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Port of Call |
LAST UPDATE July 12, 2005
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| site design imagesparkle.com |
| May 7, 2005 |
Honolulu, Hawaii – Protecting the Culture of the Po’e Hawai’i |
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| Peace Boat participants board a school bus for the one hour journey that will take them to the Wai’anae valley. |
Hundreds of years ago, the Wai’anae valley in the northern part of O’ahu, Hawai’i was a thriving, self-sufficient valley, providing ample food for the people living both in the valley and on the coast. Taro, known as kalo in the native Hawaiian tongue, was grown on a series of terraces that cascaded down the side of the mountain, taking advantage of the five natural streams flowing down the mountain and through the valley. This agricultural system was a magnificent example of human engineering that peacefully coexisted with the natural environment. Rather than destroying the ecosystem, as many agricultural systems do, the Po’e Hawai’i (Hawaiian people) lived in harmony with their natural surroundings, creating a symbiotic relationship with the land. |
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| An artist’s rendition of what the ancient valley might have looked like. |
With the United States’ invasion of Hawaii in 1893 and the later introduction of the sugar industry, the natural environment of the valley was quickly changed. Water, once considered among the most sacred of resources (the Po’e Hawai’i held water in such regard that improper use was once punishable by death), was diverted away from its natural course and flowed through pipes into the sugar plantations. Over the following years, foreign sugar companies drained the Wai’anae valley of its water and the kalo fields, fallen into disrepair from lack of water, were eventually forgotten. The sugar industry eventually left Hawai’i to pursue better profits in developing countries with lower costs of labor, and left the Wai’anae valley a shadow of its former self. |
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| The Cultural Learning Center at Ka’ala’s hale na’auao (house of learning). |
One group of Peace Boat participants spent a day visiting the Wai’anae valley in order to learn more about the history of the valley and how the people of the area are working to preserve the traditions of the Po’e Hawai’i in the midst of increasing urbanization of the island. From Honolulu, where Peace Boat was docked, the group traveled one hour by bus to the valley and paid a visit to the Cultural Learning Center at Ka’ala. There they were greeted by Butch Detroye, the center’s farm manager, who led them to the center’s hale na’auao (house of learning), a place for people to come to learn about the traditional way of life and bring their own minds, bodies, and spirits together in harmony. In the hale na’auao, participants learned about the history of the center, the work it is undertaking, as well as the problems that the valley and its people are facing today. |
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| Peace Boat participants plant young kalo (taro) plants. |
One day in the early 1970s, a group of youth was hiking in the Wai’anae valley and discovered the overgrown kalo terraces. While they did not understand the importance of their discovery at first, they eventually learned that the area had been an ancient agricultural site and decided to work together to bring the site back into use. Using their hands and simple, inexpensive tools, they cleared the terraces of overgrowth, diverted water back into the area and began the cultivation of kalo once more. In 1978, the Cultural Learning Center at Ka’ala was born as a place where people can go to learn about the old ways of life and work toward creating “a parallel economic and cultural system, based on the traditional values of hard work, cooperation, and respect.” The main focus of the center is on the education of children, but it also routinely welcomes university students and groups for the rehabilitation of alcoholics. |
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| Mr. Butch Detroye, the center’s farm manager, demonstrates the traditional way of making poi (a traditional Hawaiian food) by pounding kalo. |
“The five things we need to survive (water, food, clothing, shelter, and medicine) the valley used to provide them for itself, but now they are shipped in from the mainland. Companies tell us it’s cheaper to ship things in than produce them ourselves. The only thing we still have is water,” Mr. Detroye told participants.“... We believe that most societal problems today come from Hawaiians being removed from their land generations ago. This is because (their culture is) so closely related to the land. The bottom line is that while we are an educational facility, this is a place of healing for everyone.”
After learning about the significance of the kalo plant in Po’e Hawai’i society and traditional methods of cultivation, participants were eager to tour the fields and try their hands at clearing a lo’i kalo (taro paddie) and planting young kalo plants. Taking off their shoes and rolling up their pants, adventurous participants of all ages ventured into the water-filled lo’i kalo to work as the Po’e Hawai’i did hundreds of years ago. With Mount Ka’ala, the oldest and highest peak on O’ahu, as a backdrop, it was easy to imagine what life must have been like for the ancient residents of this beautiful island. |
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| Makaha Elementary School students demonstrate traditional dance at Hoa’ Aina O Makaha’s open house. |
For the second part of the day’s activities, participants traveled to visit another group in the area working to enhance the lives of people in the valley. Hoa’ Aina O Makaha (Land Shared in Friendship) is an area of five acres owned by the Roman Catholic Church that is being used by the local people as a place to support “family and community, self-reliance, and peacemaking.” It was established in 1979 and since then has made significant contributions to the local community. At the center, participants were welcomed by Mr. Poka Laenui, a Hawaiian activist who works closely with the center. He explained more about the differences between the prevailing cultural attitudes of the Po’e Hawai’i and American residents of the island.
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| Corn is one of the many crops grown on Hoa’ Aina O Makaha’s demonstration farm. |
“There are two cultures in Hawai’i,” he told participants. “One of them rules in areas such as education, politics, and the economy. That culture rests on three pillars: domination, individualism, and exclusion (DIE). This is the deep culture that has swept through Hawaii and the system that operates today very closely mirrors that of America. The alternative culture is the one that controls social interactions. It influences the way families and individuals relate with each other. Instead of domination, you have olu’olu, which means not being conflicted with each other, avoiding direct confrontation. The second aspect is an idea of togetherness, not individualism, called lokah. It’s an idea of sharing, caring, and working with each other. The third is called aloha. Instead of exclusion, if you see someone new in a group, you greet them, bring them in, and include them, not exclude. This forms the Hawaiian word “ola”, which represents life. This deep culture a society has ultimately predicts how the society will live or die.”
According to Mr. Laenui, the culture of ola is what Hoa’ Aina O Makaha is trying to keep alive in the children of the community. One of the main projects of Hoa’ Aina O Makaha is a demonstration farm in which children learn the value of working the land together to provide for their own sustenance. The aim of the farming activities provided by the organization is to show children, as well as the community at large, that “small-scale farming and aqua-culture is a feasible and viable economic opportunity.” This is an important contribution, as the area is dealing with difficult societal problems, including low educational levels, unemployment, and a loss of traditional cultural values.
After spending several hours with the people of Hoa’ Aina O Makaha, participants had to return to Peace Boat to begin the trip back to Japan; however, because of the things they experienced on the tour, they felt like they had a deeper understanding of the true culture of Hawaii. “I’ve visited Hawaii several times before today,” one older participant remarked. “There are so many package tours to Hawaii from Japan, and they are very convenient. In those tours, we stay in a resort hotel, visit the beach, and go shopping. I never knew places like this existed before today. I think it’s too bad that most people only see Hawaii through tours. I’m glad I had the opportunity to visit these two places with Peace Boat. I really learned a lot.” |
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