Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 34, Number 4, 1 April 2017 — ʻAimalama [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

ʻAimalama

A Solution Based on Ancestral Knowledge

By Hui 'Aimalama Welo (March 28 - April 25) The weather will be getting hotter in this malama of Welo, the last month in the wet Ho'oilo season before we enter the hot months of Kau. Food plants will be ripening and deep sea fishing is expected to be plentiful through summer. The tide patterns will continue to shift so we'll start seeing more mornings with low tides; consider how this might affect your activites in the water. Cofounders and members of the 'Aimalama team presented at He Manawa Whenua Indigenous Researeh Conferenee held on Mareh 6-8, 2017 in Hamihon, New Zealand. The presentation was ealled, 'Aimalama e Mauliauhouna

Readapting Aneestral Knowledge for Survival. We featured highlights of 1. The Kaulana mahina & history of 'Aimalama; 2. Climate ehange impaets to salt making prae-

tiees & the 'Aimalama eonferenee findings; 3. Training & Implementation of 'Aimalama in community work; and 4. Our work towards creating an online tool for data eollection and resource management. We are very proud to announee that part of our presentation was eonducted in the Hawaiian language. We provided the translator and the conference organizers provided the technology that allowed audience members to hear the translations

through headphones. Mahalo nui to Te Kotahi Research Institute and Dr. Kaliko Baker of Ka Hālau 'Ōlelo Hawai'i 'o Kawaihuelani, University of Hawai'i - Mānoa for

proviaing nis transtation skills. We would also like to share that the 'Aimalama team has been working with cultural practitioners, Hawaiian language charter schools and eommunity work groups by providing workshops

and trainings. Eaeh training provides us with wonderful vocabulary and insight into Hawaiian practices, whieh are then featured every moming at 8:05 a.m. on Kapa Radio - 100.3 FM. Categories of vocabulary include Hawaiian Scientific Practices, Malama 'Āina, Aloha 'Āina, Kilo Methods & Traditional Hawaiian Practices. Check it out on Kapa Radio - 100.3 FM Hilo, or Fisten Five at mytuner-radio.com/ radio/kagb-kapa-radio-4 1 84 17 .

Coincidentally - or not - the 'Aimalama feature in Ka Wai Ola for the malama of Welo in 2016 discussed the pa'akai practice that was shared last month at He Manawa Whenua. The author last year affirmed that 'ohana would continue to kilo, observe, and also look to the ancestral teachings of kupuna to guide future generations. Are you able to look back at observations and notes from your kilo at the time of Welo last year, during the transition of seasons? Is your keen observation informing

you about what you should expect and how you should prepare for this month, or make changes based on what you saw in past years? In the same way that our kupuna documented seasonal and environmental observations through things like mo'olelo and 'ōlelo no'eau, and used this information to guide their practices on land and sea, we must be intimately knowledgeable about patterns and changes around us to guide our own actions. More info about 'Aimalama is always at http://aimalama.org. ■

VQCABULARY Kaulana mahina - Tlie position ofthe moon Mahina - Moon Malama - Lunar month Anahulu - A period of 10 moon phases

j AIMALAMA v > LUNAR CALENDAR f

Cofounders and members of the 'Aimalama leam presented at He Manawa Whenua lndigenous Research Conference held on March 6-8, 2017 in Hamilton, New Zealand. - Photo: Courtesy of Brenda Asuncion