"My Name is Waihili"

Free Hawai'i in 2011

2011-01-18T19:13:00.000-08:00

I am here in Hawai'i nei for my usual January trip, which usually coincides with the observance of the illegal overthrow of the Kingdom of Hawai'i.
Yesterday I was going "holoholo" around the island with my friend and we stopped by a gathering of Hawaiian sovereignty activists at Ka'u, Hawai'i island.
Though getting into a YouTube video was the last thing on my mind - for one thing, my hair was a mess and I was feeling less than glam! - I ended up on camera reading a portion of a new petition started by and for American citizens, to urge President Obama to restore the sovereignty of the occupied Kingdom.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=myTXN8Mqa_4

The people most worth listening too, however, are the Kanaka Maoli who were interviewed yesterday (at the same place) by the two young men who are posting the videos on this channel. Please go to this link for very moving accounts of what it's like to have your land stolen, over and over and over again:

http://www.youtube.com/user/Christopherpulsoni
(Sorry, I cannot get a second link into this blog post, for some reason!)

Hawaiian Sexuality Columns

2010-08-11T12:09:00.001-07:00

I've been writing a weekly column over at Carnal Nation (www.carnalnation.com) and the following comprise a series of columns on sexual traditions, particularly in the context of occupation and acculturation. Hope you read them!

http://carnalnation.com/content/58105/999/genital-chants-hawaii

http://carnalnation.com/content/58264/999/hawaiian-sacred-sex-part-i

http://carnalnation.com/content/58334/999/hawaiian-sacred-sex-part-2

http://carnalnation.com/content/45571/999/sky-dancers-lizard-women-mo-o-dakini

http://carnalnation.com/content/46046/999/hawai-i-yellow-page-blues

http://carnalnation.com/content/44973/999/lealea

I've neglected this blog

2010-06-08T19:00:00.001-07:00

In the last couple of years I've done less writing and more re-posting of very important political and activist actions taken by other people. I'm glad to make this space for sharing, but I think that it may be time to come back to casting my own voice out into the wind again. Someone once told me that the voice (ka leo!) is always an appropriate offering...
To those who have taken the time to comment on some of these blogs, particularly the Mo'o piece, I am particularly grateful!

HAWAIIAN NATIONAL SUES PRESIDENT OBAMA IN FEDERAL COURT

2010-06-08T18:47:00.000-07:00

Hawaiian national sues President Obama in Federal Court in Washington, D.C.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

KANE`OHE, HAWAIIAN ISLANDS, June 1, 2010 — Dr. David Keanu Sai, a national of the Hawaiian Kingdom, today filed a complaint in Federal Court in Washington, D.C., against U.S. President Obama, U.S. Secretary of State Clinton, U.S. Secretary of Defense Gates, U.S. Pacific Command Commander Admiral Willard and Hawai`i Governor Lingle for violation of an 1893 Executive Agreement between the United States and the Hawaiian Kingdom and is seeking punitive damages of $10 million dollars for malicious indictment, prosecution and conviction of a so-called felony. The Defendants have 60 days from date of service to file an answer to the complaint.

Additional Materials and Information
• Complaint
• Dr. Sai’s Website
• Hawaiian Kingdom laws and history

Dr. Sai has a Ph.D. in political science from the University of Hawai`i at Manoa specializing in international relations and public law, with particular emphasis on the legal and political history of the Hawaiian Kingdom. His doctoral dissertation is titled “The American Occupation of the Hawaiian Kingdom: Beginning the Transition from Occupied to Restored State.” Dr. Sai also served as lead agent in international arbitration proceedings (Larsen v. Hawaiian Kingdom) at the Permanent Court of Arbitration, The Hague, Netherlands (1999-2001); filed a Complaint with the United Nations Security Council on July 5, 2001; and has numerous articles on the legal status of the Hawaiian Kingdom as a sovereign and independent State.

In the Federal complaint filed today, Dr. Sai alleges the violation of an executive agreement entered into between Queen Lili`uokalani of the Hawaiian Kingdom and President Grover Cleveland of the United States in 1893, whereby Hawaiian executive power was temporarily and conditionally assigned to the President to administer Hawaiian Kingdom law throughout the Hawaiian Islands. This executive agreement, known as the Lili`uokalani assignment (January 17, 1893), was assigned under threat of war, and binds President Cleveland’s successors in office in the administration of Hawaiian Kingdom law until such time as the Hawaiian Kingdom government has been restored in accordance with a second executive agreement between the Queen and President, known as the Agreement of restoration (December 18, 1893), whereupon the executive power would be returned and the Hawaiian Kingdom would grant amnesty to those individuals who participated or supported the 1893 insurrection.

In U.S. v. Belmont (1937), the U.S. Supreme Court affirmed that executive agreements entered into between the President and a sovereign nation does not require ratification from the U.S. Senate to have the force and effect of a treaty; and executive agreements bind successor Presidents for their faithful execution. Other landmark cases on executive agreements are U.S. v. Pink (1942) and American Insurance Association v. Garamendi (2003). In Garamendi, the Court stated, “Specifically, the President has authority to make ‘executive agreements’ with other countries, requiring no ratification by the Senate or approval by Congress.” Dr. Sai alleges that President Barack Obama, being the successor in office to President Cleveland, is legally bound to administer the laws of the Hawaiian Kingdom until the Hawaiian Kingdom government is restored in accordance with the Agreement of restoration.

The suit was filed under Title 28, United States Code, §1350, “Alien’s action for tort,” for maliciously prosecuting and convicting Dr. Sai for complying with Hawaiian Kingdom law, whereby the prosecution and conviction were violations of the Lili`uokalani assignment; the 1907 Hague Convention, IV; and the 1949 Geneva Convention, IV. §1350 provides that “The district courts shall have original jurisdiction of any civil action by an alien for a tort only, committed in violation of the law of nations or a treaty of the United States.”

In the complaint, it states that the Hawaiian Kingdom became a full member of the Universal Postal Union in 1882, and currently has treaties with Austria-Hungary (June 18, 1875), now Austria and Hungary; Belgium (October 4, 1862); Bremen (March 27, 1854) now Germany; Denmark (Oct. 19, 1846); France (September 8, 1858); French Tahiti (November 24, 1853); Germany (March 25, 1879); Great Britain (March 26, 1846); Great Britain’s New South Wales (March 10, 1874), now Australia; Hamburg (January 8, 1848), now Germany; Italy (July 22, 1863); Japan (Aug. 19, 1871, January 28, 1886); Netherlands (October 16, 1862); Portugal (May 5, 1882); Russia (June 19, 1869); Samoa (March 20, 1887); Spain (October 9, 1863); Sweden and Norway (April 5, 1855), now separate States; Switzerland (July 20, 1864); and the United States of America (December 20, 1849).

On July 7, 1898, the United States unilaterally annexed the Hawaiian Islands for military purposes by enacting a joint resolution of annexation through its Congress over protests by the Queen and political organizations representing the people of Hawai`i that was filed with the U.S. State Department in the summer of 1897, and a 21,269 signature petition protesting annexation that was also filed with the U.S. Senate on December 9, 1897 by Senator George Hoar (R-MA). On August 12, 1898, the Hawaiian Kingdom was occupied during the Spanish-American War and the Hawaiian Kingdom has since been under prolonged occupation under the guise of a U.S. territory.

Presently, Hawai`i serves as headquarters for the largest U.S. Unified Combatant Command in the world, the U.S. Pacific Command, which controls 20.6% of lands (nearly 200,000 acres) throughout the islands under troop commands of the U.S. Army, Navy, Air Force and Marines. The complaint alleges that the U.S. military’s presence has been and continues to be a violation of the Hawaiian Kingdom’s status as a Neutral State under international law and the laws of occupation.

According to the complaint, the United States misrepresented Hawai`i to be a part of the United States since the Spanish-American War by enacting Congressional laws claiming to have annexed the Hawaiian Islands in 1898; to have established the Territory of Hawaii in 1900; and to have transformed the Territory of Hawai`i into the State of Hawai`i in 1959.

The complaint alleges that these actions by the Congress are in direct violation of the 1893 executive agreements, and that the Congress has no force and effect beyond U.S. territory.
In a 1988 U.S. Department of Justice legal opinion by the Office of Legal Counsel, acting Assistant Attorney General Douglas Kmiec stated, “It is…unclear which constitutional power Congress exercised when it acquired Hawaii by joint resolution. Accordingly, it is doubtful that the acquisition of Hawaii can serve as an appropriate precedent for a congressional assertion of sovereignty over an extended territorial sea.”

According to Dr. Sai, “The U.S. Congress could no more annex the Hawaiian Islands in 1898 by passing a joint resolution when it was at war with Spain, than it could annex Afghanistan today by passing a joint resolution while fighting the war on terrorism. U.S. laws do not have extraterritorial force and are limited and confined to U.S. territory.

Only through a treaty of cession with the Hawaiian Kingdom could Hawai`i’s territorial sovereignty be ceded or transferred to the United States, the 1893 executive agreements and other international treaties being superseded, and only thereafter could Congressional laws be legally enforced throughout the Hawaiian Islands without violating international law.”

Among the alleged misrepresentations that the United States made to the international community:

• That the sovereignty of the Hawaiian Islands was lawfully ceded to the United States by a treaty of cession in 1898;
• That the international treaties between the Hawaiian Kingdom and other sovereign States were superseded by the United States’ treaties with those States;
• That United States laws and not Hawaiian Kingdom laws governed the Hawaiian Islands to include taxation, tariffs and duties; and
• That the Hawaiian Islands is the territory of the United States through the State of Hawai`i and not the Hawaiian Kingdom, being a sovereign State, which has been under prolonged occupation since the Spanish-American War.

Dr. Sai’s complaint alleges Obama, Clinton, Gates, Willard and Lingle with violating the Lili`uokalani assignment, the 1907 Hague Convention, IV, the 1949 Geneva Convention, IV, and for allowing the State of Hawai`i to have maliciously indicted, prosecuted and convicted Dr. Sai of a manufactured felony count of attempted theft of real property on March 7, 2000 for adhering to Hawaiian Kingdom laws, which by definition constitutes a “war crime” under Title 18 U.S.C. §2441(c)(1). The complaint seeks a permanent injunction, including punitive damages, disgorgement and restitution, to prevent and remedy any violations of the Lili`uokalani assignment and the international laws of occupation.

# # #

For more information about this law suit, contact:

Dr. Keanu Sai at: 808-383-6100 or email: keanu.sai@gmail.com

Opposing "Akaka Bill," H.R. 2314

2009-06-24T18:13:00.000-07:00

The following letter was created using "boilerplate" provided by the Koani Foundation/Free Hawai'i folks. Then I made some changes. Please read on, and then send your own letter opposing this dangerous bill.
---------------------
June 24, 2009

The Honorable Nick J. Rahall II, Chairman
The Honorable Doc Hastings, Ranking Member
House Committee on Natural Resources
U.S. House of Representatives
1324 Longworth House Office Building
Washington, DC 20515

RE - OPPOSITION TO H.R. 2314 - Native Hawaiian Government Reorganization Act of 2009

Dear Honorable Rahall, Honorable Hastings, and Members of the House Committee on Natural Resources,

I thank you for allowing me to submit this testimony in OPPOSITION to H.R. 2314, which seeks to express the policy of the United States regarding the United States relationship with Native Hawaiians and to provide a process of the recognition by the United States of the Native Hawaiian governing entity.

I OPPOSE H.R. 2314: Native Hawaiian Government Reorganization Act of 2009 because -

Lack of Community Comment and Testimony

No hearings have ever been held in Hawai`i on the current legislation before the 2009 Congress.

Native Hawaiian people have not been offered the ability to attend any hearings held in Hawai`i, either on O’ahu or the neighbor islands, that would allow the Hawaiian people to present testimony on the Native Hawaiian Government Reorganization Act.

In 2000, only two (2) days of hearings were held on O`ahu Island. All other hearings were cancelled. This is hardly a democratic process! Even the corporate forces behind the currently contested “TMT” telescope proposals have been decent enough to organize forums for community testimony, on two islands! Why cannot the U.S. government do better than that?

The current and past bills addressing the United States relationship with Native Hawaiians to provide a process of the recognition by the United States of the Native Hawaiian governing entity were subsequently redrafted and amendments were added with no input or testimony from the Hawaiian people.

The Hawaiian people seek the right to a fair and democratic process that includes hearings on H.R. 2314 throughout the islands that comprise the state of Hawai`i.

For 9 years, Hawaiians have requested that the island wide hearings be rescheduled so that the hundreds of Hawaiians who want to testify can be included and their concerns heard.

H.R. 2314 disenfranchises Native Hawaiians

The effort being pursued in the US Congress violates the most fundamental principles of democracy and human rights.

H.R. 2314 disenfranchises the Hawaiian people by ensuring that persons residing on the US continent, many of whom have no contact or relationship with Hawaiian culture or Hawai`i, will control the electoral process.

By including a huge American continental population, the drafters of H.R. 2314 have guaranteed that Hawaiians of Molokai, Maui, Kaua`i, Hawai`i Island and Lana`i will be outvoted at their own Constitutional Convention.

Most importantly, the Hawai`i based native Hawaiians such as Hawaiian Homesteaders who are the sole beneficiaries of the Ceded Lands and Hawaiian Homelands trusts will be outvoted by a margin of 10 to 1.

H.R. 2314 disenfranchises descendents of Hawaiian Nationals

Native Hawaiians were not the only people harmed by the illegal overthrow of the Kingdom of Hawai’i, the illegal annexation of Hawai’i through a U.S. domestic resolution (Newlands) instead of a nation to nation treaty as required by international law, and the illegally conducted “statehood” vote. Every version of H.R. 2314 has ignored the very real claims of the multi-ethnic descendents of citizens of the Kingdom of Hawai’i, who were also robbed of their country and citizenship, just like the Native Hawaiians.

Finally,

In the 9 years during which time the Native Hawaiian Government Reorganization Act has evolved, the Hawai`i Federal Delegation made several concessions to previous federal and state administrations, the goal of which is to maintain the political status of the Hawaiian peoples as wards of the United States and state of Hawai`i, and to ensure that the vast land and fiscal resources of the Hawaiian people are utilized for US federal and state priorities.

The Administration of President Barrack Obama came to office promising open government dedicated to truth and justice for all peoples. I call upon the Obama Administration, and Democrats in the US Congress to live with the integrity of their own words.

I call for the Congressional Committee to hold hearings on the Native Hawaiian Government Reorganization Act in Hawai`i to provide the Hawaiian peoples their right to participate in the process and to seek amendments to the Native Hawaiian Government Reorganization Act.

Therefore, I strongly urge you to OPPOSE H.R. 2314 until Congressional hearings are scheduled and held in Hawai`i on all islands, and in all States on the US continent where a significant population of Hawaiians reside, in order to provide the Hawaiian peoples their right to a democratic fair, free, and impartial process of self-determination and to empower them with the ability to determine the culturally appropriate mechanism for their own self-governance.

In addition, I strongly urge the inclusion of descendents of Hawaiian nationals in any planning processes which affect the occupied Kingdom of Hawai’i, which is the true status of Hawai’i, as confirmed by the World Court at the Hague.

Mahalo nui loa,
Amy Marsh

Pinky the Cat Stands Up for Hawai'i Nei

2009-06-12T17:41:00.000-07:00

The Pinky Show is clever and informative website which features videos that are well researched and innocently entertaining, while always packing a wallop of home truths! Especially this episode below.

http://www.pinkyshow.org/archives/episodes/090611_hawaii03/

And I have to wonder, if Pinky can speak truth to power (while blinking innocently with that little kitty cat face), why don't the rest of us do it more often?

A'ole to the Akaka Bill! (Just say "No Way!")

2009-06-10T15:48:00.000-07:00

Here is a letter written to oppose the Akaka bill, which is being heard, yet again, in one of its many pernicious forms, tomorrow, June 11, 2009. This letter is written by independence activist, Ku Ching. Please join all of us in opposing this terrible bill. It will not do Native Hawaiians, or descendents of Hawaiian Nationals, any good at all!
----------------

Honorable Nick J. Rahall (D-WV)
Chair
The House Natural Resources Committee

Re: Hearing on H.R. 2314
June 11, 2009
10:00 A.M.

Chairman Rahall and Members of the Committee,

I am a Kanaka Maoli (Native Hawaiian) and go on record to OPPOSE H.R. 2314.

According to historical fact, truth and rule of law, Native Hawaiians are not American Indians.

And I - along with many, many others - do not want that distinction.

If anything, we are Hawaiian, subjects of the Kingdom of Hawaii, whose government has been placed into some kind of limbo by the imperialistic forces of the u.s. - in 1893 - in conflict with the highest law of the (u.s.) land - its (the u.s.'s) treaties.

As international law states: One nation-state cannot (on its own) discontinue the existence of another nation-state.

The Kingdom of Hawaii was an "international" nation-state - recognized by all members of the "Family of Nations" - but its history was interrupted in a coups d'etat in which u.s. military troops were complicit and necessary (to pull off). In other words - the u.s. was a major player in an illegal coups d'etat.

The end of u.s. occuption of Hawai'i is overdue.

To enact H..R. 2314 would continue the abuse of the u.s. constitution - and support the unconscionable illegal overthrow of the Hawaiian Kingdom.

Moreso - the passage of H.R. 2314 would whitewash all of the mistakes of the u.s. in its most imperialistic period - as it pertains to Hawai'i.

Such a whitewash would tend to stifle Hawaiians' right to justice, a "real" reconciliation, and their right of self-determination (among other things, as promulgated in the 2007 UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples).

Actually - the u.s. supreme court decided recently (March 31, 2009) - that "resolutions" are not the law of the land - in the case of OHA vs. State of Hawaii.

However, the supreme court did not go one step further - Which is to find that the "Resolution of Annexation" (of Hawai'i to the u.s.) is also NOT the law of the land.

Hawai'i IS NOT part of the u.s. It (Hawai'i) is merely being subject to belligerant occupation - of which international laws - aren't being complied with by the u.s.

In reference to the March 31, 2009, supreme court case, I wrote - as it pertains to the so-called "ceded lands" ---

Deeded? No way.

Ceded? By Whom? Tried to by the Republic of Hawaii. Where did it get its title? It didn't have any.

Annexation? It never happened. The myth continues, for instance, on the McKinley statue at McKinley H.S., which labels the document he holds as "Treaty!" There was NO treaty. A resolution is domestic and only has the force of law, if any, within the boundaries of the sponsoring nation. The "Resolution of Annexation" was powerless in Hawai'i.

While treaties are "the supreme law of the land" - the u.s. does not live by its treaties.

Never fear, the Supreme Court will find a way to continue the myth.

However, if the so-called "ceded lands trust" is found to be unconstitutional - Should the Statehood Act also be found unconstitutional?

Or can the Court - as in Pearl Harbor - support cancellation of the treaty - yet allow the u.s. to not only keep the "use" of it, but allow the u.s. to claim good title?

Manifest Destiny is alive!

Unfortunately, this appeal gives the u.s. supreme court the wherewithal to make legal what all the misrepresentation, deception and fraud wreaked upon the subjects of the Hawaiian Kingdom and the Kingdom - by the illegal Overthrow, the Annexation that never took place, and the cession, by an entity without interest or title, of the so-called "ceded" lands (the stolen Hawaiian Kingdom lands.

A possible outcome of this appeal, based on racial equality - for me - may cancel one of my major reasons for opposing the so-called "Akaka" Bill - to keep the stolen lands out of the hands of the u.s. and the so-called state of Hawai`i.

Again - Justice is elusive. But - I suppose - this is how dastardly folks can steal a Kingdom, its lands, and unconstitutionally make americans out of hawaiians.

But - holdouts like me - refuse to play this game. Onipa'a!!!!

______

Therefore, sir, I am violently opposed to H.R. 2314 - for the above reasons AND many more ... and I recommend that you and your committee reject the bill.
Clarence Kukauakahi Ching, Waimea, Hawai'i

Lilikala Kame'eleihiwa's Statement on 3/31/09 Supreme Court Ruling

2009-03-31T17:36:00.000-07:00

Aloha kakou,
I copy and paste Dr. Kame'eleihiwa's statement here, to add to the widening circulation her words should have. As an ally of Hawaiian independence, I join with those who protest this ruling.

Here are her words, reprinted from the Honolulu Advertiser:

US Supreme Court Ruling on Sale of Stolen ('Ceded') Lands: Statement from Lilikala Kame'eleihiwa, UH Center for Hawaiian Studies 3/31/09 (From the Honolulu Advertiser 3/31/09)

"Today we learn that the Supreme Court of Injustice of America, has ruled unanimously that the illegal State of Hawaii has the right to sell "ceded" lands. Why are we not surprised? If they had ruled otherwise every native nation whose lands have been taken by America would file suit for a return of their lands.

We, the Hawaiian people, who are born from the union of Papahanaumoku and Wakea, earth mother and sky father, and who have lived in these islands for over 100 generations, will always have the moral right to the lands of Hawaii now and forever, no matter what any court says.

The land of Hawaii is our ancestor. In order to survive culturally as the Hawaiian people we, must have land upon which to practice our culture. To deny us the right to our ancestral land, especially the so called "ceded" or stolen lands, is to perpetuate cultural genocide upon the Hawaiian people.

Therefore, we Reject the March 31, 2009 Supreme Court decision. We call upon all non Hawaiians everywhere, who support the survival of the Hawaiian people, and who support survival of the Hawaiian culture, to also support the moral right of the Hawaiian people to have jurisdiction over the "ceded" lands, and to join us in the Rejection of this immoral decision by the supreme court.

HISTORICAL OVERVIEW OF INTERNATIONAL LEGAL RIGHTS

Under International Law, America has

• Illegally invaded our internationally recognized Hawaiian Nation in 1893 and held our country since then by "right" of military force,

• Illegally annexed the Hawaiian islands without an annexation treaty in 1900, (no other American territory has ever been taken by the legal fiction of joint resolution)

• Accepted the so called "ceded lands" from a puppet American government only held in place by the force of the American military,

• Illegally made Hawaii a U.S. state by faulty vote in 1959, as no option for independence was afforded on the ballot as is required by the United Nations,

• Through its agent the State of Hawaii, has abused and mismanaged Hawaiian lands since 1959, still not even having an accurate inventory of the "ceded" lands,

• Through its occupying military, has bombed, destroyed, and grossly polluted with toxic wastes the precious lands of Hawaii,

• And now, through the decision of its Supreme Court, will try to alienate all "ceded" lands by sale to private foreign developers.

Moreover, under International Law Indigenous Peoples have rights to their traditional lands. The United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, passed on September 13, 2007 by 144 nations of the world, enshrines Indigenous Rights to land in the following articles:

ARTICLE 25:
Indigenous Peoples have the right to maintain and strengthen their distinctive spiritual relationship with their traditionally owned or otherwise occupied and used lands, territories, waters and coastal seas and other resources and to uphold their responsibilities to future generations in this regard.

ARTICLE 26:
1. Indigenous Peoples have the right to the lands, territories and resources which they have traditionally owned, occupied or otherwise used or acquired.

2. Indigenous Peoples have the right to own, use, develop and control the lands, territories and resources that they possess by reason of traditional ownership or other traditional occupation or use, as well as those which they have otherwise acquired.

3. States shall give legal recognition and protection to these lands, territories and resources. Such recognition shall be conducted with due respect to the customs, traditions and land tenure systems of the Indigenous Peoples concerned.

ARTICLE 27:
1. States shall establish and implement, in conjunction with Indigenous Peoples concerned, a fair, independent, impartial, open and transparent process, giving due recognition to Indigenous Peoples' laws, traditions, customs and land tenure systems, to recognize and adjudicate the rights of Indigenous Peoples pertaining to their lands, territories and resources, including those which were traditionally owned or otherwise occupied or used. Indigenous Peoples shall have the right to participate in this process.

2. Unless otherwise freely agreed upon by the Peoples concerned, compensation shall take the form of lands, territories and resources equal in quality, size and legal status or of monetary compensation or other appropriate redress.

ARTICLE 29:
1. Indigenous Peoples have the right to the conservation and protection of the environment and the productive capacity of their lands or territories and resources. States shall establish and implement assistance programs for Indigenous Peoples for such conservation and protection, without discrimination.

2. States shall take effective measures to ensure that no storage or disposal of hazardous materials shall take place in the lands or territories of Indigenous Peoples without their free, prior and informed consent.

CONCLUSIONTherefore, we, the Hawaiian people, who are born from the Hawaiian land, and who have resided here for over 100 generations, reject forever the decision of the Supreme Court of American injustice!

That court only has the "right" to rule because its military is illegally occupying our country, it does not have the moral right!

Remember that was the court that once found slavery legal, and that was the court that eventually had to find that slavery was illegal. They did so because of the moral outrage of the American people. No doubt one day that same court will find that they have erred yet again, and that we as Hawaiians have a moral and legal right to deny sale of the "ceded" lands, as that land is our land.

Our sovereign rights to those lands were acknowledge and affirmed by the 1993 Apology Law, and were even acknowledged by the 1959 State of Hawaii constitution, that stated such lands were held in trust for two beneficiaries, the Native Hawaiians and the general public. When the State of Hawaii proposes to sell "ceded" lands, they are abusing that trust for both beneficiaries, as once land is sold (misprint in the newspaper; lines missing)

Over the course of time, history has taught us that wrongs commited against humanity in the name of law are wrongs forever, and eventually wrongs are righted by the overturning of bad law. Just as slavery and genocide have been overturned by human rights, so too will today's decision of the American Supreme Court of Injustice be overturned. We Hawaiians will always have the moral right to our lands, now and for the next 100 generations.

As for Linda Lingle, who has stabbed us in the heart with her abuse of our trust, she has now earned her place in history with other moo niho awa'awa such as John L. Stevens, Lorrin Thurston, and Sanford Dole. Too bad for her; she could have been remembered as our friend."

As found on the Honolulu Advertiser 3/31/09
http://www.honoluluadvertiser.com/article/20090331/BREAKING/90331041/1352

Tattoo Story

2009-03-24T21:02:00.001-07:00

I am a hula student, as well as a student of the culture in general and an activist for Hawaiian independence. In the second halau hula where I studied, many students and dancers had tattoos. The students and dancers came from all kinds of ethnic and cultural backgrounds, and the tattoo designs most often favored were Tahitian. I did not have any tattoos, and that was okay. I really wasn't planning on getting one.

However, one summer I treked for over 60 miles on Hawai'i island, on a Huaka'i (journey) with some cultural practitioners. It was an amazing time in my life. I have now crossed on foot over a great deal of 'a'a and pahoehoe lava, and had many adventures along the way. When I came back to California, I realized that I needed to tell the story of my journey in a tattoo on my left ankle. There was something about the walk, and the events, and the completion of that journey that begged commemoration in this way. I had been very strongly connected with the 'aina during that walk, and a tattoo would be a way of thanking the cosmos for that great opportunity.

Tricia Allen, an expert in Polynesian tattooing, heard the story of my journey and came up with a design. Our beginning, on the summit of Mauna Kea, was there. The dive for sea urchins was there. My feelings about the goddess Hina were there. There was a lot of kaona in the design, which I know Tricia wasn't aware of, but it was all very clear to me.

After that tattoo, I thought I was done. After all, I could not hope for a second epic overland journey in my lifetime, and I could not conceive of a second tattoo without it having very special meaning. However, a couple years later, I was moved by spirit to commemorate an important lucid teaching dream -- one which was also very Hawaiian in its meaning and symbolism. This meant another tattoo, this time on my right ankle. This was appropriate, because Ku, the god, rules the right side of the body, and my dream was "heaven sent" -- in fact, the whole message of the dream was "as above, so below." I had more of the idea of the design, but Tricia Allen refined it for me.

When this tattoo was done, I told Tricia that I could now die happy, because my body was the way it was supposed to be. That was an odd feeling, but very profound. I felt very complete.

Having these two tattoos on my ankles means that I have to have greater consciousness about how I stand and walk in the world. I have to live up to them, keep a promise to them. They remind me of the greater huaka'i that I am engaged in, every day.

However, I am aware that having Hawaiian style tattoos on my legs can be considered a form of appropriation. I remember one man in Puna, staring hard at me one day, at a flea market. I felt he was objecting to the tattoo. If he had asked me about my tattoo (at that time, I just had one), I would have told him the story of my journey. Even then, he may not have accepted my having it. And this is indeed something I have to "walk with" too -- the implications of the long, sad, suffering history of the islands and their people, due to U.S. imperialism and conquest.

My sweetheart, who has a tattoo up the length of his left leg, done in the traditional Hawaiian manner, with traditional tools, has told me he would "give me" one of the elements from his tattoo. This is a great token of his affection for me. However, I would have to have it done in the traditional manner too, by the artist who created his tattoo. I would be prepared for this, I guess, though the thought scares me a little.

Ku, Standing Magnificently

2009-03-22T18:59:00.000-07:00

Ku is a name that means upright. It is also the name of a god in Hawai'i - a god of agriculture, as well as war. Ku is often coupled with Hina, and together they form a sacred partnership. The right side of a person is energetically Ku, the left, Hina - very much like the sacred male/female duality of Shiva and Shakti in another tradition.

It is my joy and privilege to be partnered with a man named Ku. This has not been an easy road for either of us, and there has been trauma for many people around us as a result. I regret this more than I can say. And yet the relationship was so compelling that I could not live without it. However, I cannot live without my family relationships either, and so there has been an immense struggle to find balance in this.

There is quite a lot that goes into a relationship like ours. We deal with a disparity in our ages, as well as in background. We also have the complexities of a multi-ethnic/cultural relationship. There are certain things in our lives that we share, but cannot really expect the other to understand. My beloved will never "get" punk rock, and I will never really "get" how it was to grow up in a Mormon Chinese/Hawaiian family. But we do strive for understanding.

We are united in a great love of Hawaiian culture and the land, as well as in chemistry and rapport. Before we became sweethearts, we met as activists, wrote an article together, created a workshop, and communicated with great passion and energy on the topic of Hawaiian independence and restoration of the kingdom. I am privileged to know this man as a colleague, a friend, and now as a lover - a man who continues to do great work on behalf of the 'aina and his people.

We are also united in a great love of each other, with joy and a constant struggling to keep things pono between us. I am blessed, truly, and in counting my blessings, want to say something (however inadequate) that acknowledges the happiness I have from being with this man in this lifetime.

Pu'uhonua for Mahuwahine and Transgender Youth

2009-02-28T09:42:00.000-08:00

In my "other life" as a Sexologist and Hypnotherapist, I have begun working with women in the Mahuwahine community. This is new work, and I cannot claim to know or understand everything yet (or ever!), but I am finding this to be a truly wonderful way of offering kokua (caring). I do long distance hypnotherapy, counseling and in some cases, ho'oponopono.
I've always had a soft place in my heart for transgender people, dating back to my own teen years -- friends I had, people I knew -- but now that I find myself the mother of a transgender teenager (one who is transitioning from female to male), this work with Mahuwahine gives me added satisfaction and happiness. If I could, I'd find an island, or build a house, or create something tangible that represented a place of refuge, a "pu'uhonua" for transgender people.
The youngsters have it so hard! Often rejected by family and friends, kicked out of the house, doing sex work... often disproportionately the victim of sexual violence and hate crimes. And all because they simply want to be who they really are.
I also feel, very strongly, the special mana that transgender people have. It makes perfect sense to me that in many Turtle Island nations (i.e. "Native American"), the "two spirit" people were valued for their special, spiritual leadership. In the Pacific, in Oceanic cultures, "two spirit" or "transgender" people were also accepted and valued. Western influences changed this, and brought down laws and repression which marginalized them, with tragic consequences.
It seems to me that because of this American influence in Hawai'i, Mahuwahine and their "Mahukane" counterparts, might now have a ways to go before their leadership is again prized and sought out in the cultural and political movements in Hawai'i. But perhaps I am too distant from the 'aina to know if or how this community is acknowledged, respected and claimed by their activist Kanaka Maoli colleagues in Honolulu and other places.
I just know that my heart is very strongly involved in this work. And I want to do more.

Leon Siu's Letter to the Editor

2009-02-27T16:51:00.001-08:00

I just have to post this to give it additional circulation! From Leon Siu, a well known activist:
------------------

“CEDED LANDS” - PERFECT TITLE/PERFECT CRIME

Submitted To Star Bulletin, Honolulu Advertiser & Maui News

If the State of Hawaii has perfect title, then the “ceded lands” is the perfect crime.

At the outset of the oral arguments at the U.S. Supreme Court in the “ceded lands” case, the state declared that it had “perfect title” over those lands and that this is an “indisputable” fact.

Then the state proceeded to say that the lands in this dispute were from the illegal overthrow of the Hawaiian Kingdom! Apparently the illegality of the overthrow is also indisputable because it was parroted by the other two presenters and the justices. Hello!?? Isn’t illegally gotten property called stolen property not perfect title?

So the lands were stolen, but somehow the title is perfect? Oh, I get it! (wink, wink) Yes, we all agree the lands were stolen, but its OK because the thief made a detailed (but non-binding) “to whom it may concern” apology, and the thief is a nice guy (not to mention dangerously powerful). So now if we all recite the mantra, perfect title, perfect title, perfect title, all will be…well…perfect! No pesky claimants, no encumbrances, no injunction, no need to answer to anyone. Best of all, no rule of law.

In essence, the state is saying to the court, “We have a perfect right to ignore the 116-year-long annoyance of ‘Hawaiian children lamenting for their homes.’ After all, our title is perfect! …perfect title, perfect title, perfect title...”

Leon Siu
Minister of Foreign Affairs
Ke Aupuni O Hawaii
The Hawaiian Kingdom

Alert! Feb. 25, 2009 Ku I Ka Pono Demonstration in San Francisco

2009-02-22T09:33:00.000-08:00

I'll be going, and I'll be blogging after the demonstration to share my impressions and experiences. I was a speaker at the last Ku I Ka Pono demonstration a few years ago, when the Kamehameha Schools were threatened. I hope this demonstration is even larger and more effective!
Mahalo to Kumu Hula Kawika Alfiche for spreading the word and providing his mana!
-----------------------

Protect Hawaiian Lands Gathering & Rally
Wednesday, February 25, 2009

Please join a nation-wide event to support the protection of Hawaiian lands against development and sale by politicians in the State of Hawaii.

On the day that the U.S. Supreme Court hears arguments in an important Hawaiian land case (State of Hawaii v. Office of Hawaiian Affairs, et al.), the following events will be held in San Francisco to demonstrate our unified and peaceful resistance to the sale of public Hawaiian lands and to educate the general public about this important issue:

PULE-Traditional Prayer Gathering (a nation-wide, simultaneous event):
Twin Peaks Look Out (SF)
6:45am gathering / 7:00am Pule Begins (coincide w/ 10am EST start of Supreme Court session)

If you cannot make this gathering, please consider taking a moment at 7:00am PST to offer a pule or meditation for a just and positive resolution to this conflict over Hawaiian lands.

RALLY- Kū I Ka Pono / Stand Up for Justice:
Civic Center Plaza near San Francisco City Hall (Goodlett side)
12 noon – 1:00pm Rally

PULE-Traditional Prayers:
Civic Center Plaza
1:00pm-6:00pm every hour on the hour

RALLY & CLOSING - Kū I Ka Pono / Stand Up for Justice:
Civic Center Plaza near San Francisco City Hall (Goodlett side)
6:00pm-7:00pm Rally

PLEASE WEAR/BRING: Red Shirt (Kū I Ka Pono if you have), white/muslin Kīhei, Hawaiian Flag, Signs*

OLI/MELE (chants/songs): E Iho Ana, I Kū Mau Mau, Kū i ka pono, E hō mai ka 'ike, Mele Kumu Honua, Nā 'aumākua (please see attached or blog)

For more information, please see/contact:
http://protecthawnlands.blogspot.com
kuikalono2009@gmail.com or kawikaalfiche@gmail.com

*dress warm, bring umbrella, snacks, water

BE CAUTIOUS: The purpose of this rally is public attention and to educate the masses so that they to can stand with us. This is a peaceful and pono rally with positive energy and message. How ever please read the definition below.

pro⋅vo⋅ca⋅teur: prəˌvɒk əˈtɜr,-ˈtʊər;[pruh-vok-uh-tur, -too r]- a person who provokes trouble, causes dissension, or the like; agitator.

If there is someone who "provokes" negativity, keep pono in mind. Aggression and provocation are not our purpose nor part of our message. And this is NOT an issue of race. Ceded (public) lands affect everyone.

Gentle but important reminder: Please keep signage to slogans such as "Aloha `Aina," "Don't Sell Hawaiian Lands," "Hawaiian Unity," and the like. We will have flyers with information about our purpose as well as historic information on Hawaii to hand out to media and interested passersby.

PROTOCOLS/ETIQUETTE FOR THE RALLY

* Please be on time (allow time for parking) meeting time is 12 noon

* Non-violent: We want recognition through unification and Loud Voices!

* Please do not damage any property (public, cars, etc)

*Mind your manners and kokua one another we will have kupuna and kumu hula there, please watch over them as if they were your grandparent

*Wear RED...t-shirts, kihei (not individual colors etc...)

*We can rally with aloha even in adversity.

*We are calling on all Kane (men) 30's and 40's (to serve as guards and protectors to the group, to keep our group in a peaceful focus, to watch over the kupuna, to make sure we are safe from traffic, to keep order, etc…)

Contact Kumu Hula Kawika Alfiche
http://www.myspace.com/kawikaalfiche
http://www.keikialii.com - Halau Hula

It's Not a State

2009-01-28T13:09:00.000-08:00

For the last several years I've been somewhat consumed by the situation in Hawai'i nei. The sorrow and anguish of na kanaka maoli, and descendents of Hawaiian nationals, speak to me very clearly. This place is not "the 50th State" because as the Kingdom of Hawai'i it was (1) illegally overthrown, (2) illegally annexed and (3) illegally turned into "a state." You don't believe me? Follow the arguments put forth by Keanu Sai and the Larsen Vs. the Kingdom of Hawai'i case heard the the world court at the Hague. Hawai'i is America's Tibet.

More on this later!

The “Pono” Tourist:

2007-05-12T15:30:00.000-07:00

Every visitor to Hawai’i learns to say “aloha.” But how many learn the word “pono?” Pono can mean “justice, virtue, and balance.” It also means “the true condition of nature.”

Tourism is big business, yet this influx of money and people seldom supports anything considered “pono” by local folks and native Hawaiians. From mega resorts to cruise ships to golf courses, tourism is largely responsible for the environmental degradation of Hawai’i’s troubled island ecosystem. And tourists often shop familiar chain stores instead of small, local businesses. Chain stores provide low paying jobs and add to the tax base, but do little else to improve the lives of residents. Therefore, many locals wish the tourists would stay home. Don’t take this attitude personally. It reflects an urgent desire to heal the land.

Native Hawaiians are also concerned about the portrayal of their culture. Activists and organizations such as the Native Hawaiian Hospitality Association are working to bring traditional values and awareness to the hospitality industry.

So what’s a visitor to do? Here are twelve ways to make your visit beneficial to the ecosystem and local economy.

1. Know where you are. Hawai’i is not a legitimate part of the United States. It’s a country whose overthrow, annexation and statehood have all been done in violation of treaties and international law. The 1993 U.S. Apology Resolution admits as much. The World Court in Hague agrees. Many Native Hawaiians are working to restore their country’s independence. If you find this hard to understand, consider the plight of most Native Hawaiians: the most homeless, least amount of money and education, worst health, and highest rates of incarceration.

2. Read before you go. Enhance your visit by learning about the culture. Buy books through www.nativebookshawaii.com and you’ll support a local business.

3. Be friendly. “Talk story” with the locals.

4. Take ONLY pictures. Leave everything else alone.

5. Buy local and organic. Patronize local businesses, farmer’s markets and KTA Supermarkets. Buy “Hawaiian made” handcrafts.

6. Protect the ocean. Sunscreen pollutes the water. Don’t step on coral reefs. Don’t harrass the wildlife.

7. Volunteer. Make a positive contribution. Contact KAHEA (Hawaiian Environmental Alliance) at www.kahea.org for ways to help.

8. Live lightly. Decrease your personal garbage and pollution.

9. “Kapu” means “forbidden.” Don’t step on the sacred rock platforms.

And while we don’t want to spoil your fun, boycotting these activities can make a world of difference.

10. Avoid cruise ships. These are enormously destructive to Hawai’i’s ocean and reefs. Instead, take a day sail with a local canoe owner, such as Captain Kiko on Hawai’i Island. Contact him at Kikojk@aol.com.

11. Don’t swim with the dolphins. Many “eco-tourism” dolphin encounters disrupt the spinner dolphins as they rest and breed. The dolphin population has dropped alarmingly as a result. Snorkle someplace else.

12. Forget golf. The herbicide run-off from golf courses is killing the coral reefs.

A Place of Refuge

2007-01-29T22:03:00.000-08:00

A few months ago I took my favorite man to my favorite place, Pu'uhonua 'o Honaunau on the Kona side of the island of Hawai'i. It is currently a national park, but this alien designation sits lightly on this very ancient place.

I've been there many times. The first time was in the summer of 2001, as a family with husband and children. They explored, but I was enraptured, taking in the whole of the compound: the giant, centuries-old wall of lava rocks; the sacred temple structure, Hale 'o Keawe, and the flared nostril carvings; the ancient brackish fish ponds; coconut palms and the sea beyond. I warned the too inquisitive tourists away from the resting sea turtles. I chanted quietly in front of the temple. I dipped my toes into the inlet once reserved for chiefs and their canoes. I swam at "Two Step," the reef outside the park, rewarded at every turn with yet another turtle, swiming or grazing underwater on the red-brown seaweed. I felt at peace. It was somehow my place. In that short time, I lived there...

And so when I returned last fall, now with my favorite man, I took him to the water to swim and marvel.

But first we wandered the park. He's a naturalist. Specimens go into his pocket. "Ah, it's a park!" I reminded him, "besides, in Hawai'i, you always ask permission before you take. Always ask first." He got it.

And so when we came across a sprouting coconut, we planted it together. When we opened up another, to pry the meat from its shell with our sandy knife, we gave thanks. We hunkered on the sand. We felt at peace. It was our place. We lived there.

Canoeing and Then Some

2006-11-19T12:10:00.000-08:00

I have neglected this blog... partly because over the summer I was involved in other kinds of schooling and withdrew temporarily from hula. But so much has happened since then!

I took a three day Lomilomi massage workshop with Papa K Kepelino, at the Berkeley Accupressure Institute, and was also able to take him and SF lomilomi practioner, Jerry Huber, to the Aaron Mahi/Martin Pahinui/George Kuo concert at Templebar in August. Jerry, by the way, is an amazing healer. Contact him at Healing Winds Massage Therapies in San Francisco, (415)673-4325.

I returned to Hula classes in September, and it felt so good. My kumu, Mahealani Uchiyama, continues to astonish me, and the dancers in her performing group just get better and better. Another thing that I really like about our halau, Ka Ua Tuahine, is that we are able to participate in extra-curricular studies about the culture, and share these projects with each other. Once a month "halau night" is also a wonderful new feature, which really helps nurture the community of dancers.

In late September I went to Hawai'i moku with my sweetheart, a man who had never travelled to the islands. We stopped first on O'ahu and had lunch with two sovereignty activists. Then, we paid a quick visit to 'Iolani Palace before taking a bus back to the airport to fly to Hawai'i moku (Big Island). We had many adventures, and perhaps I will write about them in a day or two. The one I want to mention today concerns our sailing excursion off the Kona Coast:

I had the extraordinary good fortune to sail in a Hawaiian double-hulled canoe recently, off the Kona Coast (of Hawai'i moku -- the "Big Island.") Captain Kiko Johnston-Kitazawa built this canoe himself using two existing single outrigger canoes as a base and connecting them to create a replica of a traditional Hawaiian canoe. He was a wonderful guide to the culture as well as to the waters. There is nothing like sailing (and paddling) in one of these beautiful vessels, and I was filled with great happiness while we were out on the water. We sailed past the terrible battleground of Kuamo'o, and eventually anchored in a small cove for swimming. Delightful! On the business side, Captain Kiko was prompt, reasonably priced, and very flexible in his arrangements with us. His wife Margaret also joined us, and it was great to talk story with them both, as well as the other two visitors.

I highly recommend this "family operation" -- instead of the more corporate "adventures" advertised in Hawai'i. Kiko and his wife were great. The sailing was fantastic. If you're going, call them. Take a sail. It is well worth it!!! Visit his website at www.waakaulua.com. Contact Captain Kiko at (808)938-5717 or Kiko JK@aol.com.

A final item: I am happy to say that last night's annual Kapalakiko 'Aha 'Aina (lu'au) Fundraiser, which took place in Mountain View, appeared to be a sold out success! Brothers Cyril and Martin Pahinui were the headliners, the Kapalakiko Hawaiian Band did themselves proud, and hula was performed by none other than Mahea Uchiyama's Ka Ua Tuahine. Such a great evening out, even though I did have to leave early to accommodate my very tired ten year old son!

Mana

2006-05-14T13:07:00.000-07:00

(Note: I just wrote this report for a "Lala project" as part of my studies with my halau hula.)

Some scientists say there is enough untapped power in a glass of water to meet the electrical needs of a large city for one evening, if released by nuclear fusion technology. And so it is with the multi-faceted human being. We contain conduits and reservoirs of energy inside ourselves that are immensely powerful, but most of us do not ever encounter or master a “technology” that enables us to tap into our own personal store of mana.

Qi, prana, mana -- call it what you like. “Technologies” and traditions for connecting witih this potent life force can be found in many cultures, and some of them are thousands of years old (if not older). It is obvious the ancient Hawaiians were among those people who built both sacred and secular aspects of their culture on a sophisticated understanding of mana and its workings. The lineages of their akua and great chiefs, the chants, implements and garments of hula, the heiau (temples), living beings, and natural places of power and spiritual connection -- these and many other features of the culture were all known to manifest or demonstrate various types of mana.

So how have native Hawaiian writers and scholars defined this word? What do they have to say about this tradition? Mary Kawena Pukui says “Mana could be either specific, as an aptitude or talent, or a general, diffused mystic power.” (Nana I ke Kumu, Vol. II footnote, pg. 227). She also refers to the “carrying” of mana in the words and names of a prayer, through the “ha,” the breath. (Polynesian Family Systems in Ka’u, Hawai’i, pg. 142).

Michael Kioni Dudley refers to ho’omanamana as the key element of the mechanism of deification. He says, “except for the few ancestral spirits they initially brought with them, the Hawaiians themselves created all of their gods.” In Man, Gods and Nature, Dudley decribes in detail how living human beings fed and directed mana to the spirit of a loved one who had died, turning that spirit into a household or ancestral god: “A lawe ia ua mau iwi la i akua a pule ia e na kahuna mua. -- His bones were taken into divinity and they were prayed into by the kahuna mua.” (pg. 73) This was apparently not a one time infusion of mana, but an ongoing relationship and offering of mana between the new akua and his or her living relations.

(In odd parallel, the Anthroposophical movement founded by the Austrian scientist and mystic, Rudolf Steiner, recommends a regular practice of “reading spiritual literature to the dead” as a way of “nourishing” the spirits of family members and friends. Steiner was convinced that human beings are supposed to “feed” energy -- as manifested in reading spiritual literature to the dead -- to departed loved ones. In this way, he said relationships could be sustained and nurtured even across the threshold. Hawaiians and Anthroposophists both naturally participate in a human community that includes both the living and the dead.)

But back to the Hawaiians: In Ho’opono, by Pali J. Lee and John K. Willis, the authors say “mana comes in part from DNA” but they also say “it can be achieved by anyone who works toward it endlessly” (pg. 23). It is interesting to note that ancient Hawaiians believed mana resided in the bones, and this is confirmed by the modern medical discovery of the role of bone marrow in manufacturing blood. (Of course, the ancient Hawaiians were skilled observers of all kinds of natural phenomena, so it is not surprising they figured this out.) Lee and Willis’s statement that mana can be achieved points us toward the idea that the culture must have developed “technologies” of gathering, storing, and directing mana.

Traditions which contain and teach such technologies typically involve:

1) patterned or ritual breathing sequences;
2) movement sequences, dances, exercises:
3) meditation or concentration practices;
4) stories and legends of gods and teachers which serve as examples and esoteric sources of “how to” information;
5) a concept of the human being as one who has potential access to divine energies.

Forms of Hindu and Buddhist Yoga, Chinese Qigong and Taoism, as well as many forms of martial arts, all make use of such components. It is my contention that ancient Hawaiians were once in possession of a tradition equal in sophistication and complexity to any of those above, which are largely still intact.

Breath: Hawaiian spirituality emphasizes the power of ha, the breath of life, for chanting and to lift pule (prayer) to the gods. Aloha (alo-face to face, ha-breath of life) is the ideal foundation of Hawaiian relationship. Breath is exchanged in the Honi (forehead kiss) of Polynesia, and this custom is similar to the breath exchange of the Tantric “kiss,” which also places forehead to forehead. Ha’ole, the Hawaiian word for foreigner, means “without breath” and I have heard it said that Hawaiians were amazed that Christian missionaries did not build up breath power and mana before praying.

Concentration and Meditation: It is not clear to me if such activities were a separate component of a potential esoteric energy tradition. Some Hawaiians cultivated prodigious memories, as in those who were able to memorize and perform chants which were several hours long. Kumu hula and their students also had to have a profound capacity for concentration and memorization of dance sequences and chants. It is possible that the Hawaiians didn’t indulge in meditation or concentration for their own sake, but incorporated these capacities as useful tools or components of other activities. This might be in keeping with the practical way in which “spiritual” activities were seamlessly incorporated into daily life, as well as into more specialized forms of knowledge.

Teaching Stories: The legends of the Mo’o (dragon or lizard) akua and ancestors are another tantalizing hint of an Hawaiian energy tradition, and are an interesting parallel to the Hindu/Buddhist Tantric traditions of kundalini -- the “coiled snake” at the base of the human spine, which represents female (earth) energy and the source of intense spiritual power. In Hawaiian legends and genealogies, the Mo’o are immensely powerful, full of divine mana, and usually female. In the Kumulipo creation myth, the sky god Wakea mates with his half-sister, Papa, to form the Hawaiian islands and their human Mo’o daughter, Ho’ohokuikalani. Papa is a Mo’o “earth goddess,” similar to Shakti-Kundalini in the Tantric tradition, who represents the primordial energy of creation. Wakea, a sky father, is similar to Shiva, who represents the primordial consciousness of the heavens. When Wakea also mates with his daughter, creating Kalo (the taro plant) and Haloa (their human son, and ancestor of all Hawaiians), “these incestuous matings capture the power, the mana, of the earth and sky itself” (Moku’ula: Maui’s Sacred Island, P. Christiaan Klieger, pg. 8). The goal of Tantric practices is to perform a transcendent “marriage” of Shiva and Shakti energy, within the human being, in order to “capture the mana of the earth and sky itself.”

The Mo’o can also stand for the “time dragon,” used to illustrate the connection of family and the progression of life. The eyes are those to come, always looking forward. The front feet are the ‘opio, the children. The makua (parents), kupuna (grandparents), the iwi (bones of the ancestors), and at the very end of the tail (backbone), the aumakua (the spirit of the family) which comprise the “source” (pgs. 27-28, Ho’opono). In this teaching story, the tip of the tail, which corresponds to the end of our human spine, is seen as the “source” of connection with spirit. This is a power story, not just of the importance of the continuity of family, but also it is also another way of teaching the significance of connecting consciousness (looking forward through the eyes) with source (primordial creative energy).

Concept of Human Access to Divine Energy: It is my contention that the imagery of the Mo’o in Hawaiian genealogy and lore has nothing to do with a dim ancestral memory of Indonesian lizards (the current hypothesis) and everything to do with the potential power of the body and spirit of each human being, a legacy bequeathed by the “ancestors” (teachers) who founded Hawai’i.

It is also interesting to note that the Mo’o goddesses are supposed to be rather cruel lovers to human men -- often destroying them or “drowning” them after lovemaking (e.g. the “marriage” of the energies). I believe this is similar to the Tantric tradition which can be summed up as: “Without Shakti, Shiva is a corpse” (consciousness is dead without creative energy).These stories are also similar to the exploits of Tantric Dakinis (“Sky-dancing” messenger women) who can overwhelm Tantric practioners who are not yet prepared to receive their abundant Kundalini energy. These men “die” and must be reborn into a new form of consciousness. Modern psychology has only recently began to understand the grave nature of “spiritual emergencies” that result from premature or spontaneous eruption of Kundalini. Kundalini--The Evolutionary Energy in Man, by Gopi Krishna, with psychological commentary by James Hillman, is a harrowing account of one man’s awakening after several years of meditative practice and the prolonged period of torment which followed until he learned to regulate his energy through the appropriate subtle body channels:

“Sometimes it seemed as if a jet of molten copper, mounting up through the spine, dashed against my crown and fell in a scintillating shower of vast dimensions all around me...
To one uninitiated in the esoteric science of Kundalini, as I was at that time, all that transpired afterwards presented such an abnormal and unnatural appearance that I became extremely nervous about the outcome...There was no remission in the current rising from the seat of Kundalini...”

When we study the Tantra Yoga tradition of Kundalini energy, we encounter references to energy centers in the body called “chakras.” There are many in the body, including those in the palms of the hands and soles of the feet, however most people are familiar with the main seven which roughly correspond with points on the spine and in the skull.

I find it interesting that in the Mo’o “time dragon” legend, the eyes as indicated as the place of the future. Eyes, in a human being, are very close to the sixth Ajna Chakra, and that the entry to Ajna is at the Bruhmadhya point between the eyebrows. The Ajna Chakra is where the “marriage” of Shiva and Shakti is supposed to take place. It is a place of balance, where “solar” and “lunar” energies meet. The end of the dragon’s tail can be said to correspond with the first chakra, Muladhara. The element of Muladhara is earth (Papa!), and it is “the seat of the coiled Kundalini and is the root of all growth and awareness of human divinity” (Chakras--Energy Centers of Transformation, Harish Johari, pg. 94).

Practioners of Huna, a modernized version of some traditional Hawaiian spiritual practices, focus quite a lot on ho’omana (mana gathering), often achieving spectacular results and spiritual growth in their own lives. It seems as if the practices of ho’omana are not as rigorous, and are easier to include naturally in daily life than the numerous precise meditative and physical techniques of Yoga. There may be less danger of spontaneous awakenings of Kundalini in Huna practioners, particularly as mana gathered is always offered to the person’s aumakua.

Another hint is found in the Hawaiian relationship to “rainbows.” Similar to Tantra, some ancient Hawaiians had a tradition of the “rainbow bodies” of certain high beings. “Rainbows are a part of the family. They talk to us” is a statement made and meant to be taken quite literally (Ho’opono, pg. 27). Recently a massage practioner from the mainland returned from a lomilomi intensive on Hawai’i island. She said she was advised to imagine her hand as being made of “rainbows” while touching her clients. Chakras and auras are said to have colors, and for a person who is energetically awakened, may be felt and perceived as rainbow-like in oneself and others.

Movement: Qigong and Healing Tao practices, which come from China, sometimes make use of physical positions that remind me of certain Hula steps or gestures. When one’s knees are bent, and the legs are gently flexed (just as the carvings of Hawaiian gods are standing, with nostrils and mouths flared to take in and exhale the ha breath), the Healing Tao practioner can bring up earth energy through the soles of the feet and palms of the hand (locations of chakras), which are placed in a flattened position, palms down, facing the earth. Energy is drawn up from deep within the earth and drawn into the body to replenish it.

When we dance a Hula with similar gestures, indicating the ‘aina or an ocean shoreline, I wonder if the original intention of the gesture was to draw sacred energy from the earth into the dancer. The Hula gestures for rain seem to invoke a spiritual energy from the sky, drawing it down to shower over us. In one hula, we have tilted our head forward, and raised both arms, palms up, to the heavens. Tilting the head downward and forward is a gesture which opens the Tantric “Mouth of God” at the base of the skull, known as the female counterpart to the “third eye” opening, and as the path for Shiva energy to enter the body from above. When we round our arms in front of us, to indicate an island, this is similar the “hugging the tree” exercise in HealingTao and similar traditions. And pouring out our aloha with gestures starting at the heart and heart chakra also seem to be an eloquent expression of energy to be shared.

Perhaps if we read traditional Hula Kahiko choreography with the understanding and insight of energy practioners we might find deliberate sequences of energy invocation and movement embedded in the dances, similar to cycles of Tai Chi and Quigong movements and of yoga kriyas. This is, of course, speculation at this point. An organized understanding of the kaona (hidden meaning) of gestures that just might prove ot be an esoteric energetic component of Hula is possibly one of those things that was lost during the long repression of the dance and the culture. But with the entire culture’s grounding in the concept of mana, I would not be surprised if these suppositions about Hula were someday proved to be on the right track.

In conclusion, I want to offer a brief story about why mana is important to me. I have experienced the mana of the ‘aina directly, as healing energy, during a time when I was extremely ill and fatigued due to several years of occupationally caused environmental illness (Maui, 2000). The experience of being well again was accompanied by a profound spiritual epiphany and sense of homecoming. Once back on the mainland, I was lucky enough to stumble upon Fundamentals of Hawaiian Mysticism by Charlotte Berney. Her directions for “mana gathering” enabled me to continue my recovery, even without direct daily contact with the energy of the islands. At first, I could only do breathing exercises laying down, because my fatigue was that pronounced. Beginning a study of Hula also aided my recovery. My first visit (and subsequent visits) to Hawai’i island strengthened my connection to the ‘aina and the culture. My body continued to strengthen as well. Then, in the fall of 2001, I had a spontaneous Kundalini awakening which was pretty dreadful in many ways. A study of Ho’oponopono helped me to navigate this overwhelming experience and to finally understand it. Ho’oponopono also enabled me to free myself of the toxic accumulation of anger that had accompanied my illness -- the anger was due to my frustration at being constant ly exposed to toxic chemicals. Release enabled mana to flow more freely, again aiding my recovery. My current Tantra studies arise from an effort to be more conscious of the effects and workings of mana (one form of which is Kundalini).

I am convinced that working with mana is a key component to human recovery from illness and planetary recovery from environmental degradation. Our mana is what enables us to connect fully with spirit and that which is pono. It can help us do “anything.”
***Pau for now***

There are times, relived again

2006-05-04T12:23:00.000-07:00

There are times when I feel myself standing in spirit on the edge of Kealakekua Bay, on Hawai'i island. The slippery rocks are vividly present to the soles of my feet. I can feel the intensity of that place, the quality it holds as a historical and cultural pivot. The mana of it... and deep sadness... I haven't actually been where I feel myself standing. Not this time, anyhow.

There are times when I relive, again, the visions of the two cloud images that formed above me after chanting at Ahu 'Ena heiau in Kailua-Kona on two occasions. Ahu 'Ena was once known for cloud omens, but I didn't know it at the time. But I was rocked by the pictorial clarity of what appeared in the sky, conveying reassurance...

There are times when I feel what it was like to suddenly be "light as a feather" again, dancing over the lava in the middle of Hawai'i moku, just outside the borders of the Pohakuloa military area, on our way to Ahu a 'Umi heiau. This took place during a sixty mile long huaka'i in August, 2004. I must have gone on this way for a mile or two, skimming lightly, gleefully, over the rock tips, while everyone else was crunching along in their boots, wondering how I could be so crazy! Truly, this lightness in walking and travelling over her land was a gift given to me by the ruling spirit of the 'aina. I can scarcely believe I deserve it, but mahalo, mahalo...

There are times when I do feel the "will o the wisp" nature of this current body, and understand that the kind of rootedness of na kanaka maoli is almost incomprehensible to people of my kind and culture. And yet it is something that I yearn for--the connection of hands plunged deeply into a warm red soil, washed by salty water, dried under the heat and breeze of high clouds. But I am in exile, prodigal, slowly working my way back... I'm only allowed brief glimpses of home, a tantalizing taste. Unlike others who blithely migrate from the mainland and settle, I don't think I'll get to live there again this time around. I had a little time there once, to call it home--small kid time, in Waikiki--but that might be all that is granted to me now.

There are times when I feel again that sudden leap into space--suspended in full consciousness, gravity summoned--"what have I done?" Great bitterness, impetuousness, overwhelming grief, anger, even jealousy, so much turmoil, all vanished in the sudden shock of an action which could not be recalled. And there were no more choices. There was only disbelief. And only one result.

Lele from the wrong place, and you'll lose the way back. I've learned that much. And certain people have a memory buried in their bones. This hurt them. They are right to draw back.

And so my spirit wanders, making do in an alien land.

The Orb Web

2006-04-21T06:08:00.000-07:00

Note: I wrote this essay a couple of years ago as a beginning chapter for a book of essays on encountering Hawaiian culture. The name "spider dance" was given to me (via inspiration and spirit) for this collection of essays. In Hawaiian, the phrase is "hula pe'epe'emakawalu" -- dance of the eight eyes. There are references here to Huna practices, as well as Ho'oponopono.

I might choose to write this essay a little differently now, as I've gained a little more understanding of myself and the processes involved, and will probably revise eventually. But for now, it'll do!
------------
The Orb Web

“A noiseless patient spider,
I mark’d where on a little promontory it stood isolated,
Mark’d how to explore the vacant vast surrounding,
It launch’d forth filament, filament, filament, out of itself,
Ever unreeling them, ever tirelessly speeding them.

And you O my soul where you stand
Surrounded, detached, in measureless oceans of space,
Ceaselessly musing, venturing, throwing, seeking the spheres to connect them,
Till the bridge you will need be form’d, till the ductile anchor hold,
Till the gossamer thread you fling catch somewhere, O my soul.””
(Walt Whitman, “A Noiseless Patient Spider)

I don’t much care for spiders, but I do like the look of their webs.

The orb webs I admire are made of two kinds of strands--those which are sticky, and those which are not. The spider’s spinneret produces two kinds of silk and the spider precisely controls the placement of these strands: the radiating foundation of the web is not sticky and it must be the first laid down; the spirally wound cobwebs forming the second stage are the sticky threads and the spider knows to avoid them. The spider’s body responds to the making and design of its web. There is a call and response between the creature and the act of creating its own environment. But the webs do not last and the spider is always making another. The instinctive blueprint of the web, however, always exists. It is itself woven into and woven out of the substance of the spider’s body.

I believe we also have a blueprint, and spin and travel a web.

In the Hawaiian ‘olelo (language) we find the word aka. It means shadow but can also indicate a faint glimmer or shining reflection. It is also a word for the essense of an offering to the gods, the spiritual component of what can be consumed by them. Aka is even, to quote the Hawaiian Dictionary compiled by Mary Kawena Pukui and Samuel H. Elbert, “the embryo at the moment of conception.”

In the modern tradition called Huna, adapted in part from foriegn interpretations of Hawaiian spiritual practices and concepts, aka has taken the meaning of sticky ties that bind, ties of emotion and kharma. Huna lore speaks of the “aka web” and “aka cords.” In this case, aka refers to our unseen attachments to relationships.

Ho ‘oponopono is the Hawaiian tradition of family conflict resolution. I have studied a modernized variation that was developed by the late healer, Kahuna Lapa’au Morrnah Simeona. It begins with an affirmation of harmony within the self which then enables a harmonious connection with the “Divine Creator”(however you may picture him, her or it). The next step is to extend forgiveness -- and request it! -- in order to resolve conflict and guilt. This exchange of forgiveness helps cleanse the “aka cords” and loosens kharmic snarls. Morrnah Simeona’s version is designed for daily use. Over time, it can peel away the encrusted guilt and anger of a lifetime. I have been using this method for almost a year, and am still a beginner, but I can testify to its effectiveness, in matters large and small.

Though I now regularly cleanse and sever those sticky little aka cords, I sense another connective and unifying force that cannot be broken. If the spirally sticky cobwebs are “aka,” what forms the enduring, radiating foundation threads? And what of our own blueprint for webmaking? Of what energy is it made? Pure light, pure love, pure aloha?
Using these multiple meanings of aka, I understand my existence as a mixture of shadow and light, a reflection of spiritual origin. Perhaps our sudden spiritual embodiment within the embryo (ta da!) is itself a sort offering to the gods. I’d like to think that in our bodies and our souls we also, like the spider, contain the secret of living without sticking. Could navigation of our own self-created environment be--if we let it--no less nimble than a spider’s? And perhaps in order to navigate the web, we also need the human equivalent of the spider’s eight eyes...maka walu....to view the jewels at each intersection of Indra’s net. Such things are, in any case, a foundation for my thoughts, mymana’o (and this word, like most Hawaiian words, is rich in meaning). All that I have written here forms part of the premise of the book, which I will struggle to express as clearly as I can.

Another premise is that of kahea, of call and response. Epiphanies are always sudden, never expected. I’ve had three. Each one changed my life. But my latest and greatest occurred less than three years ago, during a long weekend visit to Maui, and this epiphany revealed (but did not define) a compelling spiritual connection to the Hawaiian islands, Hawaiian people and culture. I’m haole by birth, but Hawai’i nei was calling. I had no choice. I responded instinctively, emotionally, unreservedly. One result of all this seems to be a sense of duty and responsibility. What this means is not always clear, but I make daily efforts to understand my kuleana to Hawai’i, the source of my healing. And though again I have no choice, this feeling of duty is not oppressive. I only feel joy.

I had gone to Maui with trepidation. I had been suffering from multiple chemical sensitivity, a form of environmental illness, for several years, and did not know if I could risk exposure to numerous toxins I would encounter during the flight, in the hotel room or even around the pool. I was therefore surprised to find that I felt great in Maui. I had more energy. I felt almost normal. I loved the feel of the ocean, air and land at Wailea. These things seemed vibrantly alive to me. Best of all, I had an unmistakable sense of homecoming.

On my last morning in Maui, I felt a strong urge to swim into the ocean wearing the orchid lei I’d been given on my arrival. I wanted to duck under the water and let the waves carry the lei away. I felt extremely happy as I did this. Over a year later I read about a similar finale to traditional Hawaiian healing practices. I wondered how I knew to do this.

Once back in San Francisco, I began to have a series of odd experiences: lucid dreams which were healing or instructional or charged with power, omens, visions in waking mediation, and other things. Though deeply resonant in each instance, these things appeared at first to be random experiences, unconnected except that they involved Hawai’i. The first experience happened even before I had a chance to begin my all-consuming homesick search for “anything” Hawaiian back on the mainland.

The day after we returned from Maui, I tried to resume my (not always successful) daily Anthroposophical meditation practice. The moment I began, I had a vision of being pulled with great momentum from a volcanic caldera. I was swept down the side of a mountain, and, lava-like, plunged into the sea. Then I found myself in a dark place, dimly lit, inhabited by several figures with distorted faces and large mouths. They seemed large and I felt small. They were sitting in a circle. They looked at me. There was no menace. Only a deep seriousness emanated from them. I had the feeling that I’d stumbled (hapless mortal!) into their realm. They regarded me. I felt a sort of “sorry if I don't belong here” sensation. Then the vision ended. Perhaps subconscious memories of pop culture “tiki gods” could have provided the faces -- some readers may want to put forward this view -- but I did not know then that Pele, the “volcano goddess,” was often called “the woman of the pit” or that others said to be with her were “the people of the pit.” Those references came later in my reading. In any case, this was certainly an unprecedented but profound experience for me.

Til then, my exposure to Hawaiian culture was minimal. I did not have much in the way of subconscious Hawaiian lore to provide fodder for the inexplicable experiences which were to come. What little I did “know” was based on the following:

• Three months spent living in Waikiki when I was four years old. This time that I loved so much, and my later “exile,” did make a deep impression on me. But these impressions are mostly of sun, water, palm trees, island life and a jellyfish sting on my left leg (I still have a faint scar.) Oh, and a song, “China Nights.” That’s about it.

• A public television documentary on the illegal overthrow of the Hawaiian monarchy in 1893 (and the machinations of the American ambassador and businessmen who engineered it).

• An irresistable desire to view the Hawaiian voyaging canoe that came to San Francisco Bay. As soon as I read about its visit in the newspaper, I felt I had to be there. Though I arrived too late to see it sail under the Golden Gate Bridge, I did go to the Aloha Festival at the Marina which celebrated its arrival. A few days later I went to view the canoe at the Maritime Museum. I remember the intense feeling of longing I had, leaning over the railing that separated me from the canoe and the people on it. Years later I would meet someone who would become a very important person in my life. I would discover that he had helped construct part of this canoe, and that his name was carved on the "manu."

•An exhibit on Hawaiian culture at the California Academy of the Sciences. I mostly remember string games and fishhooks.

• Two slack key recordings by Keola Beamer, who had played at the Aloha Festival. I purchased one there. While expecting my second child I would cry whenever I heard the song, “Wooden boat.” (Pregnancies can get a little strange...)

• A cassette of ancient chants peformed by George Naope, purchased at the hotel on Maui.

The odd experiences I referred to will thread through this book. Through reading I would find, always after the fact, that my odd experiences were in keeping with authentic Hawaiian practices and certainties.

Books authored or co-authored by Mary Kawena Pukui (such as Polynesian Family Systems in Ka’u, Hawai’i) were especially helpful as Pukui made it a point to acknowledge and validate what she termed the “pyschic” side of Hawaiian life in her research and work. The two volume series, A Hawaiian Nation, by Michael Kioni Dudley, are also seminal guides. Volume I, Man, Gods and Nature and volume II, A Call for Hawaiian Sovereignty, could easily serve as required reading for visitors and residents alike. And Herb Kane, the artist, has produced several books that are beautifully illustrated, well researched, and extremely informative, including one on Pele.

Since mainstream American culture pays scant attention to the sorts of things I was experiencing, or may even consider them to be harbingers of mental illness, it was reassuring to find in these books a culture that acknowledges intuitive messages as an essential, normal part of life. But I still had many questions. I’ve never been particularly “new age” but obviously I was tapping into something. My questions were simple: what, how, and why?

Eventually I found that these dreams and omens served as navigational markers for an even more uncanny situation that culminated in a true “dark night of the soul.” That’s a phrase that’s lightly bandied about these days and I have no idea who coined it, but oh my, it certainly was something else! As I struggled for understanding and resolution, the crisis finally revealed--in a sort of gestalt--what I can only view now as an emotional fragment of a previous incarnation. That’s my working hypothesis. Other people may have other ways of viewing it. But with revelation came the key to resolution, and after that came peace. Life is pono once again. I lived to tell the tale, but not without help at key moments. Not everyone is going to like this story once I get into it. It’s going to sound absurd to some. Still, the only thing I can do with these experiences is to keep faith with them, no matter how crazy that seems. Thanks to them, I am happier and healthier than I’ve been in years. Go figure.

I have mentioned helpful books. Even more important was the help given to me directly by several people, including my family, my kumu hula and my kumu ho’oponopono. More on this later.

Another key point: all these holographic experiences, lucid dreams and other guidance “o ka po” would be wasted on me if I wasn’t trying to actively engage with Hawaiian values. I found many articulated in books and music, embodied in hula class, discussed in the ho’oponopono workshop, and communicated through various email and personal conversations. To approach the Hawaiian people, their ‘aina, their culture and their history in a respectful way, one must make an effort to think, feel and act within these values. This is necessary to ensure that a feeling of spiritual connection to Hawai’i does not turn into a feeling of entitlement. And I have to steep myself in these values in order to correctly understand my own story.

On a larger scale, the ecological, cultural, social and economic destruction of Hawai’i is directly related to contrary values in the usurping culture and government. I am not the first person to say this and I certainly will not be the last. These values are among the foundation strands of this web of a book.

I’ve quoted Walt Whitman. Let me take caution from another poet, Robert Graves:

“There’s a cool web of language winds us in,
Retreat from too much joy or too much fear...”

I must dance upon this web even as I make it. Let it remain untangled and vibrant. Let me not strangle the miracle with more words than I need. I must dance within this story even as I write it. This is the spider’s dance.

Hula pe’epe’emakawalu.

All pau for now...

A Hidden Meaning of the Mo'o Goddesses?

2006-04-16T12:45:00.000-07:00

Note: This brief paper was written as part of an independent study project at my halau hula (the place where I study hula).
The footnotes, unfortunately, have not come through. E kala mai!
------------------

A Hidden Meaning of the Mo’o Goddesses?
A Personal Theory

“Hawaiians believed that all things--’animate and inanimate, objects and creatures’--are interrelated by the all pervading creative force: mana, the divine power of the gods.”
George Hu’eu Sanford Kanahele, Ku Kanaka

Mo’o are the powerful lizard (or dragon) water spirits of Hawai’i. Mo’o inhabit waterfalls, fishponds, even the ocean. In the words of Lilikala Kame'eleihiwa, Ph.D., Director, Center for Hawaiian Studies, University of Hawai'i at Manoa:“Mo’o were greatly feared and revered throughout Polynesia; in Hawai’i they are almost always female.”1 As with most Hawaiian akua (gods), mo’o could appear in various forms, in this case, they were usually either reptilian or human. Some sources say Mo’oinanea is the “matriarch” of mo’o gods and goddesses, including Haumea, Kihanuilulumoku, Waka and others.2 Others give Haumea the matriarchial credit for both mo’o and human lineage: “She lives today in every Hawaiian woman...I too am Haumea and all that Haumea has done, I can do as well.”3

In the Kumulipo myth, a half-brother and sister, Wakea (sky father) and Papa (earth mother), mated and created the Hawaiian islands. Their human daughter was Ho’ohokuikalani.

“The islands’ creation and the daughter’s conception were the first instances of royal incest,
or pi’o. The pi’o mating system was further elaborated in the reproductive actions of father Wakea and daughter Ho’ohokuikalani, who mated and first gave birth to the kalo (taro) plant
and then to a son, Haloa, the founder of the line of ali’i nui and all Hawaiians.
These incestuous matings captured the power, the mana, of the earth and sky itself.
It became desirous for suceeding generations of ali’i nui to replicate this act,
keeping the mana of the creator gods concentrated within this lineage.”
P. Christiann Klieger, Moku’ula, Maui’s Sacred Island

Kihawahine is the famous mo’o goddess of Laihaina. She was born in the sixteenth century as Princess Kihawahine Mokuhinia Kalama’ula Kala’aiheana, the daughter of the great Maui chief, Pi’ilani, and his wife, La’ieloheloheikawai. Kihawahine descended from Mo’oinanea, and had a “double mo’o” lineage through both her parents. After her death she was deified.4 Mary Kawena Pukui says she was “e’epa” (born with a supernatural difference, possibly having psychic powers or a disability) and was said to have died in infancy.5 But according to P. Christiaan Klieger, Kihawahine lived long enough to mate and have a child, Nihoa Kamalama, with Kamalama. King Kalakaua and Queen Lili’uokalani were descendents of Kihawahine through her granddaughter, Maluna.

After death, Kihawahine’s power lasted for centuries. Kamehameha I went to great lengths to associate himself with her descendents, the sacred “akua women:” Keopuolani, Keku’iapoiwa Liliha, and Kalanikauiokikilokalaniakua (Keopuolani’s aunt). Kamehameha knew that any children he would have with Keopuolani would have status above either parent as they would inherit the mana of both Hawai’i and Maui’s most prestigious genealogies.6

“In obtaining these divine women, Kamehameha naturally adopted the mo’o goddess Kihawahine. She became one of his favorite deities. The conqueror had the powerful war god, Kuka’ilimoku as his “land snatcher,” but Kihawahine was one of his “land holders. She represented legitimate authority.”
P. Christiaan Klieger, Moku’ula, Mau’s Sacred Island

Kamehameha I and Keopuolani had three children who survived to adulthood, two sons: Liholiho (Kamehameha II) and Kauikeaoli (Kamehameha III), and a daughter, Nahi’ena’ena. After becoming king, Kauikeaoli ruled for many years from the little island of Moku’ula, located in a freshwater fishpond in Lahaina. This fishpond, Mokuhinia, was Kihawahine’s home. Moku’ula had been the site of Pi’ilani’s palace. Kauikeaoli was making a profound statement in ruling from Moku’ula, aligning himself (as his grandfather before him) with Kihawahine’s authority during the tumultuous, transitional period in which he lived.

A detailed description of the spiritual and political influence wielded by Kihawahine is beyond the scope of this small paper. It is best to read Klieger’s book, which gives a full account of the matter. And it is horrifying to discover that this sacred island and fishpond have been covered over to make a baseball park.

In other myths and legends, mo’o impeded Hi’iaka in her journey to bring prince Lohi’au to her sister Pele. And there are numerous stories of mo’o relationships with human beings, including the inevitable romances: “Mo’o women were dangerous to men because they had an undeniable power of seduction, and after they seduced their human lovers, they often drowned them rather than share them with another woman.”7

The time dragon legend is another meaningful way to view mo’o. In Ho’opono-A Night Rainbow Book, by Pali J. Lee and John K. Willis, this legend describes the mo’o as representing a genealogy: head and eyes are future generations, the front feet are ‘opio, the children. Then the makua (parents) and kupuna (grandparents and elders). Then, ka iwi, the bones of the ancestors, followed (at the end of the tail) by ‘aumakua, the “spirit of the family, the source of all things.”

Lilikala Kame'eleihiwa also writes, “Mo’o could take the body form of a small lizard common to most Pacific islands, or in their divine form could have a lizard body thirty feet long. Since this larger lizard form had no physical or animal representation in Polynesia, the image of the Chinese dragon, or the Papua New Guinea ocean-going alligator might have inspired this image.” 8

But I find it difficult to believe that the significance of Kihawahine and the other mo’o stems from ancient memories of large lizards in remote lands (or, for that matter, from the tiny lizards found on the islands!). I believe that these supposed ancient memories are far too removed from the immediate concerns of Hawaiian life to account for the reverence and tremendous power associated with the mo’o. After all, ancient Hawaiians had a keen appreciation of “mana” and great care was taken to preserve and cultivate the mana of mo’o goddesses through pi’o marriages among the ali’i who were their descendents. I think the origin of the mo’o can be found closer to home.

I respectfully submit this view: that the mo’o actually represent the powers of the secret energy sources of the human body and its relationship to heaven and earth. I believe the Mo’o goddesses are the Hawaiian equivalent of the coiled Kundalini serpent said to reside in the base of the human spine. This is the kaona of the mo’o, who can take either reptillian or human form.

In other words, there is a similarity between the mo’o as progeny of the “marriage of heaven and earth” (Wakea and Papa) and the Tantric and Taoist traditions which describe a bodily “marriage” of heaven and earth (Shiva and Shakti). When the energies of heaven and earth are joined, the powerful Kundalini energy or qi (chi) is aroused and summoned. When achieved through certain spiritual practices, such as breathing and visualization, this “marriage”generated tremendous energy and spiritual insight within the human being. This seems quite similar to powerful mo’o “offspring” resulting from the union of Wakea and Papa.9

In Hawai’i, this primordial energy represented by the mo’o was cultivated and preserved by the kapu system and through brother-sister (pi’o) marriages and other closely related alliances “in imitation of the creative passions of Papa and Wakea.10 ” The descendents of Pi’ilani were particularly careful to cultivate and enhance their inherited mana. But while the cultivation of mana in Hawai’i is most obviously emphasized in matters of mating and lineage, it may be that other cultural practices, such as hula and lua, also had a role in activating and cultivating mana within an individual, and that what remains of “ho’omana” traditions, which also involved the breath, are the tiniest fragments of a spiritual heritage which may once have equaled Hindu and Buddhist Tantra and Chinese Taoism in antiquity and complexity.

It is possible that Tantric and Taoist traditions may have been “picked up” as the Lapita and other pre-Polynesian voyagers moved through Asia and Indonesia. These traditions are very ancient and widespread. It is also possible that the secrets of the human body and spirit, and their relationship to heaven and earth, will always yield a similar “roadmap,” and that the Hawaiians made their discoveries of mana--and how to create and manage it-- independently, based on their legendary powers of observation and spiritual insight.

Finally, on a personal note, three years ago a lucid dream triggered my fascination with the mystery of the mo’o. In this dream I’d just given birth to a tiny, “premature” mo’o. I held it in my hand. It was translucent and I could see its beating heart and vertebrae. As I wondered (in the dream) how I would ever care for such a fragile thing and keep it alive, it suddenly grew in size and enormous power. Startled, I woke up.

But the dream stays with me.

Song for a Forgotten Love Triangle

2006-04-10T17:43:00.000-07:00

I heard the story of this historic "love triangle" from Clarence Kukauakahi Ching, who has made a major contribution to Hawaiian culture by leading efforts to preserve the once forgotten garden of Queen Liliu'okalani, Uluhaimalama, helping to get it designated a historic place. He featured a re-enactment of a historic protest planting of that garden in "The 'Aina Remains," a film he produced and in which he acted in the 80's. This garden is located in Pahoa district of Honolulu and is not the same as the famous "Queen's Garden" elsewhere in the city.

Lizzie Mana was a Native Hawaiian woman, a caretaker of this garden, and a close friend of the Queen. During her imprisonment, the Queen was allowed flowers, but no newspapers. Lizzie was the clever woman who smuggled newspapers to Lili'u, as wrappings for the flowers from her garden. Legend has it that Lizzie obtained the newspapers from the house of her former lover, Judge Whiting. She had three children with the judge, but he never married her. Judge Whiting served in Queen Liliu'okalani's cabinet and later betrayed her by acting against her in the trial that resulted in her imprisonment by the traitors who overthrew her kingdom. The third member of the triangle, John Mana, was a Native Hawaiian man who became Lizzie's husband after she left the Judge.

A very touching example of the strength of the Hawaiian feeling for 'ohana (family) is that Lizzie and John took care of the Judge in the last years of his life. He moved in with them. As the father of Lizzie's children, John must have considered the Judge to be "punalua" to him and therefore bore him no ill will.

In this song below, written by me as one of a series of librettos, I imagine the relationship between Lizzie, the Judge, and John. I imagine the influences of Christianity on the Hawaiians, and of the Hawaiian culture on the hard-headed New England Judge, who must have softened in later years. I also imagine the lure of the "exotic" as it influenced both the Judge and Lizzie in their initial attraction to each other. And I imagine the faithfulness and quiet generosity of John. What follows should not be taken as factual in any sense of the word, but as an artist and writer's attempt to imagine the feelings of these people long ago. E kala mai (apologies) if there is anything in this portrayal which causes offense to any descendents of the people in the song.

---------
LITTLE WIFE
(by Waihili)

LIZZIE (to Judge):

Sometimes you'd call me "little wife,"
How long ago it seems!
And I was lost in loving you,
And the larger world which beckoned to
me, shining in my dreams.

But when I bore your children,
How long ago it seems!
I handed each small babe to you,
You said I should repent with you,
For all our sinful dreams!

JUDGE (to Foriegn Chorus, not meeting Lizzie's eyes):
(different tune) (Foriegn women turn away. Men exchange knowing glances.)

I charmed a native beauty,
and brought her to my bed. Oh yes I called her "little wife,"
But we were never wed!

LIZZIE (to Judge):
(Apologetic glance/gesture to John Mana)

I thought we were to share our lives,
How long ago it seems!
Why did I spurn the boys I knew?
Whatever did I see in you?
And all your foriegn schemes?

JOHN MANA (to Lizzie):
(different tune, but related to Lizzie's)
(Picks a flower, hands to Lizzie)

This flower's all the sweeter,
For having now been plucked.
A cherished lei I'll always wear.
Now I find flowers for your hair,
That shimmers in my dreams!

JUDGE:

I charmed a native beauty,
And beguiled her in bed.
Oh yes we had three children,
But we were never wed!

LIZZIE and JOHN MANA:
(John's tune) (Lizzie puts flower in hair. She and John hold hands.)

This flower's all the sweeter,
For having now been plucked,
A cherished lei we'll always wear,
And we'll find flowers both to share,
To shimmer in our dreams.

(Repeat the last verse in Hawaiian lyrics--which have yet to be written)

Ka Ua Nani o Waimea: A Mele

2006-04-06T11:13:00.000-07:00

One advantage to being haumana hula (a hula student) is the intense exposure to Hawaiian music and chants. The songs are called "mele" and the chants are called "'oli." In a fit of enthusiasm, and as a beginning student of 'olelo Hawai'i (Hawaiian language), I wrote the lyrics to a mele one day, in honor of a damp visit to Waimea on Hawai'i island.

My kumu ukulele (ukulele teacher), Saichi Kawahara, has generously offered to compose the music, but I must clear the lyric composition with my 'olelo kumu first. I have not done this yet, but I will. The reason I submit the uncorrected version here is so that if changes are made, you and I will learn together when I resubmit the corrected version to this blog. I composed it using standard mele phrases and phrasing. At the final verse of most Hawaiian songs, you will have the phrase "ha'ina ia mai ana kapuana" or something similar. This means "tell the story again." Most of the time "ha'ina" is the first line of the last verse, but in this mele I chose to put it at the end. I am not sure why.

This song also has it's share of "kaona," hidden meanings. I will give you a hint about one of them: whenever there is rain or mist in a Hawaiian song, there is lovemaking going on. This association is rooted in mythic traditions: Wakea, the sky father, makes love to Papa, the earth mother, through rain and mist--seeding the land with moisture that enables Papa to express her fertility and bounty.

So, imagine slack key guitar and ukulele instrumentals, and the beautiful voice of a falsetto singer, and perhaps one day this song might be good enough to inspire a hula!
---

Ka Ua Nani o Waimea
(Lyrics by Waihili, music hopefully to be composed by Saichi Kawahara)

Ko’u ka maka o ke kanaka o ka mauna,
Ko’u ka maka o ka hoa o ka ula la’au.
Onaona o ka ‘awapuhi.
O ka ua nani o Waimea.

Akaka wale no kau mai ka ohu,
E lei no au i ke aloha.
I manai kau, i pua ho’i ka’u.
He mai he mana, he mai he ola.

He mai he ola i nui ka ikaika.
I nani i ka ikaika, i nani i ka aloha,
O ka ua o Waimea.
Ha’ina ia mai o ka ua nani.

-----
The Beautiful Rain of Waimea

My eyes rest upon the man of the mountain.
My eyes rest upon the companion of the forest.
Softly fragrant is the ginger,
In the beautiful rain of Waimea.

Clearly one can see through the mist.
I will wear your love as a wreath.
Yours the needle, mine the flowers.
Extend forth the power, extend forth life.

Extend forth life that great be strength,
Beautiful is the strength, beautiful is the love,
Of the rain of Waimea.
Tell the story of the beautiful rain.

The Independence Struggle of Hawai'i

2006-04-05T12:27:00.000-07:00

(I wrote this article, which was originally published Fall, 2005 by Slingshot, an anarchist publication associated with Long Haul in Berkeley, CA.)

Families forced from their homes...live military ordnance left to explode near schools and homes, maiming or killing the occasional civilian...huge Stryker vehicles rolling relentlessly over a fragile landscape as the United States imposes an alien, imperialist government that brings oppression, genocide and ecological destruction to the local population and environment...

Iraq? A’ole! No! These are current conditions in the so-called “state” of Hawai’i. Visitors to Hawai’i, and those who settle there from the mainland, often remain blissfully unaware of the true history of this place. Or if they begin to hear a bit about it, consider the American occupation as a “done deal” and go about their business.

The worst public health statistics in the region...the lowest education level...the highest incarceration rate...the most poverty...the most children in foster care...the most people without homes...families and communities torn apart by drugs imported by organized crime...

Typical inhabitants of any American inner city? Nope! They are the original inhabitants of “America’s Vacation Paradise:” they are the “kanaka maoli,” the Native Hawaiians.

A small country with a vibrant spiritual culture forcibly overthrown by a superpower bent on conquest for military and economic reasons...the people forced to assimilate foreign ways contrary to their basic values, denied access to their culture, history and even their language...a Diaspora of exiles...a struggle for de-occupation and the re-establishment of their government and sovereign status...

Tibet in 1959? Guess again. It’s the Kingdom of Hawai’i, which was a modern constitutional monarchy and declared neutral nation engaged in treaty relationships with over fifty other countries — violently seized in 1893; illegally annexed by the United States through a domestic resolution; forced into “statehood” in 1959 in violation of United Nations rules... Given an “apology” for all this by the Clinton administration in 1993...

A bit of history: on January 17, 1893, Queen Lili`uokalani was forced from her throne by American businessmen and business-minded missionary sons, with the help of John L. Stevens, the American Minister to the Hawaiian Kingdom, and the American navy. The overthrow was violent, unjustified, insulting, and in complete violation of international law. U.S. President Benjamin Harrison apparently gave unofficial encouragement to the conspirators in 1892 and after the overthrow he presented their annexation petition to the U.S. Senate. But incoming President Grover Cleveland was appalled. He withdrew the petition before the Senate could act, called for an investigation, and issued a powerful statement to reinstate the queen and the rightful government. But the treasonous provisional government refused to comply. President Cleveland was also opposed by powerful interests within the United States who were loathe to part with their juicy prize.

In 1897, approximately 21,000 Hawaiians — more than half the adult Hawaiian population — signed and presented a petition protesting annexation to the United States. Congress ignored them. Despite the petition evidence to the contrary, it was far more lucrative for Congress to accept the assurances of missionary lobbyists who claimed the Hawaiians were eager for annexation.

This “Ku’e Petition” of resistance to annexation — 556 pages long, and possibly one of the most significant documents of protest in American, as well as Hawaiian, history — was buried deeply in the U.S. National Archives until it was found by Noenoe Silva in 1998, over a hundred years later. The discovery of the petition, and the exhibition of this document by the Bishop Museum in Honolulu, had an enormous impact on the kanaka maoli, who searched the pages eagerly for the names of their grandparents and great-grandparents. As Silva puts it, “The petition, inscribed with the names of everyone’s kupuna, gave people permission from their ancestors to participate in the quest for national sovereignty. More important, it affirmed for them that their kupuna had not stood by idly, apathetically, while their nation was taken from them.”

No, the kupuna (ancestors) of today’s kanaka maoli had hardly stood by apathetically. But as the “provisional government” (formed by the traitors and foreign businessmen who had deposed their queen) outlawed kanaka maoli gatherings, the Hawaiians were forced to create subtle yet profound forms of protest. “Kaona,” a tradition of multiple and secret meanings in Hawaiian chants and poetry, became a necessary component of many underground activities.

The story of the planting of the Queen’s garden at Uluhaimalama, on Oct. 11, 1894 is a perfect example. The Queen wanted to convey to her people that she was still strong and thinking only of them. Her nobles wanted to declare their continued allegiance. Queen Lili’uokalani declared that one of her gardens (near Punchbowl Crater in Honolulu) would be planted to provide flowers for funerals and other occasions. Kanaka maoli wore ribbons on their hats and clothing that morning, decorated with the word “Uluhaimalama,” and there was an expectant air of celebration in the town. The ceremony was organized to look like a typical garden party, consisting mostly of beautifully dressed, high status and ali’i (noble) Hawaiian women and a few of the ali’i men.

Police looked on, but as they didn’t “see” anything out of the ordinary, they suffered the event to proceed. In the garden, chants were offered with each planting, each chant affirming the strong feelings of the people there. It was a profoundly complex occasion — interwoven with invocations to spiritual powers and kupuna both dead and alive, with sacred plants affirming their connection to the ‘aina and their dedication to their beloved queen and country. In short, it was an affirmation of what we might call “Hawaiian-ness” at the deepest levels.

Eventually, as the true history of Hawai’i and its culture was repressed under U.S. rule, the planting at Uluhaimalama was forgotten, and the rooted power of its symbolism remained underground. But in 1994 the garden was the site of a commemorative re-enactment of the planting and designation as a historic place, and now various dedicated individuals and families tend the garden once more and people are again inspired by its story.

The above story was first told to me by Clarence Kukauakahi Ching, who grew up in the neighborhood of the garden, and who was one of the key people to gain recognition for this historic place. My account is based on his material and on the filmed re-enactment of the garden protest in his independent film, The ‘Aina Remains.

In order to understand Hawaiian sovereignty and kanaka maoli issues at all, it is necessary to do all you can to imagine and empathize with a depth of connection to both land and ancestors, and respect for elders, that is inconceivable to those of us who have been shaped by the superficial, mainland, western consumer culture and values of the United States and other industrialized nations. Still, you must try to imagine this connection and understand the force of it. This is at the heart of the people and the culture, and it shapes resistance activities.

Now, not every Native Hawaiian or part-Hawaiian is a sovereignty activist working toward restoration of the kingdom. Many have adjusted to colonization and consider themselves Americans. At most, they may be supporters of the dangerous Akaka bill, thinking to preserve Hawaiian “entitlements” through a federal recognition process that will turn them into the equivalent of American Indians.

But there are many others who recognize the bill for what it is — a way to finalize the land grab of the Kingdom and take title of contested kanaka maoli lands once and for all — and who are vigorously opposed to the bill. They do not consider themselves “American” and continue to insist upon being recognized as subjects of the Kingdom. As one man put it to me, when I asked him about his livelihood, “I work for the Queen.” In other words, he has devoted the rest of his life to the restoration of his country. He is not alone.

It is easy for people from the mainland to consider the American occupation as a “done deal” and go about their business, which usually involves accumulating more real estate at inflated prices (but with questionable title) which then generate higher property taxes on their properties, which then affect adjoining properties and communities, and which are then impossible for the old families, the kanaka maoli, to pay. Thus, the high rate of homelessness among kanaka maoli families. Then the families who are homeless camp, for example, on a beach. They are then driven even from this refuge, from land which has been home to them for generations.

And so, with the bulldozers of development turning up and demolishing the beloved bones of the ancestors (literally), and with the many, many other types of devastating atrocities visited upon the kanaka maoli and pushing them to the wall, we now see what we mainland types recognize as a “protest:” people in large groups with signs, people shouting, people engaged in non-violent resistance, people arrested... Or rather, we would see this, if the mainland media ever gave coverage to the situation in Hawai’i. But we don’t.

This last August, the San Francisco Chronicle did surprise us all by publishing an op ed piece by two Kamehameha Schools graduates protesting the recent Ninth Circuit Court ruling against the school’s admission policies. (For background, please see www.justiceforhawaiians.net. This issue alone is too complex to cover in this article.) And the Chronicle also published a brief article about the protest march which was to take place in San Francisco. But it was too much to expect a follow-up article or photo the next day — there were no published images of thousands of people wearing red “Ku I Ka Pono” (Justice for Hawaiians) t shirts, amassed in United Nations Plaza. It was a beautiful sight, but apparently too powerful for the Chronicle’s Pacific Rim readers. It apparently conflicted too strongly with the accepted image of the Hawaiian people.

The image of “happy Hawaiians” offering orchid lei and filled with boundless aloha, welcoming all visitors to their beautiful islands, are a staple of the tourist industry and of the political machinery behind the occupation of the islands. This image fuels the cruise ships, whose fuels in turn destroy the fragile coral reefs. This image allows the creation of herbicide-laden golf course turf to be cultivated on sacred lands. This image allows us to feel good about introducing invasive plant and animal species, which destroy native organisms. Within just a few short years, the Hawaiian islands have become the GMO research capital of the world — without the consent or desire of any of the kanaka maoli whose small farms are jeopardized by this new development.

Real life “Happy Hawaiians” join the military, to get an education, and are sent at whim to other lands to obliterate other colonized peoples. Real life “Happy Hawaiians” fill the prisons after succumbing to crime in despair, and are often shipped far away from their families, their only source of stability and love. But we still demand endless “aloha” from the colonized, and we depend upon their silence as we, representatives of an occupying foreign power, destroy their beloved ‘aina and culture in a hundred, thousand thoughtless ways.

This is a cruel joke to play on a people who really do believe in the transformational, everyday power of love and the goodness of humanity. Their culture is imbued with this principle, but it is part of an even more vital principle: “pono:” what is good, right, just, balanced, appropriate. Our ignorance of their plight and our insistence on perpetual “aloha” — without the corresponding value of “pono” — is an ironic psychic, political and physical atrocity inflicted on some of the most hospitable people on Earth.

(Portions of this article were from an article I co-wrote in 2004, “America’s Tibet,” with activists Clarence Kukauakahi Ching and David Ingham. It was published in Hawai’i Island Journal in April that year. The entire article may be found in the archives of www.stopakaka.com.)

Pau.

Ku I Ka Pono--Stand Up for Justice

2006-04-05T09:22:00.000-07:00

Imua! Fast forward from the staggering epiphanies of December 2000, through the ups and downs of learning about the culture, pausing here to note an attempt to speak my heart in August 2004. Maui's prodigal daughter, emboldened by her gratitude and passion, steps on stage and behind a podium to support justice for Hawaiian people... "I ku mau mau!"

A stream of red shirts flowed from San Francisco's United Nations Plaza, to swarm across Market Street and over several blocks of the city. This was in August, 2005, and this unprecedented march of over 3,000 na kanaka maoli ("native Hawaiians") and supporters had been triggered by an attack on the policies of the Kamehameha Schools, which was endowed primarily to educate kanaka maoli children. This is a case still making its way through the Court of Appeals.

Demonstrations and marches had already been held in Honolulu and elsewhere in the islands, and our mainland march was a rare coalition of various factions of our local Hawaiian/Hawaiian culture community. There were pro-independence activists rubbing elbows with federal recognition supporters. There were many, many hula dancers and halau (hula schools) represented. Our chanting was led by kumu hula, Kawika Alfiche, and others. The Kapalakiko Hawaiian Band, led by Saichi Kawahara, played music. Noelani Jai, who organized the march, led us in a pule (prayer) and many notable speakers, including the famous navigator Nainoa Thompson, implored us to fight on for justice, but to do it gracefully and with aloha.

I was not a "notable speaker" --quite the contrary!-- but I spoke from the stage nevertheless, to represent non-Hawaiian supporters. My life has been (and still is) profoundly influenced by two alumni of the Kamehameha Schools, and I chose to speak about them and their impact. I felt it was right to thank them in that context for all they and other graduates have done in opening up the culture to me. So, as a non-Hawaiian student of the culture, I invoked the names of my two mentors: Clarence Kukauakahi Ching, an independence activist and cultural practioner, and Ramsay Taum, my ho'oponopono kumu (who is also an independence activist and cultural practioner). I heard later that some people did not think it was right for me to use their names, but I was sincerely trying to make a point about their leadership and aloha and the incredible impact these two people have had on my life. As a non-Hawaiian who studies hula and other aspects of the culture, I am honored everytime someone shares their 'ike (knowledge) and mana'o (thoughts) with me. And I feel a kuleana (responsibility) to give back. Standing up like this, in front of that mass of red shirts, seemed to be my kuleana at that point in time. As always, I made mistakes--particularly a glaring protocol mistake in making an offering--and I was slightly less than eloquent in my speech. I was scared.

Still, I would not have changed the doing of it. Without mistakes, I'll never learn. Without mistakes, I might forget humility and gratitude, a common failing in people of my birth culture.

'O Waihili ko'u inoa.
My name is Waihili.

Floating the Lei on Joyful Waters

2006-04-04T21:34:00.000-07:00

On the final day of a brief but extraordinary visit to Maui at the end of 2000, I swam under the waves and floated the orchid lei from around my neck into the sea, giving back to Wailea the most beautiful thing in my possession. I'd spent the last few days in a state of almost holographic communion with sand, breezes, light, water, plants, and birdsong. The hotel and grounds were almost incidental to the experience--in fact, the hotel and grounds, though lovely, were all wrong. It was that black sand in the hotel ashtrays, pressed into and embossed with the hotel logo, that really got me. I hated the feeling of the crushed lava confined to a corporate shape... for some reason, this drove me nuts.

So there I was, just another mainland tourist, and yet everything was speaking to me. Speaking to me as if I should know the language and could naturally return the greeting with fluency. Speaking to me as if I had just come home. And so it made sense that I should view the forced "branding" of precious lava with something akin to horror.

I was in Maui with my family, part of a very special group of about 350 contractors, construction workers and family members, who were there--all expenses paid--as guests of a very wealthy family. Because we were living examples of an extraordinary story of generosity, treated and thanked by the wealthy family for all our hard work on their palatial family estate, we had a certain acceptance from the locals at the hotel. They were all in on the story. Our fortunate group, flown on the magic carpet of chartered aircraft, was mainly comprised of people who would never, ever, be able to afford three nights and four days at that hotel, or any other, in Maui. We appealed to them as ordinary people caught up in a miracle. And so they talked to us, and were friendly--perhaps more friendly than usual. And a certain woman who worked at the buffet began talking with me, and she began to open up her culture in the course of our conversations.

Through her, I learned about the Protect Kaho'olawe 'Ohana--the group of people who were working to reclaim this sacred island from decades of abuse by the U.S. government, which had bombed the hell out of it over and over again. The island was littered with unexploded ordnance, in spite of military promises to clean it up. It was an ecological disaster area, but the 'Ohana was healing it with deep love and diligence. I could see this island from the shore, and the large reef which accompanied it. Seeing another island like that, from the one where I stood, was for some reason extremely moving to me.

Through her, I glimpsed some of the reverence she held for Haleakala. Through her I learned about the "loving touch" (lomilomi) that her family gave to her sister, who suffered from a painful skin condition. Through her, I was encouraged to begin discovering the intricacies of the native Hawaiian culture for myself.

Actually, I had no choice about "discovering the culture." First of all, I was having a spiritual epiphany on Maui, and even a profound sense of homecoming beyond anything I'd ever felt. Secondly, I was also having a spontaneous physical healing. I'd been afraid to make the trip, actually, but it was too magical an opportunity to pass up. I had been very ill for several years with multiple chemical sensitivities. Very small amounts of ordinary substances such as sunscreen or sterno fumes could have a huge impact on my health, and poolside and at the buffet tables, there was an abundance of both. However, contrary to my expectations, on Maui I felt great! I had more energy than I'd had in years. It was incredible to experience healing from environmental illness. I had no idea it was even possible. So put the power of the epiphany/homecoming together with the gift of physical healing, and what you get--back on the mainland--is a woman obsessed (but more on that later).

When I floated my orchid lei on the waters, I was, without knowing it, performing a traditional action, a final step in a Hawaiian healing ritual. No one told me in words to do it, though perhaps I was guided. At the time, I simply felt it was the natural thing to do, to offer the flowers to the sea, to give thanks.

I was and am profoundly grateful.
'O Waihili ko'u inoa.
My name is Waihili.