The meaning of Hawai'i 🌋🌿
Hawai'i is the gift that keeps on giving, no matter how abused
Hawai’i has not been “Hawaii” for very long, only for a blink in the last industrial epoch of human history. Before that, 2 millennia ago, it was a pristine heavenly realm of elemental gods ruled by birds. It truly was paradise, unexploited, fertile, amazingly wild. Today it boggles the imagination, aching the heart to feel what has been lost.
When the first people arrived, Polynesian ocean voyagers & mystics, the current mythology says there were already little people, menehune, living here, magical, powerful beings living in harmony with Nature and the elements. The islands we know today do not look anything like the untouched wild ecosystem that existed for millions of years before humans arrived.
Forests stretched out all the way up the mountains, grasslands covered every slope, giant flightless birds roamed the land, millions & millions of all types of birds covered mountains sides, in every forest a diversity of evolutionary history we only have remnants of today, only less than 1500 years later. No mosquitos, no wild pigs, no rats had been introduced yet, & no bombing ranges or giant leaking fuel tanks to pollute the watersheds.
Over the millennium, as human population grew & eventually industrial economics & plunder pirated its way on to what they called “Sandwich Islands” (named for some royal white dude, the “Earl” of something or other), deforestation & decimation became the game-plan, as on every other colonized land we currently occupy today. The large birds were all wiped out, the slopes of the giant mountains were cut to make way for cattle, on some of the biggest ranches in the world. Sugar cane to feed the world’s sugar addiction led to sugar barons forcing Native Hawaiians off their lands, ravaging the soils, even overthrowing & imprisoning the Queen in her own palace!
Kanaka Maoli, Native Hawaiians, today are displaced in their own homeland, their history of being occupied, abused & dominated by the US government, military force & industrial fascism (see: Dole overthrow) is still being sidelined & silenced, as the consequences of a century of environmental devastation are manifesting today as disasters (see: Red Hill jet fuel spills). Despite apologies for overthrowing & occupying a sovereign nation, the acknowledgement of bombing to hell one of Hawaiian culture’s most sacred islands (see: Kaho’olawe), today the US Army continues to operate one of its biggest bombing ranges in the middle of the two most sacred volcanoes, Mauna Loa & Mauna Kea, in the heart of some of the most endangered bird habitat on the planet (see: Pohakuloa).
If you are an American who grew up in Hawai’i, who studied Hawaiian language & culture, you confront this question every day, what is the meaning of Hawai’i? What is the context & importance of Royal Hawaiian heritage in the American historical legacy? How is the struggle for Hawaiian recognition & environmental sovereignty factoring in to the resurgence of white supremacy across the country, the “anti-woke” mob-cult of Trump? How deep into the corruption of cultures is one willing to dig, how hard is one willing to expose the true impact of industrial society on the Hawaiian archipelago in the middle of the Pacific?
Not only has the original, millions-year-old volcanic ecosystem given every robust, untouched resource for human dominion of “paradise,” the generations of Royal Hawaiian culture has given its sovereignty, been violently repressed & occupied by military force, now the most militarized state or territory in the current United States of America. Yet Hawaiian culture continues to give “aloha”, spiritual understanding of the natural world, musical harmonies & powerful stories, from Lilo & Stitch to Moana, from Polynesian Voyaging Society to astronomy on Mauna Kea, Hula, SURFING, ukulele music, all adopted from Hawaiian culture, while their islands were being taken advantage of, even being bombed into oblivion.
On the spiritual level, planetarily, Hawai’i holds a very special place. Not only is it mysteriously funneling lava from the core of the planet, in the middle of the biggest ocean, creating the highest mountains on Earth, like cosmic cookie drops, but it affects the entire atmosphere.
When I searched “Hawai’i chakra planet” here’s what Bard AI offered: “Some say that Maui, Hawaii is the heart chakra of the planet. The Haleakalā volcano on Maui has a Schumann resonance of 7.8, which is the same frequency as our hearts. The energy on Maui is said to be feminine and nurturing. Some say that you can feel the unconditional love and abundance on the island. Ancient Hawaiian culture and spirituality revolve around the concept of mana, or life force energy. The islands are believed to be infused with an abundance of mana, creating a sacred space where healing and transformation can occur.”
Ka ʻŌlelo Hawai’i, the Hawaiian language, instills a reality in its speakers based on spirit, relationship, embeddedness in Nature. Once forbidden during the missionary years, today fluent language schools & higher education programs are flourishing, thanks to dedicated cultural practitioners, Hula halaus, & Kumus such as Kaliko Beamer, a British lad who was adopted into a Hawaiian family & now a language professor, who will teach you here:
For me & millions of folks who have visited, explored, fell in love with Hawai’i, this magical outpost in the middle of the ocean is alive with intense elemental energy, in legendary terms what are known as gods. To me, Madame Pele is a real being, as are her sisters Hi’iaka & Poli’ahu, in constant conflict with what humans are doing on her lands.
One of the first rules for living around Kīlauea, Mauna Loa, Mauna Kea, is everything belongs to Madame Pele & her family, we can only occupy it temporarily, be stewards with respect. In the recent years everyone around the world has witnessed the power of molten Earth to reclaim & humble human constructs. This lesson from Hawaiian culture is essential to rescuing our planet from industrial devastation, & everyone could benefit from rekindling a direct relationship with the elemental gods, whatever name you may bestow on them.
famous portrait of Madame Pele by Herb Kawainui Kane
Hōkūleʻa & her crew is on a sailing voyage around the world to share this Polynesian knowledge & inspiration, the Moananuiākea Voyage. Unfortunately, due to tragic events at Hōkūleʻa & crew’s home base, Lahaina, Maui, the former capitol of the Hawaiian Kingdom, Hōkūleʻa must return to Hawai’i to care for their own, to mourn & support the community recovering from the wildfires.
All of the factors mentioned above contributed to the droughts, government mismanagement, distrust, death of vulnerable people, devastation on Maui: Lahaina once was a lush, water-rich garden city, filled with fishponds, streams, breadfruit forest, kalo lo’i, before the sugarcane industry began diverting all the downstream water. The Hawaiian archipelago as an ecosystem has given the pristine, gleaming beauty & richness of her fertility to subsequent waves of humanity for the past 1500 years. What has humanity given back?
Americans would be well served to educate themselves about the history of Hawai’i & American domination of a sovereign Native Hawaiian Kingdom by brute force, which continues to this day. Or would that be too “woke” in context of neo-fascist, far-right politics now ruling Southern states? Ask Hawaiians what they think of our dilemma, they have a great deal of experience & wisdom confronting these issues. Approaching catastrophic levels of collapse, we need to inspire the hearts of our children with hope, magic, “aloha”- the gifts freely given to the world from Hawai’i & Hawaiian culture.
Merrie Monarch Festival, Hilo, Hawai’i Island (photo by me)
A Voyage for Oceans, A Voyage for Earth, 2023 to 2027
PURPOSE
To ignite a movement of 10 million “planetary navigators” who will pursue critical and inspiring “voyages” to ensure a better future for the earth. We do so by developing young leaders and engaging communities around the world while amplifying the vital importance of our oceans, nature, science and indigenous wisdom. PVS and Pacific voyaging leadership are identifying important cultural, educational and environmental sites to visit during the Voyage. Each leg will have a specific purpose and lead to our ultimate goal of connecting Pacific communities for collective action around common challenges and a shared sustainable destiny.
OBJECTIVES
Voyaging Tradition: Perpetuating our voyaging heritage to ensure it is never lost again.
Global Navigators: Activating millions of “planetary navigators” who will pursue critical and inspiring “voyages” to ensure a better future for the earth.
Wa‘a Honua: Bringing millions of learners of all ages with us through our third canoe, to create change and move us toward a healthier ocean and planet.
Our Ocean, Our Home: Exploring and sharing the magnificence of the world’s largest ocean, which breathes life into all of earth’s systems, and amplifying the movement to care for it, because life on earth will not be healthy without a healthy ocean.
https://hokulea.com/moananuiakea/
Change of Sail Plan!
PVS CEO Nainoa Thompson today announced that in the wake of the devastating fires on Maui, Hōkūleʻa will return home from San Diego, California later this year, before continuing on the Moananuiākea circumnavigation of the Pacific.
"The level of hurt thatʻs happening in our home is something I canʻt comprehend, all I know is that we have to come home because of it," said Thompson. He said Lahaina is a "voyaging powerhouse" and "I believe the family is going to need the canoe and the canoe is going to need the family."
Thompson also noted that he has been watching the earthʻs unprecedented weather patterns including the current El Nino phenomenon, a period of unusually warm water in the Pacific Ocean, which has global impact.
"This is the first time that I know of that weʻre having to really make decisions about a really established hot earth plus the heat of El Nino. Add it together and we donʻt know what the risk is gonna be anymore," he said. "The job of the navigator is to protect that canoe and those who sail it and the way to do that is to watch nature, and make decisions on when itʻs time to go and when itʻs not time to go."
How long Hōkūleʻa will be in Hawaiʻi has not yet been determined, but PVS will complete the Moananuiākea Voyage within the original time frame and commitments made to communities around the Pacific will be kept.
Hawai‘i Community Foundation
DONATE TO THE MAUI STRONG FUND
The Maui Strong Fund is providing financial resources to support the immediate and long-term recovery needs for the people and places affected by the devastating Maui wildfires.
Polynesian voyaging canoe Hōkūleʻa arriving in San Francisco Bay, 2023
“Keen observers of natural phenomenon such as the stars, migratory birds, ocean currents, rainbows, and whales, Polynesians crossed over 2,000 miles of ocean in double-hulled canoes called “Waʻa.”
These voyagers were not alone. They also brought along many animals and plants to help sustain them at their new homes: puaʻa (pigs), ʻilio (dogs), and moa (chickens); the roots of kalo (taro) and ʻuala (sweet potato); the seeds and saplings of niu (coconut), maiʻa (banana), ko (sugar cane), and other edible and medicinal plants.
After a time of traveling between the Hawaiian Islands and other islands in the Polynesian Triangle, contact with other islands ended. During the following nearly 500 years, a unique Hawaiian culture was developed.”
Haleakalā National Park, Hawai'i
https://www.nps.gov/hale/learn/historyculture/early-hawaiians.htm
An end to plunder and pillage: how a First Nations nature reserve became a model for the world
“The success of Gwaii Hanaas, the protected area that encompasses nearly half of Haida Gwaii, was by no means a foregone conclusion. Haida Gwaii is an ecosystem set apart: the string of islands, more than 60 miles from the mainland, erupt in a rocky spine with a hilly, thickly forested eastern flank. The frigid waters are among the liveliest in the world. Some of the trees are more than 1,000 years old and there are pockets of hidden forest that might never have felt a human footstep.”
“For centuries, the Haida thrived on Xhaaidlagha Gwaayaai – “the islands at the boundary of the world”. They were seafaring people, harvesting salmon, kelps, herring and clams. They traded with – and raided – other coastal nations, amassing significant wealth. Near the end of the 18th century, they were nearly 30,000 strong, scattered through more than 100 villages.”
Wow, thank you! I learned so much!