Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 15, Number 11, 1 November 1998 — Purifying Kanaloa [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

Purifying Kanaloa

By Heieli Meeker. KIRC Apredawn hi'uwai or bathing purification ceremony on October 1 6th began a day of ceremonies on Kaho'olawe to initiate the ordnance eleanup of the island. Hōkūlani Holt-Padilla, cultural coordinator for the Kaho'olawe lsland Reserve Commission (KIRC), said the purpose of the ceremonies was to "ask the island and unseen entities to allow the eleanup to begin; that the way be open and clear, that the way be unobstructed. We asked that all who participate in the eleanup keep from offending anyone." Holt-Padilla added, "we also wanted to eonfirm the working partnership between the KIRC and the Navy for this important undertaking." An 'awa ceremony followed the hi'uwai at Honokanai'a beach on the island's southwest coast. Participants included representatives from the Navy, KIRC commissioners and staff, and employees of the firms selected to conduct the five year, multi-million dollar eleanup of unexploded ordnance. At noon on the 16th, four additional ceremonies were conducted simultaneously in the mauka areas of the island. One was at Kealialalo, site of the cleanup's center of operations, and another at Moa'ulaiki, a sacred pu'u thought to have been a site for navigationa! instruction. Ceremonies were also conducted at two ahu along the rim of Lua Makika, the volcanic crater at the highest elevation on Kaho'olawe. The ahu were built in 1 997 to assist in cal!ing the rain clouds from the slopes of Haleakalā. The first major efforts at replanting native plants are located near the crater's rim. Some preliminary clearance work is underway on Kaho'olawe. Teams are assessing the current environmental and cultural resources of the areas to be cleared of ordnanee. The military ordnance was dropped or fired on Kaho'olawe for more than 50 years when it was used as a target for military exercises. The U.S. Congress required the Navy to return the island to the State and authorized funds for the Navy to conduct the clearanee. The State declared the island a reserve for educational and Native Hawaiian cultural purposes. More information on the Kaho'olawe eleanup and its future uses will appear here in the coming months. Those with questions about the island ean eall the KIRC at 5860761. ■

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