Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 34, Number 4, 1 April 2017 — Modern Hawaiians seek ancient healing knowledge [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

Modern Hawaiians seek ancient healing knowledge

ByTreenaShapiro Po'okela Ikaika Dombrigues was bom with a gift and started practicing lā'au lapa'au in the late 1960s, learning the old ways from his hānai grandfather, Kahuna Sam H. Lono of Haikū, who was a descendant of the god Lono. At the time, few people remembered how to use traditional medicines and proper protocols, as Dombrigues discovered in 1969 when his Papa Lono sent him out to tell people about his training as a healer. "I was crucified by my own people," he recalls with sadness. "You know why? They said, 'The old way does not exist anymore. The practice, we don't do that anymore, we're modern.'" Four decades later, Dombrigues, the Native Hawaiian lapa'au healer for Hui Mālama Ola Nā 'Ōiwi (HMONO) and Hawai'i Island, has a statewide following. Through workshops, classes and one-on-one consultations, Ka Leo O Na Kahuna Ikaika Lapa'au Heiau O Lono shares how traditional practices ean heal minds, bodies and spirits. His Hawai'i Island workshop series has attracted hundreds and Dombrigues opens the door to all. "People are searching and many of them have been tumed away," he says. "For me, in my area, a lot of our people live with a broken spirit . . . and stress, hypertension, heahh, no pride, because of that broken spirit. We have to rebuild that broken spirit and be proud of being Native Hawaiians and Kanaka Maoli "

Dombrigues has a long list of kāhuna, kūpuna and

other healers who eontributed to his training, including his hānai father

Kawika Ka'alakea, Harry Mitchell and Anake Abbie Napeahi. "I was not trained in classes. I was trained in Haikū Valley. I slept on heiau and I didn't know why," he reveals, referring to his early training with his hānai grandfather Lono, who had him elean and sleep on the heiau so the gods

could become familiar with him, and he could get to know them, as well. Lono didn't offer an explanation until shortly before he passed: "Man is not the judge of what you do. It is by Akua and the ancestors. They're the ones who are going to tell you if you are chosen or not chosen," Dombrigues shares. "I just went with the flow." The workshop series is one way Dombrigues honors his īupuna, ancestors and perpetuates their 'ike and spiritual wisdom. While he would like to see a bridge between Hawaiian healing and Western medicine, he doesn't stray from Hawaiian practices in his teaching. There's no Chinese medicine, acupuncture, salt scrubs or other holistic techniques from other cultures. Instead, attendees leam about using herbs to heal ailments, massage to heal the spirit, healing through faith and mediation to make things pono, respectively lā'au lapa'au, lomilomi ha ha, lā'au kāhea and ho'oponopono. "I try to educate them and teach them to understand the real lapa'au and have faith it works," he explains. Many of Dombrigues workshops attract more than 100 people, some who eome because of heahh issues, others to find out who they are in mind, body and spirit. "We've been really amazed at the tumout," says Lehua Andrade, HMONO's interim executive director. "People would actually follow Unele around the island to go to these workshops." The community has been calling for more traditional healing - during a recent canvassing effort in Keaukaha, 80 percent of the people they talked to said they were interested, Andrade says. "A lot of people from around the island are looking for other alternatives to heahh care. They'd rather go whh traditional practices rather than the Western pharmaceutical approaches. People today have a ehoiee to better their heahh by using traditional Hawaiian methods." The demand for more traditional healing means a demand for lā'au, the plants used for healing. SEE ANŪIENĪ HEALINO "II PAGE 16

The 0ffice of Hawaiian Affairs has awarded $7.4 million grants to 27 organizations for the two-year period from July 1, 2015, to June 30, 2017. These two-year programmatic grants align with 0HA's strategic priorities in culture, education, eeonomie self-sufficiency, housing, health, governance, land and water. Nearly 4,400 Native Hawaiians are expected to benefit from programs offered by the current grantees. Hui Mālama Ola Nā 'Ūiwi's $127,491 grant supports traditional Native Hawaiian healing arts education across Hawai'i lsland. Visit www.oha.org/ohagrantees to learn more about 0HA's community grants program. "Ola Pono Ola Loa" Po'okela Ikaika Dombrigues is conducting a series of free traditional healing workshops on Hawai'i lsland. The workshops will cover ho'oponopono, lā'au lapa'au, lomilomi ha ha and lā'au kāhea and ike, spiritual wisdom of who we are. > Waimea: April 8, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., Waimea Community Center > Kona: May 6, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., Hale Halawai > Ka'ū: June 3, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., Na'alehu Community Center > Puna: June 17, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., Kea'au SeniorCommunity Center Light refreshments will be provided but attendees should bring their own

lunches. For more information, visit hmono.org or eall (808) 969-9220.

HEALĪH tsJ

[?]

www.oha.org/kwo | kwo@OHA.org NATIVE HAWAIIAN » NEWS | FEATURES | EVENTS

Po'okela Ikaika Dombrigues demonstrates how energy ean be used for healing.

ANOIENĪ HEALING Continued from page 6

Last fall, HMONO leased two acres to start growing lā'au through natural farming methods. So far it's a small scale effort - there's mamaki, noni, wahapine, 'ōlena, kukui, pohā, popolo, a little bit of awapuhi pake and 'awa - but there's room to grow mueh more. Eventually, it will be used to teach people how grow their own lā'au, as well as to provide access to the plants used in classes and workshops. Volunteers are weleome to help with the planting or offer other assistance. For more information, visit hmono.org or eall (808) 969-9220. ■