieh are small hand-held type and one that

is larger, with a small attachment on the back. No glorious, majestic carvings here . . Of course, we must keep in mind that given the wanton destruction of our art objects in 1819, we cannot really say what existed in that reality. The only other plaee in Polynesia that still creates and displays the classical style totem is Aotearoa (New Zealand). Well, borrowing a suggestion from the honorable Dr. Sidney Moko Mead, professor at Victoria University, N. Z., "when it doesn't exist any longer it becomes our responsibility to recreate it!" And out of that painful necessity, I've done just that! How do we eommemorate, revere, and acknowledge our tribes through emblems? In the few remaining statuettes of our venerable ancient eolleehon . . . the tribal or individual signature is displayed by a figure atop the head, or in one case, a duplication of face and eyes blending into another. With the lanakila statue made for McDonald's, I've gone several steps further . . . surrounding the central kanaka maoli figure, I've placed the tribal emblems of Waimanalo, the shark and the owl. I have Iong envisioned giant monoliths, carved by natives, for every tribal district, surrounding our island with protection and nourishment . . . their existence enabling us to identify with our kumupa'a forever and ever. With perseverance, the dream will become word! I would like to take the opportunity at this time to commemorate and revere openly the genius of a man whom I've respected and who generously nourished my groping desire for knowledge: Charles William Lu'ukia Kahaokamoku Kenn. Extinguished is his light in this lifetime, The speaker who was Kenn is gone from our realm. Having dispersed his knowledge ever so gentiy, He has returned back to Kanehunamoku, There to rest and revive the lagging spirit, Preparing it for another journey. How lucky 1 was to have received a portion of his brilliance. Until we meet again, dear friend At another time, at another plaee I shall retain your lesson and continue the spiral. Mai ka po mai 'o'ia'i'o . . . Truth is before time immemorial!