Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 6, Number 10, 1 October 1989 — A iki kau e lono -- na hoku i ka makahiki [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

A iki kau e lono -- na hoku i ka makahiki

Stars herald the arrival of the new year

By Rudy Leikaimana Mitchell Historian/ Archaeologist Deep in the past of Hawaiian history, we find a legacy of heroic achievements concerning navigation and the ability to sail the vast Pacific Oeean by celestial navigation. This legacy had been clouded by some people of the Western culture who said it could not happen, that the Hawaiian seafarer drifted from point A to point B and that landfall was made by luek. Today we don't see that cloud anymore as the saga of the eanoe Hokule'a proved them wrong. This voyage of rediscovery unfolded the knowledge and ability of one man, a professional — the navigator. In the past, this man was called a kahuna kilo kilo, an astronomer par excellence. His knowledge did not confine him to navigation alone, the profession we are well aware of today. What is not too well known was his ability to divide the Hawaiian year into two parts, the wet season, ho'oilo, and the dry season, kau, whieh were six months apart. He used the sun and the stars for this reckoning. He also kept accurate time for the commencement of religious rituals, whieh were annual events, by using the positions and movements of the sun, moon, and stars. He was also an astrologer, who predicted the influenee of the stars upon human affairs, and foretold terrestrial events by the stars' positions and aspects. I have spent years trying to pieee together this puzzle about the kahuna kilo kilo, whieh was handed down through oral transmission from our makua kahiko. I turned for help to published works of some notable scholars of today, such as Rubellite Kawena Johnson and John Kaipo Mahelona. The astronomers at Bishop Museum Flanetarium, Ken Miller and John Cleek, helped me. Will Kyselka tutored me in the great star dome of the planetarium, taking me back in time and space to the year A.D. 1000 so I could observe "na hoku i ka makahiki," the stars of the new year. What a thrill to see for myself these stars as they traverse the heavens in precession as they did so long ago. Yes, 1000 years ago, na hoku i ka makahiki rose into the Hawaiian heavens from the eastern horizon in October, about the 25th of the month. The Kahuna Kilo Kilo There were many titles given to this kahuna. Eaeh title depended on the action of the kahuna at the time, as given by oral transmission. Thus, as listed below, he was called:

1. Kahuna Kilo Kilo: A priest or expert who observes the skies for omens. 2. Kahuna Kilo: Stargazer, reader of omens, seer, astrologer. 3. Kahuna Kiko Hoku: Astrologer, astronomer; to observe and study the stars. 4. Kahuna Kilo Lani: Soothsayerwhopredicts the future by observing the sky. 5. Kahuna A'o Hoku: Astronomer, astrologer. Thus, with all of these definitions at hand, I find that we are talking about one kahuna, who without a doubt, possesses all of these definitions. A single title, kahuna kilo kilo, may suffice this kahuna. We also see that this kahuna was an astronomer as well as an astrologer. With this knowledge we ean understand why his services were in great demand by the ruling chiefs of old Hawai'i, as well as by all of the ruling chiefs of Polynesia. Now that we understand the kahuna kilo kilo and his profession, I wish to venture into the great annual Hawaiian event of the makahiki, the arrival of the new year whieh he observed many years ago. Wa Kau Ka La (Seasons By The Sun) In the Hawaiian year there were but two seasons, kau (dry), and ho'oilo (wet). They were six months apart. It is believed ancient Hawaiians built their heiau (temples), in part, for astronomieal observations of the seasons. Most major temples are rectangular in shape; their four walls are in alignment with the true cardinal points of the compass. Directly in the middle of the structure at the far eastern end is where an anu'u (oracle) tower would be. Two ki'i (pole images) stood, one at the northeastern corner of the walls and the other at the southeastern corner. When the sun rose from the northeastern corner it was the kau, or dry season we eall the summer solstice. When the sun rose directly in alignment with the anu'u towers, it was the time of Kane we eall sunrise at the vernal equinox. It was the time when the sun traveled slowly across the sky and was at its lowest angle, radiating its energy of life on the land. When the sun rose from the southeastern corner it brought the ho'oilo (wet) season we eall the winter solstice. It takes a little more than 360 days for the sun to visit the two solstitial positions of kau, summer solstice and ho'oilo, winter solstice and to return to its starting plaee. Na hoku i ka makahiki, the stars of the new year The first month of the ho'oilo season was called 'Ikuwa. It was observed when torrential rains began to fall, associated with thunder, dark clouds,

and lightning, when the oeean began to act up with rough seas and large waves. During this month the kahuna kilo kilo began to observe the sky from the temple. He marked the beginning of ho'oilo when the sun rose in alignment with the southeastern corner of the temple, or a ki'i there. This is the time when the God Lono was to arrive, to bless the new seedlings that were just planted with rains from the heavens. Then the kahuna waited till the moon was new, or "hilo," on the first night of 'Ikuwa . His attention then shifted to the stars he first observed just before the sun set, the condition of the sky known as "uliuli," when the sky still had a little of its blueness but was growing darker. About one hour later, he looked to the eastern horizon where he faintly saw a glow rising (a nimhula). He declared the rising of the little cluster of stars "Makali'i," (little eyes). There are seven stars in this cluster but he could only see six. We eall this cluster the "Pleiades." About one hour later, he looked to the western horizon and saw that the sun had just set. He observed the sky and saw that it was becoming "melemele," as the sky changed from blue to a darkening orange hue. He looked to the eastern horizon and saw the bright star "Nana Hoa," we eall Aldebaran, appear. Na hoku makali'i (the Pleiades) and hoku Nana Hoa (Aldebaran) are in the constellation Taurus, the bull. The kahuna called this constellation by the condition of the sky at their rising as "uliuli." Two hours later, he viewed a bright new star "Polapola" (Bellatrix) and a few minutes later, the bright star "Koko" sometimes called "Koko Iki," "Kaelo," or "Aua" (Betelgeuse). Na Hoku Polapola (Bellatrix) and Koko (Betelgeuse) are in the constellation of Orion. The kahuna called this constellation "Nakao." About two hours later the bright stars, "Nana Mua" (Castor) and a few minutes later, "Nana Hope" (Pollux) began to appear. Nana Mua and Nana Hope are in the constellation of the twins, Gemini. The kahuna called this constellation "Kamahana," the twins. Now the kahuna began to get excited, when about one hour later the brightest and most important star in the heavens began to appear. It is called A'a (Sirius). With the appearance of A'a, the priest proclaimed the makahiki. The star A'a and its group is called "A Iki Kau E Lono," the arrival of the God Lono. This group is in the constellation of Canis Major. Thus, with the appearance of A'a, we aeelaim "A Iki Kau E Lono," and we see "Na Hoku I Ka Makahiki," the arrival of the new year.

Rudy Mitchell