Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 28, Number 7, 1 July 2011 — Mea Hawaiʻi for a new generation [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

Mea Hawaiʻi for a new generation

By Mary Aliee Milham

Tb the untrained eye, they may appear to be just "some rocks," but for a growing number of students, Kai Markell's homegrown collection of Hawaiian artifacts (mea Hawai'i) has grown into a literal touchstone. But then, these aren't just any rocks. They're part of a hands-on traveling display of pōhaku (stone) poi pounders and other items imbued with the supernatural power (mana) of our Hawaiian ancestors (kūpuna). "Some of the pounders, they're worn from the oils of the hands of our kūpuna who, for generations, used them to sustain the life of their family," says Markell. "If it helped your family, your ancestors, survive through war and famine, it's priceless and it's profound and it's mana. . . . And for the child to be able to hold and touch that mana of their kūpuna and our kūpuna ... I think is very powerful." Markell, whose work as OHA's Compliance Manager brings him in regular contact with issues involving Hawaiian artifacts, describes the impact he experiences through his connection with these items as "huge" and "transformational." He hopes the experience will be as profound for the children as it has been for him. The eolleehon began with Markell's father, a U.S . Marine Corps officer and Rutgers University geology major who carried a eolleehon of stone implements, including Hawaiian rocks, wherever his job took him and his family around the world. Adding to his family's collection over the years, Markell's display grew to more than 100, mostly stone and wood, artifacts. It includes virtually all items traditionally used by Hawaiians in everyday living - poi pounders, tapa beaters (i'e kuku and hohoa), adzes (ko'i) and anvils (kua), fishhooks, lures, pestles, vessels and bowls. There are artifacts from the ali'i culture - feather standards (kāhili) and whale-tooth lei (niho palaoa), spiritual items- pōhaku 'aumakua (some embodied with nature spirits), akua kā'ai (personal god), and ki'i (statues and images) - as well as woven helmets (mahiole) and spears (ihe) of the warrior culture. "We try and show the whole gamut of our

ancestors' way of living," says Markell. About half the items are true artifacts, hundreds of years old; the other half consists of modem versions of traditional mea Hawai'i made by native practitioners, including a lei niho palaoa and ki'i made by Markell himself. Favorite items among the students include the items with shark teeth, whieh Markell cautions them to handle with care, and the mahiole, whieh they are encouraged to put on. The idea for taking the traveling display into classrooms grew from a display Markell put together, back when he was Director of OHA's Native Rights, Land and Culture Hale, for a Historic Preservation Awareness Day at the state Capitol. The enthusiastic reaction of children to the display led to a presentation at one of his son's kindergarten ho'olaule'a (celebration). Through the positive responses from his son's teacher and others, it grew by word of mouth, evolving

into an ongoing program, so far including about a dozen class presentations for kindergarten, fourth- and ninth-grade classes. He recently did a presentation for a group of kūpuna from the Waikīkl Community Center. "I wish I could do it every day," says Markell. "I think when you impact a whole generation now, the benefits will heeome apparent maybe 20 years from now. And the youth will have a beautiful connection and understanding and love for Hawaiian culture. I think that is a beautiful investment in our future." Markell's cultural presentations are available to any school and may be arranged by emailing himatkaim@oha.org. ■ Mary Aliee Kaiulani Miīham, a Portland, Oregon-based freelance journalist, is a former newspaper reporter and columnist from Califomia's Central Coast.

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Kai Markell recently took his traveling mea Hawai'i display to 'lolani School. Bottom left, the prophecy stone of Kamehameha the Greatis among the treasures Markell shares with students. - Photo: Courtesy of Kai Markell