Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 21, Number 10, 1 October 2004 — Spiritual integrity of vigils should be maintained [ARTICLE]

Spiritual integrity of vigils should be maintained

Welina mai nei e nā lehulehu, nā makamaka. Aia kekahi mau hanana e hō'ea'ea koke mai ana, no laila ua no'ono'o au i kekahi mea kupono pili i ka mea loiloi no nā mea wilikia. Makemake au e ho'oka'ana pū me 'oukou i kekahi o ko'u mau mana'o pili ana he mea nui a he mea hoihoi. Ka ulu a me ka hana o kēia kumuhana wilikia, "vigil." Nui nā manawa ua lohe 'ia, aia he wilikia i kēia ahiahi ma ke Kapikala, a i'ole ma ke kāhua o ka Haleali'i 'o 'iolani. Aia he wilikia i ka lua Pele, aia he wilikia i kekahi wahi pana kapu i kēlā pae i kēia pae. He mea maika'i, he mea pono a he mea ikaika loa ua hana 'ia ko kākou kūpuna ma mua o mākou pēia. 'O nā mea ma'a mau, aia he wilikia, o ia mau ka pule. Ua pule lākou i ka wana'ao, a pō ka lā, a ao ka pō. No ke aha mai? No ka mea Hiki iā lākou ke ho'omanamana iho i loko ka pono, ke 'ike, ka ikaika, ke akamai, ka 'ike papalua, ka maopopo pono, alaila, ka mana. Akā na'e, oia mau ke pule ma mua. Inā mākou e heluhelu i nā lehulehu o nā mele pule, aia nui nā 'ano, mele pule kala, mele pule ho'ōla, mele pule ho'oulu, mele pule ho'onoa, mele pule kāhea, mele pule ho'omaika'i, mele pule huikala a i'ole haumia. Aia ho'okahi mea pono mākou e ho'omana'o ai, ka ho'āno o ka pule, ma mua o ka hana. Eia kekahi mau laina kaulana I loko o ka hapanui o nā pule... "He mu ka 'ai kū, he mū ka ai ā, he mū ka a hula, he mu ka pa'ani " No laila, e pule kākou ma mua, a laila, e hana. In light of several upcoming events, I would like to share a eoneem I have regarding the use of Hawaiian protocol in a growing phenomenon - public vigils. In the dictionary, there is a religious component attached to the meaning of the word vigil. So I am happy when the organizers of public

vigils (regardless of the topic) make the effort to use Hawaiian cultural protocols and recite Hawaiian prayers in their ceremonies. We have heard it time and again; there is a vigil at the Capitol, at the 'Iolani Palaee, at the summit of volcanoes, in many sacred places across this land. This is fine, appropriate and strengthening, for they were done by our ancestors before us. Our custom was (and remains) if there was a vigil being observed, there was prayer. Our ancestors prayed before the breaking of dawn, all day and all night. Why? Because they first had to concentrate to find what was righteous, wise, insightful and proper before they asked for power to accomplish a deed. Always the prayer first. If we were to read the multitude of ancestral prayer chants, we would see prayers for forgiveness, for thanks, for supplication, for inspiration, for the invocation of family gods, even prayers lifting defilement. But the one thing we must remember is the sanctity of the prayer - before performing the deed. Here are some notable lines of your mele oli pule: "Awed into silence the unceremonious ones, awed into silence are the wicked, awed into silence are the unbelievers, awed into silence are the inattentive, or given to sport..." As the descendants of those who wrote these words let us contemplate in prayer before we act - whether those actions be cultural, personal or political. Let us not dismiss the spiritual integrity of the vigil. There is a time to pule (pray) and a time to resist (kū'ē). As a courtesy to everyone, let us not confuse politics with culture, nor culture with politics. Let us be honorable and prayerful always. John Keolamaka'aiana Lake Honolulu, O'ahu

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