Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 6, Number 5, 1 May 1989 — Focus On Kupuna [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

Focus On Kupuna

By Moses K. Keale, Trustee, Kaua'i & Ni'ihau

Anoai Kakou:This month we focus on kupuna. The 'Aha Kupuna — Ku'ikahi A Na Kupuna whieh will be held at the end of this month rings out the theme "Ho'oulu i ka 'Olelo Makuahine," "let the mother tongue flourish." Conferences such as these are very

important to the living culture we eall Hawaiian. Elders in every society form the foundation of a culture. Their collective experiences and knowledge distinguish that culture from others. Last year's 'Aha Kupuna was a colorful, moving experience. lt was a great honor to be a part of that program. Again, having been invited to participate in this year's conference as a native speaker, I can't

help but wonder how we, all of us, ean contribute to the greater understanding of the Hawaiian culture. In my nine years on the OHA Board of Trustees I have heard many of our people talk about values, customs, beliefs and religious practices of our people. Presently, I serve on a special Historic Preservation Task Force chaired by Mrs. Lydia Namahana Maioho, kahu of Mauna Ala. This woman is truly one of our "living treasures." She expressed to me an ongoing eoneem of hers: "As a kupuna, I am concerned that our young people seem, at times, bewildered by the things that happen to us Hawaiians. Our people, both young and old, seem to find it necessary to fabricate a new culture and eall this the Hawaiian culture. Maybe it is because we have not taken the time to eome together as kupuna, makua, and 'opio to share the knowledge of our history and customs and to identify how these things affect our values, those values we eall Hawaiian values. We must stop inventing convenient oral histories to explain personal preferences

or to heal personal hurts." Such simple wisdom is very moving. Let us begin this month with this conference to put together a committee, or eouneil to begin to talk about and identify those things we feel are important to us and to all the generations of proud Hawaiians to eome. Let us meet for the next 12 months to share our knowledge and verify our thoughts. Then, let us eall together the makuaand opio and share with them our ideas and let them share with us their ideas. Where we find differing thoughts let us agree to allow individualism. Where we find agreement let us publish this as documents of values. And finally, collectively, as kupuna, makua, and opio let us identify our values, our beliefs, and speak as a voice called Na Po'e Hawai'i. A i mana'o kekahi e lilo i po'okela i waena o oukou, e pono no e lilo ia i kauwa na oukou. Na ke Akua e malama e alaka'i ia kakou apau.