Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 9, Number 7, 1 July 1992 — E Kahoʻolawe, i hoʻomau hou ana, ka mauli ola [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

E Kahoʻolawe, i hoʻomau hou ana, ka mauli ola

by Trustee A. Frenchy DeSoto T rustee-at-lar ge

In anticipation of the return of Kaho'olawe island, I want to share with you the vision to be realized there in August of 1992. E Kaho'olawe, I Ho'omau Hou Ana, Ka Mauli Ola, is a two-day ceremony scheduled for August 1992 on Kaho'olawe.

Let me begin by saying that the issue of Kaho'olawe has been an issue of long-standing eoneem, and pain, for Hawaii's people. Following are excerpts from the project proposal: "Kaho'olawe is a special plaee. Culturally, it serves as a continuing link to the ways of those who have long passed on to different horizons. It offers a delicate strand to ancestral Polynesia through its Moikeha legends; its original name, Kohe Malamalama O Kanaloa, provides it with a spiritual status not achieved by any other island. Kalakaua visited the island in 1875 and underwent a cleansing ceremony at the bequest of his kahuna. Many in recent times have eontinued this practice. It has provided peaee to

those in mental torment and strength to those in failing health." "Ua ola loko i ke aloha" (Love gives life within). For people to live the honest and true sense of life, there has to be love. A similar thought has been developed in terms of our relationship with the land and our environment — "Ua ola loko e ke aloha 'aina." For people to be healthy there has to be a true caring for the land, or, said another way, the land ean be the source of healing for us all. The relationship between this Hawaiian mana'o and Kaho'olawe and all of Hawaii's people is clear. Kaho'olawe provides us the opportunity to practice values, whieh as island people, we need to hold dear. By doing so, we gain strength in a modern society whieh too often saps our energies and defuses our efforts. The Hawaiian values of sharing, kokua, laulima, and aloha must prevail as the spirituality of the culture must prevail, as handed to us by our kupuna, the source of our strength and knowledge. These values are at the very core of our culture. This ceremony continues the rededication process for Native Hawaiians to renew and hold fast to their culture and to their values, as important today as they bave been over the generations. Kaho'olawe is the focus for this rededication. In its healing the people will be

healed — "E Kaho'olawe, I Ho'omau ana hou, Ka Mauli ola" (Reaffirming the gift of healing). Specific activities will include a ceremonial eanoe procession, the building of mua hae kupuna or ku'-ahu (altar), and the planting of niu and ulu. Oli, mele and hula will be presented within the contemporary context of this ceremony. This project will be managed by the Protect Kaho'olawe Fund, a nonprofit 50 l(c)(3) organization incorporated in the State of Hawai'i. Logistics will be handled by the Protect Kaho'olawe 'Ohana. Ceremonial protocol will be done by the Edith Kanakaole Foundation, funded by the Office of Hawaiian Affairs. Transportation for site preparation and project implementation costs account for more than 20 percent of the total budget, because of difficulties in access and travel costs. The site selected for the ceremony is Hakioawa, whose carrying capacity is unfortunately quite limited. Participation, then, is by invitation only. When Kaho'olawe returns, we all will join together. Your aloha and support are the source of this healing. The promise of fruit is in the seed. Your aloha is the sowing and reaping; our tears the rain or promise for generations to eome. Mahalo, Hardy Spoehr na keiki o ka 'aina aloha.