“The Life” Cel eb rating th e a r t s, cu l t u re, a nd s u s t a i n ab i l i t y o f t h e Hawa i i a n Is la nds Hawai‘i Island Edition
March–April 2014 • Malaki–‘Apelila 2014
“The Life” Celebra ting the a r ts, culture, a nd susta ina bilit y of the Hawa iia n Is la nd s
March–April 2014 Malaki–‘Apelila 2014
Art 57 Stories in the Stars Constellations Hawaiian Style By Leilehua Yuen Business 53 Managing with Aloha: ‘Ohana By Rosa Say
Kamehameha Schools Proudly Presents
85 Honoring a Five Year Advertiser with Ke Ola Kona Center of Facial Surgery Culture 21 Ahu‘ena Heiau “Malama i ko kākou ho‘olina”—Preserving our past By Fannie Narte
March 14th – 17th
Sheraton Kona Resort & Spa at Keauhou Bay
KAM EHA MEH A III FREE ConCERt Hawai‘i Lawn
Kapena • Mailani • Mark Yamanaka • Punahele Traditional Hawaiian Music Under the Stars
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Puana Ka IKE LECtuRE by LILy DuDoIt
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Health 40 Healing Plants: Mimosa Bothersome weed has redeeming qualities By Barbara Fahs
Home 13 Then & Now: Hulihe‘e Palace From mansion to museum By Fannie Narte
Land 41 Kalapana Remembered: Reminiscing with Mayor Billy Kenoi about his childhood home before Pele reclaimed it By Denise Laitinen
The Hale • Keauhou Bay
47 Tastefully Sustainable Richard Ha’s Hamakua Springs Country Farm By Barbara Fahs
SPECIaL tRIbutE to LanI KauIKEauouLI
81 The Pineapple A symbol of hospitality By Sonia R. Martinez
KEauhou CanoE CLub RaCE
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35 Crafting the Rhythm of Hula Vea’s Polynesian Gifts By Catherine Tarleton
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75 The Secrets of Generations How slack key guitar grew community and culture By Le‘a Gleason
People 29 Kupuna Talk Story: Kumu Raylene Ha‘alelea Kawaiae‘a Native Hawaiian Cultural Practitioner By Keith Nealy 63 Luana Kawelu Community builder and protector of the Merrie Monarch legacy By Paula Thomas 67 Lighting the Way Honoka‘a People’s Theatre ventures into a new century By John J. Boyle
Spirit 11 Lohe ‘ia ka ‘Oe‘oe Na Kumu Keala Ching
Ka Puana -- Refrain
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90 Petals and Blood By Gavin Harrison
Departments
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Crossword Puzzle Featured Cover Artist: Alaina deHavilland Island Treasures Farmersʻ Markets Hawai‘i Island Happenings Community Kōkua–Volunteer Opportunities Talk Story with an Advertiser
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Advertiser Index
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ACCOMODATIONS Dragonfly Ranch Healing Arts Center and B & B Kīlauea Lodge Shipman House B & B
25 50 27
ACTIVITIES, CULTURE, EVENTS Aloha Performing Arts Co. Big Island Chocolate Festival Dolphin Journeys FairWind Big Island Ocean Guides Hawaii Volcano National Park Tours Hawaii Forest & Trail, Native Bird Tours Puna Music Festival Kamehameha Tribute Concert & Poke Contest Ka‘ū Coffee Festival & Ho‘olaul‘a Ka‘ū Coffee Mill Kohala Zipline Kona Boys Kona Cowboy Lyman Museum & Mission House Palace Theatre Paleaku Peace Garden Soroptimist of Kona Art Benefit
82 10 22 8 84 49 5 4 38 74 70 22 91 26 27 37 32
ART, CRAFTS, JEWELRY Blue Sea Artisans Gallery, LLC Carol Adamson Greenwell Cindy Coats Gallery Cliff Johns Gallery Elements Gallery Fabric & Quilting Delights Firehouse Gallery Harbor Gallery Hawaiian Dolls Hawi Gallery Art & Ukuleles High Fire Hawaii Gallery & Studio Holualoa Ukulele Gallery Images of Hawaii Color Changing Mugs Ipu Kane Gallery Ironwood Custom Framing & Design Jason Wright, Artist Lavender Moon Gallery Living Arts Gallery Kailua Village Artists Galleries Mary Ellen Clagett, Artist Mountain Gold Jewelers Pele’s Glass Creations Pura Vida O‘Kohala Quilt Passions Sassafras Jewelry Showcase Gallery & Beads Simple Elegance Gems Susun Gallery Treasure Island Gallery of the Exotic Trudy’s Island Arts True Hawaii Blue Aprons Wright Gallery
36 19 58 46 71 15 84 51 37 70 26 28 56 71 84 42 46 70 56 18 34 60 71 7 59 46 58 50 60 56 61 72
AUTOMOTIVE Big Island Honda 17 BMW 2 Lex Brodie’s Tire & Service Center 44 Precision Auto Repair 28
BEAUTY, HEALTH, NUTRITION Bailey Vein Institute Clockwork Masseuse Douglas Dierenfield, DDS Frank Snow Yoga Hamakua Hairbrush Co. Hawai‘i Naturopathic Retreat Hawaiian Healing Yoga Island Spirit Healing Center/Day Spa Joan Greco, DDS, Oral & Maxillofacial Surgery Kohana ili Skincare & Waxing Kona Family Health Center Luana Naturals Monica Scheel, MD, Dermatologist Natural Balance Acupuncture, Rolfing & Massage Randy Ressler, DDS Reiki at Klein Chiropractic Swami’s Healing Arts Valerie Cap Vog Relief Herbal Capsules Wave Salon
20 42 14 42 61 36 16 18 25 74 87 36 39 46 64 39 88 86 86 74
BUILDING, CONSTRUCTION, HOME FURNISHINGS Algood Living 59 Aloha Adirondack Chairs 60 Aloha Metal Roofing 44 Bamboo Too 50 Concrete Technologies 14 dlb & Associates 49 Hawaii Water Service Co. 43 Hawaii Electric Light Service 88 Indich Collection Hawaiian Rugs 10 Islandwide Solar 34 Marcus Castaing Fine Furniture 66 Mason Termite 43 Pacific Gunite 68 Plantation Living 24 Pools, Yards & Solar 76 ProVision Solar 43 SlumberWorld 7 Statements 72 Tai Lake Custom Furniture 56 Trans Pacific Design 45 Tropical Living By Design 16 Water Works 34 Yurts of Hawai‘i 68 BUSINESS AND PROFESSIONAL SERVICES Action Business Services 86 Aloha Business Services 14 Entrepreneur’s Source, Kari Waldhaus 52 Executive Networking Center 88 Great American Self Storage 79 Hokukano Bayhouse 48 Homes Group-Hawaii Personalized Home Oversight 45 Kona MacNet 91 myKonaOffice 52 Omnia - Coach, Mentor, Healer 87 Regency Pacific 19 Scott March, Attorney 89 Wainaku Ventures Gathering Place 52
PETS Maika‘i Veterinary Clinic, LLC Keauhou Veterinary Hospital
87 12
REAL ESTATE Abacus Real Estate Appraisal 39 Aloha Kohala Real Estate 31 Coldwell Banker-Daylum Properties 76 Jacob Schneider, RB, Hawaii Beach & Golf Properties 4 Lava Rock Realty 3 Kelly Shaw, RS, Koa Realty 91 Kona Coast Realty 18 Peggy Yuan, 2013 Realtor® of the Year 33 Ro Scarbrough, RS, Hawaii Life Real Estate 52 The Real Estate Book 89 RESTAURANTS AND FOOD Aloha Lehua Café Banyan’s Restaurant & Bar Blue Dragon Restaurant Boogie Woogie Pizza Country Coffee Green Market & Café Holukoa Gardens & Café Ho‘oulu Farmers Market K’s Drive In Keauhou Farmers Market Kenichi Pacific Kona Yogurt Lucy’s Taqueria Pele’s Kitchen Peaberry & Galette Simply Natural South Kona Green Market Sushi Rock Sweet & Savory Treats
64 15 23 64 48 66 28 46 26 78 55 38 27 64 55 66 28 71 66
RETAIL AND GIFTS Aloha Kona Kids 22 Aloha Kona Kids 31 AlohaTeddyBears.com 55 Basically Books 26 Green Chair 66 Hawaii Marine Service 68 Hawaii’s Gift Baskets 89 High Country Farm 66 Hilo Bay Paddler 27 Kadota’s Liquor 26 Kiernan Music 46 Keauhou Shopping Center 54 Keauhou Store 28 Kings’ Shops & Queens’ MarketPlace 92 Kona Commons Shopping Center 30 Mama’s House 84 Paradise Found Boutique 55 Puna Style 64 Rainbow Jo’s 27 South Kona Macadamia Nut Co. 32 Sweet Wind Books & Beads 84 The Spoon Shop 10 Vera’s Treasures & Mall 66 TRAVEL Jet Vacation Travel Agency
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“The Life” Ce leb ra t i n g t h e a r t s, cu l t ure, a n d s u s t a i n ab i l i t y o f t h e Hawa i ia n I sla nds
UA MAU KE EA O KA ‘ĀINA I KA PONO.
The life of the land is perpetuated in righteousness. [Its sustainability depends on doing what is right.] Proclamation by Kona-born King Kamehameha III in 1843. Later adopted as the Hawai‘i state motto.
Publisher, Marketing, Operations Barbara Garcia Bowman, 808.329.1711 x1, Barb@KeOlaMagazine.com
Editor, Art Director
Renée Robinson, 808.329.1711 x2, HIeditor@KeOlaMagazine.com
Advertising Sales, Business Development East North South West
Mary Strong Ed Gibson Mars Cavers Ed Gibson
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Eric Bowman • Keala Ching • WavenDean Fernandes • Fern Gavelek
Ke Ola is printed on recycled paper with soy-based inks. Ke Ola is a member of Hawai‘i Alliance for a Local Economy (HALE), supporting the “Think Local, Buy Local” initiative. Submit online at KeOlaMagazine.com (go to Contact menu) Community Kōkua volunteer opportunities Editorial inquiries or story ideas Request advertising rates
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From Our Readers
✿ Dear Ke Ola, We just spent a month on the B.I. and used a list we made from Ke Ola of things to do, places to go, and merchants to visit. We enjoy every issue and are most happy to renew it. Looking forward to every issue!, Fran O’Reilly Vashon, WA From the Editor: Mahalo Fran, it’s letters like yours that make our day. Thank you for supporting our advertisers.
Ke Ola would like to correct an error in the story about the Big Island Giving Tree and Project Hawai‘i in our Nov–Dec 2013 issue. We inadvertently stated Big Island Giving Tree earned $73,000 the previous year and were targeting $100,000 for 2013. The correct statistic is they served 73 families the previous year and were targeting 100 families in 2013. We hope our error helped them earn $100,000 in 2013, and they reached their goal of serving 100 families. We wish Big Island Giving Tree and Project Hawai‘i the same success in 2014. Also, in the Maureen’s B&B story [Jan/Feb 2014] we incorrectly spelled Maureen’s last name. The correct spelling is Goto.
Aloha from the Publisher
As we were preparing this issue for the printer, we received a touching letter from one of our long time advertisers, David “Kawika” Karl, creator of Pele’s Glass Creations. We never know what kind of impact we have on someone until we hear something like this. Dave writes, “Aloha Barb and Mary, The March/April issue of Ke Ola will be the only issue I can run an advertisement in. My cancer is back with vengeance. With three doctors agreeing, I have been referred to Hospice Hilo, but in a pilot program with HMSA. Hopefully I’ll be able to fire Hospice. I’ve told my doctors that I want quality of life, not quantity. I am a member of Open Arms MCC church in Puna. We are in the process of permits and boring stuff like that to build our new church. I am making a 66” x 23” stained/fused glass window. I will still be doing glass as long as I can, but also I am getting ready to make the transition. I’m still full of love and joy. I won’t let this disease take the gift of laughter away from me. So unfortunately I won’t be able to continue advertising in Ke Ola—unless a miracle happens. :-) I have enjoyed our relationship over the years. I am so glad that I started advertising with Ke Ola. With that advertisement, and the article that was done a few years ago on me [Island Treasures, Jan/Feb 2012], it helped me get into more galleries. It also brought wonderful people who just wanted to see my strange use of stained glass. It has been a WONDERFUL journey (which still continues richly). Aloha & Blessings :-)” Dave Karl Please join us in sending healing thoughts, prayers and love to Dave as he prepares for his next journey.
Oil painting by Alaina deHavilland
See her story on page 77.
Send us your comments, letters, and photos! We take email, snail mail, submissions through our website, or posts on Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter! HIeditor@KeOlaMagazine.com
KeOlaMagazine.com Facebook.com/KeOlaMagazine LinkedIn.com/in/BarbGarcia Twitter.com/KeOlaMagazine
Ke Ola recognizes the use of the ‘okina [‘] or glottal stop, as one of the eight consonants of (modern) Hawaiian language; and the kahakō [ā] or macron (e.g., in place names of Hawai‘i such as Pāhoa). Ke Ola respects the individual use of these markings for names of organizations and businesses.
KeOlaMagazine.com | March/April 2014
Pele, Volcano Deity Goddess of Destruction Goddess of Creation
When we started Ke Ola in 2008, we knew we wanted to provide a means for businesses to create maximum exposure for the lowest possible cost. We also knew we wanted to share inspiring stories about people who make a difference in perpetuating Hawaiian arts, culture, and the sustainability of the people and the land. We just never realized how far this magazine would go in making such a difference in people’s lives. Frankly, I’m in awe after receiving Dave’s letter. We’ve just completed the first year with our Maui County edition and we are getting the same vibe there as we’ve received on Hawai‘i Island for the past five years. We’ve been richly blessed for being allowed to share this with all of you. Mahalo Ke Akua, I’m so grateful. Aloha pumehana, Barbara Garcia, Publisher
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| Na Kumu Keala Ching
‘Ae, Lohe ‘ia ka ‘oe‘oe Wind speaks, it is heard Soft spoken unique words
Aheahe ka leo i lohe ‘ia Eia ko‘u leo, he ‘ūlāleo ē
Gentle voices are heard Here is my voice, a sacred voice indeed
I uka o ka wao, he leo i lohe ‘ia Hihia ka pilina o nā kūpuna ē
Upon the highest, a voice is heard Knowledge remembered of the family
Aheahe ka leo i lohe ‘ia Eia ko‘u leo, he ‘ūlāleo ē
Gentle voices are heard Here is my voice, a sacred voice indeed
alka� Lohe mana‘o kū i ka ‘i‘ini rient‘ia
An ‘oe‘oe firmed upon the living Knowledge is heard deep within
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KeOlaMagazine.com | March/April 2014
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Then & Now: Hulihe‘e Palace From Mansion to Museum |
Makai side of Hulihe‘e Palace (public domain)
KeOlaMagazine.com | March/April 2014
ocated in the center of Historic Kailua Village on Ali‘i Drive and surrounded by water on three sides is a museum called Hulihe‘e Palace. To its north is a small beach called “Niumalu,” where honu (turtles) often visit to feed on the limu (seaweed) found on the rocks. On the south part of the Palace’s property is Kiope Pond where mountain fresh water from the Wai‘aha stream empties and eventually mixes with the salt waters of the Pacific Ocean. In its backyard rests a picturesque ocean view—a photographer’s delight and playground for the imagination. From this vantage point, what did the people see and feel when they looked out into Kailua Bay a hundred, or 200 years ago? Did they feel the gratitude and joy that visitors experience when they watch the majestic sun paint the sky as it meets the horizon at the end of the day? Did they feel enveloped by a sense of serenity and joy as they looked out into the sea? Take a walk through Hulihe‘e to learn its history. Roam the six rooms and see the authentic furnishings and artifacts owned by the people who once lived there. Climb the koa stairs they climbed. Glance out the windows to imagine what they might have seen. Contemplate what their lives were like in this palace more than 170 years ago.
By Fannie Narte
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Construction
The large stone house was originally built for and by John Adams Kuakini, Governor of the island of Hawai‘i. John Kuakini was a cousin of King Kamehameha I and the brother of Queen Ka‘ahumanu, the favorite wife of Kamehameha I. Although little information exists regarding the actual construction of Hulihe‘e, we know that excavation work began in 1837, and a year later, Hulihe‘e was completed. A visiting editor of the Sandwich Island Gazette wrote, in part, “The new stone building is intended for a mansion house. It is two stories in height with a garret above and has a beautiful front with a portico and a spacious yard around it. The inside of the house is splendidly finished off with Koa” (Doyle 10). Hulihe‘e was a “source of great pride to Kuakini” (Doyle 10). For six years, he enjoyed his home and found pleasure in sharing it with his family and visitors. Princess Ruth Ke‘elikōlani (public domain) In 1844, he died at the age of 54.
Princess Ruth’s Hale Pili (public domain) After Kuakini, Hulihe‘e changed ownership seven times and was visited by many dignitaries and foreigners before being acquired by the Daughters of Hawai‘i in 1927. William Pitt Leleiohoku, Kuakini’s adopted son, inherited Hulihe‘e. When William died in 1848, his widow, Princess Ruth Ke‘elikōlani, inherited Hulihe‘e. However, Princess Ruth did not occupy Hulihe‘e as her home. Instead, she built a “substantial grass house behind the palace for herself,” and used Hulihe‘e for entertaining and housing visitors (Doyle 12). Princess Ruth allowed her royal relatives the use of Hulihe‘e during their vacations. Kamehameha IV, Alexander ‘Iolani Liholiho,
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and Queen Emma, who all lived on O‘ahu, visited Hulihe‘e often. It is interesting to note that in 1861, during a stay at Hulihe‘e, Kamehameha IV signed the Proclamation of Neutrality, a document that resulted from reports of a civil war in America. “In 1883, Princess Ruth became ill and returned to the peace of Hulihe‘e” (Doyle 17). Queen Emma and Princess Bernice Pauahi Bishop traveled to Kailua to care for her. However, Princess Ruth died a few hours after their arrival. Princess Pauahi then inherited Hulihe‘e. She died a year later and Hulihe‘e was turned over to her estate.
Kalākaua Renovates Hulihe‘e
In 1885, King David Kalākaua purchased the property from the Bernice Pauahi Bishop estate. King David’s ownership marked the beginning of a period of major renovations for Hulihe‘e. For the next six years, King David enjoyed remodeling and refurbishing Hulihe‘e. Influenced by his world travels, he had the inside of the building and the stone exterior plastered. “He installed telephones, enlarged the ocean lanais, built a large pavilion, relocated and rebuilt the cook house and remodeled the one-story guest house into a two-story bungalow” (Doyle 17). In addition, King David “removed Princess Ruth’s King David Kalākaua (public domain) grass house, demolished a stone storehouse near Kiope Pond and installed a large flag pole on the waterfront. He furnished the house with rugs, paintings, Japanese teacups, Victorian ornaments, and great quantities of china and glassware for entertaining” (Doyle 17). King David enjoyed his “restful place and entertained many dignitaries, including several members of the Austrian royal family” (Del Piano 103).
KeOlaMagazine.com | March/April 2014
View of Mokuaikaua Church from the upper floor (photo by Renée Robinson)
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The Daughters of Hawai‘i Preserve the Palace
Monthly concert (photo by Renée Robinson)
KeOlaMagazine.com | March/April 2014
In 1891, King David died and Queen Kapi‘olani inherited Hulihe‘e. When Kapi‘olani died in 1899, her two nephews, David Kawānanakoa and Jonah Kūhiō Kalaniana‘ole became the new owners. During the next 15 years of ownership, their visits to Hulihe‘e were infrequent. This is probably the period of time that the building began to suffer from neglect. In January 1914, Mrs. Bathsheba Allen purchased Hulihe‘e for a reported $8,600 (Doyle 18). For the first time since it was built, Hulihe‘e was no longer in the hands of the Hawaiian monarchy. Mrs. Allen’s death a month after her purchase left the house empty for the next 10 years.
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Hulihe‘e, once a beautiful estate and home to royalty, had fallen into disrepair. In 1924, “the old Kailua Palace,” came to the attention of the Daughters of Hawai‘i. They began the long process of acquiring the property. Finally, three years later, the Hulihe‘e Palace became the kuleana (responsibility) of the Daughters (Del Piano 106). The Daughters immediately began their work. Renovation and repair plans were made and executed. The grounds were cleaned and replanted. They refurnished and redecorated the Palace through purchases, gifts, and donations from many generous people. Pieces of furniture that were originally in the Palace were returned. Fundraisers were held and special pieces of furniture were purchased with the proceeds. “Members of the Daughters and Sons of Hawaiian Warriors raised funds by putting on a musical program and with the proceeds purchased a tall wardrobe with glass doors made of koa and kou that had once belonged to Princess Ka‘iulani. It stands in the Palace today” (Del Piano 133).
The Hulihe’e Palace Becomes a Museum
In June 1928, the Daughters of Hawai‘i held a dedication ceremony and lū‘au, and the Hulihe‘e Palace began its new life as a museum. The maintenance of the Palace is an ongoing project. In 1975, major restoration work was started to bring Hulihe‘e back to the Kalākaua design, a project that was accomplished in four phases and completed in 1982.
Kapi‘olani’s trunk
Table from one piece of koa
There are many important pieces of furniture in the museum. Standing in the center of the Kūhiō Room is a splendid round table 70 inches in diameter, which was made for King Kalākaua and constructed from a single piece of koa. In the same room is one of six identical massive koa trunks, which Queen Kapi‘olani took on her journey to London in 1887 when she attended the Jubilee of Queen Victoria. Carved on the front panel is Kapi‘olani’s crest and motto: “Kulia I Ka Nu‘u—Strive for the highest” (Del Piano 135). The museum also exhibits many small items. In the Kuakini Room, you’ll see an extensive collection of handcrafted tools such as stone adzes and fishing aids, poi pounders, and implements for making kapa cloth. An exercise stone—a perfectly shaped ball believed to have belonged to Kamehameha I—is a part of the exhibit. Today, the Daughters of Hawai‘i and the Calabash Cousins devotedly maintain Hulihe‘e and its docents are ready to share their mana‘o (knowledge) with visitors. When you take a walk through the museum to learn its history, you bring its past forward. Ka‘iulani Armoire When the past is brought forward for the purpose of enriching people’s lives, the best parts of history are experienced in the present. It is in the mele, hula, and oli (chant). It is in the “kaona” (hidden meaning) of the stories shared by the kūpuna.
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It is in the silent respect we offer others when we leave our slippers at the door. The Daughters of Hawai‘i brought the Hulihe‘e Palace forward for us. Let us walk through the museum to experience life as it was more than 170 years ago. ❖ For more information: Museum Hours: 9am–4pm, Monday–Saturday Gift Shop Hours: 9:30am–4pm, Monday–Saturday Museum Business Office: 808.329.9555 Palace: 808.329.1877, DaughtersOfHawaii.org Photos taken inside with permission of the Daughters of Hawai‘i and are copyright protected. Contact writer Fannie Narte: info@fannienarte.com
Landscapes, Still Lifes, Portraits Oils and Giclees Commissions Welcome greenwelc002@hawaii.rr.com
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Resources: Ballao, Casey. Article Contributor. 8 Jan 2014. Del Piano, Barbara. Na Lani Kaumaka: Daughters of Hawai‘i: A Century of Historic Preservation. Honolulu: Daughters of Hawai‘i, 2005. Print. Okimoto, Anita. Article Contributor. 7 Jan 2014. Doyle, Emma Lyons, et al. Treasures of the Hawaiian Kingdom. A Glimpse into Hawai‘i’s Royal History...Queen Emma Summer Palace, Honolulu; Hulihe‘e Palace, Kona. Honolulu: Tongg, 1979. Print.
photos by Renée Robinson
KeOlaMagazine.com | March/April 2014
March 29, 2014—A Community Day
The Daughters of Hawai‘i and Calabash Cousins, in honor of Prince Jonah Kūhiō Kalaniana‘ole presents a “Day at Hulihe‘e” Saturday, March 29, 2014, 8:30am–4pm All day entertainment, bake sale, lei, plants and produce, tutu’s attic, arts and craft vendors, and prize drawings throughout the day. Cultural practitioners in pa‘i‘ai and ‘upena will be featured. Admission is free. For more information: 808.329.9555
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Ahu‘ena Heiau
“Malama i ko kākou ho‘olina”—Preserving our past |
“Ahu‘ena Heiau is probably the most significant historical site in the State of Hawai‘i because the things that happened there set the foundation for the Hawai‘i as we know it today.” Tom Hickcox, President and Director, Ahu‘ena Heiau Inc.
By Fannie Narte
Circa 1980s photo courtesy Current Events
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hu‘ena Heiau at Kamakahonu is located on the grounds of the Courtyard King Kamehameha’s Kona Beach Hotel in Kailua-Kona. On December 29, 1962, it was designated a National Historic Landmark, and on July 17, 1993, it was listed in the Hawai‘i State Register of Historic Places. To appreciate Ahu‘ena’s importance, it is helpful to step back in time to discover how certain events shaped Hawai‘i’s future and how it affected the lives of its people. An understanding of the people’s natural connection to the ‘āina (land), and their reverence and appreciation for the mana‘o (knowledge) shared by the ancestors and kūpuna (elders) are also noteworthy.
Casey says: “Hawaiians believed that when the sun first peeks over Hualālai Mountain, its initial rays touch ground at Ahu‘ena. This alignment is imperative to the Hawaiian people. As the sun continues to rise high in the sky and the day slowly turns to night, it shines upon Kalake‘e as it makes its journey back to Hualālai. ‘Kalake‘e,’ a place of light, is where another historical site stands, the Mokuaikaua Church. Our ancestors and kūpuna understood these alignments.”
The Center of Political Power
Several major events took place at Ahu‘ena Heiau, which made it an important landmark. It was the place of government during
KeOlaMagazine.com | March/April 2014
“Ahu‘ena” means “altar of fire” Casey Ballao, Director, Ahu‘ena Heiau Inc.
the reign of King Kamehameha I, and it was the place of his death. It was also the place where Kamehameha’s son, Liholiho, was educated for his future role as the next King. In addition, the decision to allow Christian missionaries to begin their work and the decision to break the kapu system, a system based on an ancient code of conduct, were made at Ahu‘ena. In 1810, two years before Kamehameha returned to Hawai‘i Island, this brilliant King and fierce warrior had accomplished the amazing feat of unifying all of the inhabited islands of Hawai‘i under his rule. This was a time of peace, celebration, and prosperity. When Kamehameha left O‘ahu in 1812, and established his royal complex at Kamakahonu, the Ahu‘ena Heiau became the piko (center) of the political power in the Hawaiian Kingdom. It was there that Kamehameha met with his advisors and conducted the Kingdom’s affairs. In addition, Liholiho, the heir apparent, received his training there. John Papa ‘Ī‘ī, an attendant of Liholiho, said: “Whenever there was a meeting in the Ahu‘ena house in the evening, the king instructed the heir carefully as to how to do things, describing the lives of former rulers. Thus,
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Liholiho learned the results of abuse and disregard of chiefs and commoners and about farming and fishing and things of like nature.” (Barrere 9)
King Kamehameha’s Death
KeOlaMagazine.com | March/April 2014
Approximately seven years after his arrival at Kamakahonu, King Kamehameha I died. His death and several significant events that followed had a profound effect on the future of the Hawaiian Kingdom and its people. On the day of Liholiho’s inauguration, “Queen Ka‘ahumanu, the favorite wife of Kamehameha I, addressed him saying, ‘E ka lani, I tell you the will of your father: here are the chiefs; there are the men of your father; there are your guns; here is your land. But we two are to share the rule over the land.’ ” (Barrere 27) With this statement, Ka‘ahumanu assumed the position of Kuhina Nui (Premier), which made her a co-ruler with Liholiho. Upon the death of an ali‘i (chief), it was the practice to temporarily set aside the ‘eating kapu,’ a rule that required the separation of the sexes in 1821 Ahu‘ena by Louis Choris food preparation Kamehameha in Kona: Two Documentary Studies by Dorothy B. and eating. Barrere, Bernice Pauahi Bishop Museum, Honolulu, Hawai‘i. After a certain
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period of time, the new ruler would reinstate the “eating kapu,” and the traditional government would resume.” (Barrere 33) However, this was not the case with Liholiho. The change of power brought political unrest. A dispute regarding the proposal of the abolition of the kapu system divided the Kingdom. Liholiho’s cousin, Chief Kekuaokalani, and his followers fought against the abolition while those who were for the abolition were “headed by the most influential women in the kingdom— Keōpūolani, Liholiho’s mother and highest ranking chiefess of the ruling family, and Ka‘ahumanu.” (Barrere 33)
The Kapu System is Abolished
Liholiho joined the supporters of the abolition, and the symbolic act of ending the ancient kapu system was performed. Liholiho and Ka‘ahumanu “broke the ancient kapu system, a highly defined regime of taboos that provided the framework of the 1823 Tiki at Kamakahonu by Ellis traditional Hawaiian government. Word was sent throughout the kingdom that the ‘eating kapu’ had ended, and with it went the old religious structure, as well. Heiau were burned and images were destroyed.” (Barrere 33-34) Sometime in April of 1820, the first missionaries from New England were granted permission to begin their proselytizing. In the course of one year, the people of the Kingdom of Hawai‘i
lost their beloved King, a ruler who brought unity and stability, and they also suffered the societal effects brought about by the abolition of the kapu system, including the “old religion,” which paved the way for the introduction of a new religion. These events caused a trajectory that drastically changed the Kingdom’s hierarchical structure. The “old way” had ended.
The Reconstruction of Ahu‘ena Heiau
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Tom Hickcox said that the inception of the idea to reconstruct the Ahu‘ena Heiau began sometime during the 1970s. Approximately 150 years after the death of Kamehameha, concerned members of the community were moved to action. They understood the importance of the “pile of rocks” where the Ahu‘ena Heiau once stood. Their desire to preserve this national treasure led them to organize the site’s reconstruction. photo by Numerous meetings Fannie Narte were held and ideas were exchanged. Finally, Tom Hickcox in November of 1975, members of the community, consultants, and archaeologists joined forces with Amfac—the owners of the site at that time— and Bernice P. Bishop Museum to begin the reconstruction. This was an enormous task and several experts were consulted to ensure that all the work was properly done. Fieldwork began on November 13, 1975. From December 1975 to January 1976, the “four walls of the heiau platform were constructed to its finished height, archaeological excavation was begun, wall foundations were stabilized and the platform was reconstructed.” (ahuena.org) When the platform was completed, work began on the five structures for the site: Hale Mana, Hale Pahu, Anu‘u, Hale Nana Mahina‘ai and Hale Kia‘i. Whenever possible, authentic building and construction materials were used. These materials were collected from various locations throughout Hawai‘i Island and Maui. Some Ahu‘ena in the 1980s of the materials collected were ‘ōhi‘a, waiawī (strawberry guava), and breadfruit timbers, sugar cane thatch, banana sheath, lauhala leaves, and ‘ama‘u (fern). More than 500,000 ti leaves were collected and processed. Work continued over the next two years, and in March 1977, the reconstruction of the Ahu‘ena at Kamakahonu was completed. After many years of work and toil, what began as a desire expressed by the kūpuna and joined by the kōkua (help) of the community, the Ahu‘ena Heiau at Kamakahonu stands with all its history, makana (a gift) for future generations.
Eat. Celebrate.
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Ahu‘ena Heiau Inc. “Malama I Ko Kakou Ho‘olina” Although Ahu‘ena is located on the property of the Courtyard King Kamehameha’s Kona Beach Hotel, the kuleana (responsibility) for its care and maintenance belongs to the officers and directors of the Ahu‘ena Heiau Inc. On May 11, 1993, approximately 16 years after the reconstruction of Ahu‘ena was completed, Ahu‘ena Heiau Inc. was formed and incorporated as a Federal 501C3 nonprofit corporation. “Its purpose is to create and operate a program for the preservation and maintenance of ancient Hawaiian structures, foundations and burial sites, and to promote the appreciation of Hawaiian history.” (ahuena.org) Its current officers are Tom Hickcox, President and Director; Jacqueline Awa, Treasurer and Director; Alana Yamamoto, Secretary and Director; and Directors Casey Ballao, Kealoha Kaopua, Kalei Villacorte, and Ross Wilson, Jr.
2011 Tsunami Damage
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The Five Structures at Ahu‘ena Heiau Today
The Hale Mana (house of spiritual power) was a place for prayer, a meetinghouse for discussing Kingdom affairs, and a school for Liholiho. The Hale Pahu (drum house) sheltered the great ceremonial drums of the temple. Anu‘u, the “oracle tower,” is where the high priest received and proclaimed answers of the gods to his petitions. Hale Nana Mahina‘ai (house to see the gardens) is where Kamehameha I ordered the cultivation of the agricultural field named “kūāhewa” in the uplands of North Kona. He was able to monitor the land and sea activities from this vantage point. The fifth structure is the Hale Kia‘i (guard house).
Ahu‘ena Heiau is our Kuleana March 2011 tsunami damage
KeOlaMagazine.com | March/April 2014
On March 11, 2011, “The Ahu‘ena Heiau rock platform base, perimeter wooden fencing, Anu‘u Tower and an uprooted ki‘i (carved statue) were damaged from the tsunami. The Ahu‘ena Heiau, Inc. surveyed the damage, consulted the State Historic Preservation Division, worked closely with a qualified
historical site restorations coordinator, and completed all necessary repairs.” (ahuena.org) The organization continuously seeks grants and donations to help them maintain the site. Donations are always welcomed and appreciated.
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Hawai‘i is culturally rich. Ahu‘ena Heiau is an important historical site because of its location, because of the
life-changing events that occurred, and because of the people who lived and worked there. Ahu‘ena was a place of alignment to the sun and the sun’s energy and was 2013 Volunteers help to significant to restore and maintain Ahu‘ena the Hawaiian people. It was a chosen place. The ancestors understood the alignment and the importance of Ahu‘ena Heiau; therefore, it was chosen as the center of political power. Later the kūpuna understood the alignment and the importance of Ahu‘ena; therefore, they chose to reconstruct the site. “Malama I Ko Kakou Ho‘olina”—Preserving our Past “The care of Ahu‘ena Heiau is our kuleana. Once you hear the story, the kuleana just comes. We, as people, have to assume that kuleana.” Tom Hickcox For more information about Ahu‘ena Heiau Inc.: Ahuena.org Black and white photos by Wayne Levin Photos courtesy Ahu‘ena Heiau Inc. Contact writer Fannie Narte: info@fannienarte.com Resources: Ahuena.org Ballao, Casey. Personal Interview. 23 Dec 2013. Barrere, Dorothy. Kamehameha in Kona: Two Documentary Studies. Honolulu: Bernice Pauahi Bishop Museum, 1975. Print Hickcox, Tom. Personal Interview. 17 Dec 2013.
KeOlaMagazine.com | March/April 2014
The Calabash Cousins, Daughters of Hawai‘i, and guests helped with the restoration in April, May, and June 2010.
The goal to complete the makai side before the King Kamehameha Day Parade was successful. photos by Renée Robinson
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s a filmmaker and storyteller, I have been blessed with the gift of sharing the mana‘o (knowledge) of more than 60 of Hawai‘i’s most revered kūpuna in spirited conversation exploring the cultural legacy they carry in their memory. Each conversation has been a journey back in time into the world they inhabited, through their eyes, and expressed in their words. I first got to know Kumu Raylene in February 1999 in Kohala on the day I was to unload a 45-foot shipping container filled with my worldly possessions and all my film and television production equipment from the mainland. Out of nowhere, this impressive woman with her two handsome, strong sons showed up at my house and announced, “We come to kōkua (help).” Sensing my surprise, she beamed this warm smile with a twinkle in her eye, hugged me, and whispered, “Welcome home.” And then she looked at me right in the eyes and said very seriously, “You were brought here for a reason.” Little did I know that this would be the beginning of a 14-year friendship that would change the course of my life. Kumu would become one of my dearest friends,
Cinephotography and CGI filmstrip by Keith Nealy
Kūpuna Talk Story: Kumu Raylene Ha‘alelea Kawaiae‘a Native Hawaiian Cultural Practitioner
Kumu: We have a variety of programs that we utilize as tools to connect the participants with cultural practices and these values to be able to take it and utilize it in their everyday lives. Keith: Can you give me an example of the kind teaching you do that is outside the normal school curriculum? Kumu: For Hawaiians, one very important area to develop is our inner ‘ike or something you might call intuition. So with students I might have a discussion about what do you feel? Do you have trust in your feeling? Which links us back to the capacity and knowledge of our ancestors—they knew those things. They knew what it felt like. They knew that sense that
KeOlaMagazine.com | March/April 2014
spiritual guide, cultural advisor, and storyteller for many of the films I made about the Hawaiian culture. I affectionately called her my “Pono Meter” as we endless lengthy discussions aboutLeft theatculture, Road fromhad Queen Ka‘ahumanu Hwy (190). Turn Mamalahoa Hwy (180), theshops kaona (hidden meaning), and historical and os and local now occupy historic buildings from Hawai‘i’s past. philosophical perspectives in my quest to learn. rely stroll through our quaint village . . .You’ll be glad you did. She taught me not to let my physical Caucasian “package” get in the way of my storytelling because my heart, my aloha, and my ‘aumakua (spiritual ancestors) would guide me. And she taught me the essence of what was to become my personal mission here on Hawai‘i Island— the importance of building cultural bridges and helping Hawai‘i and the world become a better place. The following is part of a conversation I had with her during the filming of Huliau—Turning Point. We were talking about the kind of work she did at the Queen Lili‘uokalani Children’s Center in Kailua-Kona. Kumu Raylene and Keith Keith: Kumu, tell me about the kind of work you do at the center and how it is different from traditional learning methods.
| By Keith Nealy
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comes over the body of mind and the heart that says this is where I need to be right now.
photo by Robert Frutos
Keith: Can you give me an example or a story of what that might look like?
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(She tells me the story of a boy who was working with her restoring the Kamehameha Heiau in Kohala.) Kumu: This boy was sitting there, crying. And I thought, oh my. So I went up to him and I said is there anything that I can help you with? He just shook his head. I asked, “Why is it that you are crying?” He said, with tears streaming down his face, “It’s because I never knew I could do this. I didn’t think it would be here, but I just believed that what I was hearing was right, and look! Look at this! Look what I found!” I asked, “So are you happy?” He said, “Yes, but now, what am I supposed to do with it? What am I supposed to do with this knowledge? With this! I found this stone! I want to come here and I want to take care of these places. I want to know—how that I’ll know—inside me— what is right to do—and when to do it?” (Kumu takes a breath, wipes the tears from her eyes.) Kumu: That’s the first step. That is the kind of experience that the culture can offer—to bring it into their natural world—that this is there for you if you have trust in your capacity. You know, we talk about building self-esteem? We talk about building capacity? Well, this is the core of it. To get someone to listen to their unique gifts—that they are connected in so many ways that they might not experience it in school—not that they might not; more times they will not. Part of what we do is to give them a future for them to perceive. And therein lays the hope. Keith: Many times I get asked by malihini (visitors), “Do you ever take all the beauty of Hawai‘i and aloha spirit for granted?” How would you respond to that? Kumu: That’s easy for me to answer. I’ve also learned that it’s a matter of perspective. It reminds me of a story
of this young boy who was visiting from Israel and at the end of the day before they were leaving he said, “I have a question for you.” I said, “Of course what is it? He asked, “Are you always this happy?” I had to think about that and I said, Keiki learning from Kumu “Hmm…? Yeah, pretty much.” He asked, “How did you do that? Because when I leave here I’m going to go back to a world where my country is at war. I will be going into that war and I never thought there was a place in this world that had happiness. But I see that you and Uncle Kindy have that and happiness does exist in our world.” Kumu: That’s such a wondrous thought—for him to be able to express that in a tangible manner because I never thought that happiness might not exist. And for a young person even to perceive that there is no such thing as happiness—wow—how is that? What kind of a world are we creating? So, yes, it is possible to take some things for granted. Keith: It appears that a big part of what you do and what you believe involves preserving the Hawaiian culture and the old ways. And bringing people from all walks of life together in harmony whether it is through dance or through your work Kumu with ho‘oponopono. Why Raylene does preserving the culture and bringing people together interest you so much, and what do you see as obstacles to succeeding?
KeOlaMagazine.com | March/April 2014
Kumu: When I think about the value of preserving culture or even the necessity to do so, if we can understand each other’s culture—if we can see the importance and the passion that each one holds as important things, we will be the better for it—you and I—us and them—all of us altogether. It takes a particular effort on our own individual parts to be accepting of something that might be different than what we are comfortable with.
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Keith: Tell me about Kohala and what it was like back in the day. Kumu: The whole community was a family. It was the family of Kohala, so they took care of each other and they made sure that if there was a need of any kind everybody knew about it. They all came forth to see how they could kōkua, how could they help. You know, if we can put forth the same kind of acceptance and effort, we all have the capacity to embrace our differences and our diversity, but it does take work. Perhaps we need to make that extra effort to truly understand each other’s ways. Perhaps we can figure out a way— to figure out a way—that we can do this together, how we can survive. Uncle told us that it’s possible. That it has been done. And, do we have the
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Nalani and Kumu (photo courtesy Sharon Hayden) courage? Maybe that’s what it is. Are we really courageous enough and willing enough to be vulnerable to each other so that we can get to know each other and be helpful to each other? The way society is today and the changes that are happening all around us, perhaps that is something we should really look upon. I think we would be the wiser for it. For all of us to flourish and to be all that we are, we all need to be in harmony. For me, that is lōkahi.
Kumu Raylene’s Transcendence
KeOlaMagazine.com | March/April 2014
Kumu Raylene Ha‘alelea Kawaiae‘a transitioned from this life unexpectedly on March 9, 2012 at the young age of 61. Many of us were awaiting her arrival in Kohala for an evening discussion with her about ho‘oponopono when we heard the news. Shock waves reverberated throughout her beloved community of North Kohala where she was part of the cultural foundation as teacher of hula and founder of Na Huapala ‘O Hawai‘i Hālau O Ha‘alelea. Ripples of grief spread throughout the islands as we all made the transition Kumu in the studio into another era. Life without Kumu Raylene created an emptiness that many felt and still feel today. Some say when we lose a revered kupuna some of our connections to the ancient culture and old ways are broken and our spiritual ties to the past feel severed. Some say we lose a “library” of cultural history, as stories and knowledge of the old ways are lost. There are more than 40 different cultural groups living on Hawai‘i Island. And with Kumu, we lost someone who had the sensitivity to bridge between these cultures and had the understanding of how to bring people together in love and harmony and make them feel as one ‘ohana. It was a rare gift that few share. She was equally comfortable discussing the most philosophical concepts with world leaders with innate intelligence and mana‘o (knowledge) or telling colorfully animated stories to little children
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bringing the characters to life with hula ki‘i (Hawaiian puppetry) filled with her warm aloha. Nowhere else was her spirit more powerful than in her hula and oli (chants). When she danced she was a visible conduit to days gone by when the Hawaiian culture was passed down from generation to generation through hula and each and every movement was performed precisely the way one’s ancestors danced to preserve the meaning and intent. And as a pure expression of aloha, no one danced as expressively or as sensually as Kumu. Her smile of pure aloha spirit made one feel as if she was dancing just for you. Her oli were haunting and powerful and came from another place and time as she appeared to channel her ‘aumakua. Always a chicken skin moment, her oli were like a magical time machine connecting us to the past. She spent many years as a teacher at Queen Lili‘uokalani Children’s Center in Kailua-Kona helping children realize their capacity and fully understand their heritage. And she had a gifted skill working with families as a practitioner in the ancient Hawaiian art of reaching agreement, called ho‘oponopono. Not only was she was a revered kumu hula and Hawaiian cultural consultant here in Hawai‘i, she traveled and shared her mana‘o around the world as a respected practitioner of Hawaiian spiritual and cultural tradition. One of those occasions was a private audience with His Holiness the Dalai Lama on Maui. One can only imagine what that conversation was like. As for me, she will always live on in my heart, and I feel incredibly blessed to have had her as my close friend and mentor encouraging me to build cultural bridges with my storytelling and films. Everything happens for a reason, and I sometimes wonder what my life would be like if Kumu and her boys Ikaika and Michael never came to help unload my container. After two days of very heavy lifting I was so grateful for the boy’s help I tried to pay them some money to thank them for their hard work. Well, the acorn doesn’t fall far from the tree, because all they said was, “Aloha, no need for money. We just wanted to welcome you to Kohala. Aloha.” And so, with the passage of time, life goes on and so does Kumu Raylene Ha‘alelea Kawaiae‘a’s life’s work; the results of it live on in all the people she touched. ❖ Contact writer Keith Nealy: KeithNealy.com Kupuna Talk Story ©2014 Keith Nealy Productions photo courtesy Douglas Walch
KeOlaMagazine.com | March/April 2014
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Crafting the Rhythm of Hula Vea’s Polynesian Gifts |
By Catherine Tarleton
I
KeOlaMagazine.com | March/April 2014
Ika enjoys the rhythm of his Polynesian drums, even though he’s not a musician himself
had to make an ‘ulī‘ulī for hula class. If you don’t know, ‘ulī‘ulī is a rhythm instrument, a gourd rattle, decorated with a circle of kapa cloth to which feathers are sewn. Finished, it looks kind of like a vase of flowers, and a skilled dancer will hold it by the neck, flicking the “flowers” with her wrist to mimic the wind, the surf, or the rustle of trees. It’s fun to play. It is not fun to make. Mine is a mess and still sits unfinished after about a year by the time this story is published. The feathers stick out all kapakahi (crooked) at different wrong angles and underneath you can see evidence of this painful experience in droplets of my actual blood from needle-poked fingers. You should know that I used a metal needle, not a fishbone or coconut rib, and that the other materials came from a kit. And with every finger poke, every broken thread, I gained a new and bottomless respect for those who made these things back in the day. I did not grow the la‘amia gourd on a calabash tree, nor the ali‘ipoe seeds to go inside, nor the wauke (mulberry) to pound into kapa cloth, nor the dye plants to decorate the kapa with. It wasn’t me that pounded the kapa, or made the ‘ohe kapala dye stamp from bamboo, which I also did not grow. And I don’t know anyone with Creating an ‘ulī‘ulī patience of the kia manu— the bird catcher who lured a living bird with sticky resin on a branch—to pluck a few feathers, let it go, and repeat until enough were gathered. So what I did was easy, relatively, and still it’s no surprise that when I walked into Vea’s Polynesian Gifts in Kapa‘au, I was immediately drawn to the ‘ulī‘ulī. Shelves full of them—in vivid crimson and gold, rows of pure white with what must have been angel feathers, mated pairs of the kapa kind—like I tried to make. “Oh, my God,” I said, petting one’s glossy feathers. “This is amazing.” Master crafter Ika Vea laughed. I told him about my struggles. He told me about his shortcuts. I will not tell them all to you. I will tell you that his shop is filled floor-toceiling with hula’s rhythm instruments, all things to beat, slap, shake, tap, rattle, click together, and pound on the floor. Pahu (drums) tall-to-small with stretched skin heads stand at attention in the
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back. Here, a grove of thin Tahitian Toere, log drums. There, a display of knee drums, polished half-coconut pūniu with sennit lashing, and kilu, the small drum mounted on a stand, played with the left hand while the right beats another, bigger drum. Ipu ready for the beat Baskets hold ‘ili‘ili, the water-smoothed stones played like castanets, the pū‘ili, raspy bamboo sticks, slit at one end for a brushlike sound, and the kāla‘au, the dancing sticks of different sizes. Underneath, large heke (double gourd drum) sit on the floor. High shelves hold lines of grinning or grimacing tiki masks, carved from various shades of hau wood, overseeing everything like gargoyles. To the side, sturdy poi boards and stone pounders. In one corner, formidable weapons hang on the wall. Pāhoa (daggers fitted with marlin bills), leiomano (clubs edged with sharks’ teeth), and a newa la‘au club of heavy wood, stone fist lashed to it like a hammerhead. “This one, I make special for the ladies,” he says. “I tell them if your husband is mean, take care of him.” His laugh is infectious, musical. Sharks teeth I am thinking the edge of a Hawaiian weapon these beautiful, finely crafted weapons—implements of battle—are not so different from the instruments of hula. The martial art, lua, can be a graceful discipline. It’s not hard to image the well-buffed kāne of Merrie Monarch wielding these on kahiko night. It’s all about the rhythm. Even the everyday things: poi pounding, kapa beating, paddling canoe. What did the Hawaiians hear then that we do not now? What heartbeat, what different drum, led them to create such masterful instruments to dance with, to wage war, to prepare food? My mind wanders while Ika greets customers. Young honeymooners it looks like, wide-eyed and wondering about the shamanic objects on the walls and the grandfatherly welcome from their craftsman. Ika is originally from Tonga, “The Friendly Islands,” an independent sovereign nation in the South Pacific. His story doesn’t start in one place. It actually kind of starts with faith, about 100 years before he was born. Maybe because Hawai‘i is so close to Heaven. Maybe that’s why the Completed ‘ulī‘ulī ready for a dancer Church of Jesus
KeOlaMagazine.com | March/April 2014
Christ of the Latter Day Saints decided, in 1865, to purchase 6,000-acre Laie plantation that would grow into O‘ahu’s Polynesian Cultural Center (PCC) 98 years later. And maybe that’s what inspired a young Ika Vea to answer the church’s call and travel from his home in Tonga to help build the A drum begins with Ika’s care South Pacific villages of PCC in 1960. Ika worked as an electrician while attending school at night, where he met future wife Puanani Pule. Together they traveled to the mainland, started their family, and eventually returned to her home on Hawai‘i Island. There, Ika went to work at Kohala Sugar Company, the plantation founded by Reverend Elias Bond in 1863 to support his church and schools, just about the same time LDS Church purchased its plantation tract in Laie. “I worked in the lab,” says Ika, “but I never took chemistry in school.” His job was to test the sugar juice, and make sure the ratio of water and sugar would crystalize properly, to make uniform grains of refined sugar in the screening process. “On Ika often applies the plantation, they modern technology with gave me books and traditional craftsmanship made me follow this guy around about a week,” he says. “My wife had to read me the books and show me how to use the typewriter.” When Kohala Sugar closed in 1973, PCC offered him the chance to come back, so Ika flew over for an interview. The O‘ahu he remembered was already overgrown and bustling and so Ika decided to come home. “On the airplane on the flight back, I looked at the magazine and saw an ad for a hula supply company—the only hula supply company in the state of Hawai‘i, and I thought ‘I want to do that.’ ” Eager to learn, though not a musician or a hula student himself, he sought out help from kūpuna and kumu hula in the community. Even though the student was ready, this time the teacher did not appear. Determined, Ika came up with an ingenious plan. “Nobody wanted Completed pahu to show me,” says
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KeOlaMagazine.com | March/April 2014
Ika. “So, I put an ad in the paper for ‘Repair Broken Hula Implements’ and I got all kinds of stuff!” Ika knew if he could take the instruments apart, he could discover how they were created. And because Learning by doing, a younger Ika they were already carves a wooden tiki damaged, there was no risk to the owner. Soon, he was inundated with drums and gourds, shakers, rattlers, and more. Trial and error was key. Sometimes, he found materials that served the purpose more durably than the original. He found that rawhide from Texas was more readily available than hard-to-find sharkskin for drum heads. Braided rope lasted longer than lauhala for the pūniu “drumstick.” He learned that thicker-skinned gourds from the west coast hold up better than Hawaiian gourds for the large ipu heke. “The kumu hula really slap ‘em,” says Ika. He uses kapa cloth from Fiji or Tonga to trim mahiole (warriors’ helmets) and other items. “Kapa from Fiji is stiffer,” says Ika. “They really pound it. When you wake up in the morning, you hear all this tapa pounding all around, and they make plenty in one day.”
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Ika long ago lost count of how many instruments he has repaired. As many modern crafters do, he uses drills and other power tools to facilitate his work, often coming up with creative solutions to problems. One broken marlin woodcarving, for example, was repaired with an actual marlin bill, sourced from a Kona fish market. “I stopped to buy fish and I saw these guys rolling out a barrel with the marlin bills in it,” says Ika. “The owners belong to the same church I do, and I knew them so I said, ‘don’t throw that away!’ ” Sometimes he improvises with the weapons, attaching a marlin bill and feathers to a traditional pāhoa dagger, or merging the leiomano with a dagger or club. He might borrow a Maori design for handles or line the threatening edges of hooks with sharks’ teeth. He also likes to carve supersized milo or monkeypod fishhooks lashed with coconut sennit. “The big hooks are for decoration, not fishing,” says Ika. His ipu have traveled around the world. His drums serve as prizes for the Merrie Monarch winners. “I’ve been in Merrie Monarch from the start,” says Ika. “We [the crafters] started ‘Ūlili—three la‘amia gourds on a stick. in the old Butler When the cord is pulled Building. The floor it makes a whirring sound.
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Ika with his wife Puanani and daughter Ione Chittenden was gravel, and at the end of the day, they tied up the door with wire.” Ika finds inspiration wherever he goes. “I go to most of the fairs and look around for good ideas,” he says. “When I go to Honolulu or any place to get Hawaiian stuff—in Kona at Hulihe‘e Palace, or displayed in the hotels. If it looks nice to me, I take pictures, come home and try to make it.” Ika’s eyes follow the height and breadth of the shop, remembering. In their long marriage of 52 years, he and Puanani traveled to many of the places represented in the shop: Fiji, New Zealand, the Cook Islands. At her memorial service, Ika put one of his drums and ‘ulī‘ulī on display in the chapel. I wondered if he had any advice for the honeymooners.
“Don’t put up with anything unnecessary. Try to settle everything between you two,” he says. “If she wanted to do something and I didn’t like it, I said ‘go ahead and I will help you,’ and she did the same thing to me. If it didn’t work out, we said, ‘Well, I tried to help you!’” Before we part, he offers more advice. “Anything you spend time on, make it nice,” he says. “I want to make a big drum and make it nice. “I’m looking for a coconut palm, 35-36 inches high so I can make some design.” He nods, already imagining. It’s time for me to go, to leave him with his thoughts and his customers. “Take ‘ulī‘ulī with you—take a pair!” he says with his amazing smile. I tell him thank you, I cannot; I’ll come back and buy if I can’t bring myself to finish mine. He won’t take no for an answer. There is a single, unmatched ‘ulī‘ulī on the shelf. Ika Vea smiles. Ika Vea with some of his I step outside and can’t resist, handcrafted ipu heke giddily rattling and fluttering feathers in the bright Kohala sunshine: shaky-shaky tap, tap, tap, shaky-shaky tap, tap, tap. Elated for a second, I feel like a hula dancer. I feel the rhythm. ❖ Contact Ika Vea: Hula-Instruments.com Contact writer Catherine Tarleton: catherinetarleton@gmail.com
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KeOlaMagazine.com | March/April 2014
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Invasiveness Designation PIER (the Pacific Island Ecosystems at Risk project) has assessed mimosa as invasive and recommends that it not be imported into Hawai‘i and other Pacific Island countries from its native locales.
Healing Plants: Mimosa Pudica
A
Bothersome weed has redeeming qualities |
small, prickly weed we all love to hate is full of surprises. You know it as “sleeping grass,” “shy grass,” or “sensitive plant,” and it seems to grow everywhere. The surprise is that it has medicinal properties that can help to calm the nerves and promote restful sleep. Its botanical name is Mimosa pudica, although it goes by many names, such as pua hilahila in Hawaiian, “tickle me plant,” and “bashful plant” in some places because when you touch the leaves they fold up, which some people find amusing. The names pudica and hilahila both translate to “ashamed” or “bashful.”
Identification and Origin
KeOlaMagazine.com | March/April 2014
If you don’t know what this little plant looks like, consider yourself lucky! It’s the scourge of many gardeners in Hawai‘i, and those who want to keep their gardens tidy struggle with keeping it weeded out. Mimosa is a creeping annual or perennial herb with fern-like leaves and puffy purple flowers that form legume-like seedpods. Stickers on the stems are a distinguishing feature, so wear gloves when harvesting and working with it. If you wanted to propagate it, it does well from seed or cuttings. You might be asking yourself, “Why on earth would I want more of this pest?” When you learn the medicinal uses, you might change your tune. Botanists believe mimosa originated in Brazil. It is a common weed in many tropical areas such as Hawai‘i, throughout the Pacific, India, Indonesia, Southeast Asia, China, and North and South America.
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Medicinal Properties
The Physician’s Desk Reference for Herbal Medicines lists Mimosa’s medicinal properties as an antibacterial agent, an antibiotic, anti-inflammatory, antimicrobial, nervine, diuretic, emetic, expectorant, and sedative. In traditional Chinese medicine, its energetic functions are said to dispel pain and relieve swelling. No scientific studies have been conducted to date that substantiate this information. Also, it is suspected that the plant might contain toxins, although it is unclear what they might be. NOTE: The use of herbal products should not be taken lightly. Consult a physician before using any herb, especially if you are pregnant or are taking any prescribed medications, due to drug interactions.
By Barbara Fahs
Recipe For a Sleep Aid
In her book, Rainforest Home Remedies, Rosita Arvigo states that the Maya of Belize prepare mimosa as a sleep aid by toasting the leaves and stems, reducing them to a powder by passing the mixture through a sieve, then sprinkling the powder over the last meal of the day. Some people smoke the powdered leaves.
Fresh Mimosa Tea
Gather 10 fresh sprigs of mimosa about six inches long, and then chop them into one-inch pieces. You can include the flowers and seeds if there are any. Place your plant material in a teapot, cover with boiling water, and then let it steep for 10 minutes. Strain and drink it hot or chilled. Drink one cup of the tea before bedtime or at any other time that your nerves are on edge and you want to relax.
Mimosa Tincture
Tinctures are herbal extracts that combine plant materials with a liquid medium (vegetable glycerin or alcohol such as vodka or brandy). They are convenient to take and last forever without refrigeration. You can make a large quantity, such as a pint or a quart, and later transfer the finished tincture into one or two-ounce, easier to handle dropper-top bottles. 1. Chop the aerial portions of fresh mimosa plants into onehalf to one-inch pieces. It’s fine to include any flowers or stems. 2. Fill a jar one third full with the chopped mimosa plants. 3. Fill the jar with the liquid of your choice, shake it up, label it, and keep it in a cool, dark spot for one month. 4. Shake the jar once a day. 5. Strain it and take it by the dropperful as needed. As a sleep aid, combine three full droppers with juice of any kind and take about one hour before bedtime. Picture courtesy of Forest and Kim Starr. Contact writer Barbara Fahs: hiiakas@lava.net More Info: • Medicine At Your Feet, David Bruce Leonard, 2012 • Hear.org/pier • Fs.fed.us/global/iitf/pdf/shrubs/Mimosa%20pudica.pdf • Bio.miami.edu/mimosa/mimosa.html
April 3, 1990
May 2, 1990
June 3, 1990
Kalapana Remembered: Reminiscing with Mayor Billy Kenoi about his childhood home before Pele reclaimed it
K
Aerial view of lava encroaching on Kalapana community. The circle marks the location of the same structure in all images. Hakuma horst, a raised fault block, is on the left. To the right of the point are fishponds, and to their right, Walter’s Kalapana Store and Drive Inn. In the large trapezoidal plot are Mauna Kea Congregational Church and hall. The white structure across the street from the Congregational Church is St. Mary’s Star of the Sea Catholic Church. photos by J.D. Griggs May 16, 1990
alapana. Synonymous with the destructive power of Madame Pele. Little signs remain of the community that was destroyed by lava flows from Kūpa‘ianahā vent between 1986 and 1990. Those born in the remote fishing village of Kalapana are proud to call the place home. They remember well a tight-knit community surrounded by beautiful Kaimū black sand beach and Queen’s Bath. Just ask Billy Punapaiaalaikahala Kenoi. The two-term Mayor of Hawai‘i County has fond memories of the place he grew up and the way things used to be before the town was overrun by lava in 1990. “It’s one of those places where when you’re a small kid, you think you’re poor, but when you’re an adult and you look back, you realize you were one of the luckiest kids in the whole world.” Billy was born right across from Kaimū in November 1968. His mother had moved to Hawai‘i with Billy’s oldest brother and two sisters after the death of her first husband. She subsequently met and married Billy’s father, giving birth to Billy and three more daughters. “Then we wound up hānai’ing (Hawaiian form of adoption) my oldest brother’s friend. So there were eight [kids] in our house.” Life was simple for the large family, lacking electricity and other modern conveniences some take for granted today. “We had kerosene lamps,” says Billy. He continues, “There was no running water so we had outhouses. We took a shower at either Harry K. Brown Park or would bathe at the Queen’s Bath.” A collapsed lava tube filled with freshwater from nearby natural springs, the Queen’s Bath was used only by ali‘i (royalty) to bathe in and relax in ancient times. “When we were young, that was a community bathing place. All the families would gather in the evening and sit and talk story. The Keli‘iho‘omalus, the Ka‘awaloas, Hauanios. The families would take turns walking down, bathing as a family, and walking back up. A lot of families were all ‘ohana.” Indeed, Billy is related to another well-known Kalapana family, the Keli‘iho‘omalus. (See Sep–Oct 2012 issue of Ke Ola for “Talking Story with Uncle Robert”).
KeOlaMagazine.com | March/April 2014
May 31, 1990
| By Denise Laitinen
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“My Dad and Uncle Robert [Keli‘iho‘omalu] are first cousins,” explains Billy. “The best part of growing up was it was all about family. Everybody was a cousin. Every adult was an aunty or an uncle. Had a lot of love, a lot of respect. Not plenty money, but nobody cared about that. Always seemed like we had food on the table.” Billy may not have minded the lack of material wealth when he Billy Kenoi’s parents, Nancy and Pilipo Kenoi, in Kalapana
A young Billy Kenoi at the family’s home in Kalapana with sisters Kapi (left) and Keola (right)
was younger, however there was one thing that he was ashamed of: his middle name. Billy’s middle name is Punapaiaalaikahala, which translates to “the fragrance of the hala that was associated with Kalapana.” He explains, “In Kalapana, the lauhala mats were unlike anywhere else. They would
KeOlaMagazine.com | March/April 2014
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go up along the walls. It was very unique. In most places the lauhala mats would extend to the wall itself, but in Kalapana the mats would go up the walls about 6–9 inches. In the space between the lauhala mats and the wall, people would sprinkle the fruit of the hala tree. So people would walk into a house in Kalapana and it would have a certain fragrance. And that fragrance is Punapaiaalaikahala. “But that’s not the kind of The fragrance of the hala that stuff that’s cool when you’re was associated with Kalapana is Punapaiaalaikahala, growing up,” he says with a Billy’s middle name laugh. “You’d rather have a middle name like Ikalani ‘the warrior from the heavens.’ You don’t want to smell like a tree.” Billy points out that he is now proud of his middle name and has given each of his three children middle names that reflect Kalapana. Son Justin’s middle name is Kalapana, Liam’s middle name is Pilipo, and his daughter’s middle name Mahinalani, which refers to the full moon that rises over the ocean in Kalapana. Billy’s family moved to the Waiākea area of Hilo when he was in kindergarten and the family frequently visited their Kalapana home. They would use it as a beach house, spending weekends and holidays in Kalapana.
After graduating from Waiākea High in 1986, Billy returned to Kalapana where he worked building stone walls and started his own landscaping company. “We never had a bus system, but if any aunty or uncle passed by (in their car) they would pick you up,” says Billy. In 1986, Madame Pele started reclaiming Kalapana. Kīlauea Volcano had begun erupting in 1983. In July 1986, lava erupted from the Kūpa‘ianahā vent and began its slow voyage to the sea. By November of that year, the lava had reached the ocean and 17 homes had been destroyed, including eight homes in Kapa‘ahu (a town west of Kalapana) overrun by lava over the Thanksgiving holiday. The worst seemed to be over. It wasn’t. In 1990, eruptions from the vent continued with sporadic pauses. After each pause, lava would overrun the previously created lava tube and form new tubes, pushing the lava further downhill toward the oceanside community. “You know, it was going since 1983. By 1990, I kept thinking Madame Pele was not gonna take Kaimū, not gonna take the bay, not gonna take Left Point,” said Billy. By the end of February 1990 lava had entered the ocean just west of Kalapana. That didn’t stop Billy and his friends from surfing, though. “We’d walk around the road blocks, shaka Harry Kim, and go surf. He respected that it was our home. (At the time Harry Kim was head of Hawai‘i County Civil Defense. He would go on to serve as Hawai‘i County Mayor from 2000–2008 and asked Billy to serve as his executive assistant from 2001–2007. Kenoi succeeded Kim as Mayor in 2008.)
As spring turned into summer in 1990, the lava continued its relentless onslaught into the Kalapana community. “I didn’t think [the lava] was going to Billy and Takako Kenoi got married just take Walterʻs up the coast from Kalapana [Kalapana Store and Drive Inn] even when the [Star of the Sea Painted] Church had to move. Never thought the church was gonna have to move. “You know that was a devastating day. That was a very divisive issue in the community—on whether or not to actually move the church. Half the community said ‘leave ‘um’ and half the community said ‘move ‘um’. That was a difficult decision,” Billy says. With massive community effort, the church was loaded onto a flatbed tractor-trailer and moved out of harm’s way just an hour before lava overran where it stood. Now decommissioned and on the National Register of Historic Places, the Star of the Sea Painted Church can be found on Highway 130 between mile marker 19 and 20. It’s open to the public seven days a week, free of charge between 9am–4pm.
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And while his beloved community was going through tremendous upheaval and devastation, Billy’s life was also about to change. After taking classes at Hawai‘i Community College and UH Hilo, he had been accepted into the National Student Exchange Program to attend Walter Yamaguchi’s Kalapana University of Massachusetts Store and Drive Inn, “The oldest water well in Puna” at Amherst. April 23, 1990 Billy kept surfing in Kalapana up until the day he left for the mainland. “I was in the water and paddling toward Drain Pipes. The lava was in the bay and was hitting Drain Pipes already—you could smell the sulfur. I surfed Kalapana to the very last day I left in August 1990. The store burned down on June 6, “When I left in August 1990 the 161st structure overrun by lava to go to UMass, Kaimū was photo by J.D. Griggs, 6/3/90 still there. In October 1990, I got the phone call—Kaimū, gone. Left Point, gone.” By the end of 1990, Madame Pele’s onslaught into the community had claimed more than 180 homes, parks, businesses, roads, historical sites, and beaches, burying them all under nearly 50 feet of lava. Concrete walls of the store and roof of Billy said pain from the the post office are in the background. destruction of his birthplace The store sign, with its eight-inch high concrete blocks, was so intense it took him was one of the means used years before he could bring to measure the height of the lava flow himself to go back to the photo by J.D. Griggs, 6/6/90 community. “It took me three years to go down and look at it. If I had a function to go to in Kalapana at Uncle Robert’s house, I would go at night so I didn’t have to see the lava. “Finally after three years I went back. It was devastating. It let you know that nothing is permanent. photo by J.D. Griggs, 6/13/90 “I never took a picture of myself at Kaimū because I thought Kaimū would always be there. I think back now and think I should have taken pictures. “Now, from where you used to put your foot in the water you have to walk 20 minutes to get to the ocean. And yet, when Billy speaks of Kalapana, it is not of regret for what was lost, it is of gratitude. “For all the tragedy of the taking of the area, I still to this day think how blessed we were to grow up in Kalapana. “My sisters and I look back and we laugh. Looking back [we had] no stuff that other kids had, but now we look back and
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think if we had to do it all over again we’d do exactly the way it was growing up.” For Billy, Kalapana is a place of solace, not destruction. “It’s my home, where I was born and raised. And will finally rest. I feel at peace when I go Queens Bath, a fresh-water-filled graben down there. It’s where (a depressed block of land my parents rest. It’s bordered by parallel faults) where my children are was a popular bathing spot in Kapa‘ahu named after. photo by J.D. Griggs, 3/31/87 “I’m very humbled and appreciative to know the families that call Kalapana home. They’re all very honorable, humble people. I feel privileged to be related to such talented Hawaiian families. Every family that calls Kalapana home is a special family. Bystanders watch steam rising from Kalapana means to Billy, Queens Bath as lava flow enters the water. “The laughter, the love, By the end of the day, the family, the music, Punalu‘u heiau was overrun, the ocean. The smell of and Queens Bath was filled with lava Kalapana, just driving photo by J.D. Griggs, 3/31/87 down the hill. It’s still the most special healing place in the whole world.” Billy also credits his hometown with helping him achieve his goals. While attending UMass, he was selected to intern with the late Senator Daniel Inouye. He went on to receive a law degree from UH William S. Richardson School of Law where he was the class commencement speaker. And in 2008, at age 39, he was the youngest elected Mayor in Hawai‘i County history. “When you’re from Kalapana and you don’t know nothing, Lava enters Harry K. Brown Park, renamed in 1953 after Brown, you’re fearless,” says Billy. a county auditor, whose ancestral home “What happens if you don’t was in Kalapana make it? Nothing. Then I photo by D. Weisel, 5/2/90 get to go home and surf in the most beautiful place in the world.” ❖
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Three generations of the Ha family at Hamakua Springs. L-R: Richard, his mom Florence Ha, his wife June Ha, son-in-law and farm manager Kimo Pa, and daughter Tracy Pa.
Tastefully Sustainable:
Richard Ha’s Hamakua Springs Country Farm
A Long and Successful History
Richard has been farming on Hawai‘i Island for more than 35 years. It all started by farming bananas on his father’s chicken farm in Waiākea Uka. Later, Richard began a banana farm in Kapoho and then moved to Shipman land near Kea‘au. After the Hilo Coast Processing Company shut down their sugarcane operation near Pepe‘ekeo 20 years ago, Richard’s family was able to rent part of the property they currently occupy. Later, they were able to purchase the land and then added more acreage. “It’s interesting how the business has grown in relation to things that just made sense and to the economic climate. We have become very good at adapting and always have our
eyes on the future. It is second nature for us to force change,” Richard says. Spread over 600 acres near Pepe‘ekeo, this family business includes Richard; his wife, June; son-in-law, Kimo; daughter, Tracy; and granddaughter, Kimberley. Hamakua Springs’ current location includes an impressive array of hoop houses and massive fields of bananas. Inside the hoop houses we find hydroponically produced tomatoes, lettuce, cucumbers, peppers, and other Hoop house protects growing plants vegetables.
KeOlaMagazine.com | March/April 2014
P
roducing delicious, locally grown fruits and vegetables is much more than a goal for Richard Ha, president of Hamakua Springs Country Farms—it is a reality. “Taste is our highest priority,” Richard explains. “If it doesn’t taste great, customers won’t come back for more.”
| By Barbara Fahs
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Growing hydroponically enables the farm to limit the amount of pesticides and fertilizers that are often necessary for vegetables that grow in the ground. “Although we are not a certified organic farm,” Richard explains, “We have adopted many of the best practices to expand upon our vision of sustainability. When we do have to spray, as much as possible we use chemicals approved for organic farming. Our Beautiful bananas philosophy is always to use the gentlest chemicals first.” The need for herbicides is greatly reduced when weed mats are employed, and other farming methods help Hamakua Springs to achieve this goal, as well. For example, Richard’s bananas are planted in rows wide enough to mow between them in order to avoid hand-weeding and herbicide use. Mowing also serves as a trap for fertilizer, preventing it from getting into the groundwater, Richard explains.
Food Security
KeOlaMagazine.com | March/April 2014
Having confidence that we have enough food to eat and that it is safe and secure is a major concern of Hawai‘i Island residents. From October 2012 through December 2013, the Hawai‘i Rural Development Council conducted a survey after screening the film “Seeds of Hope” at more than 30 locations around the state. Food security ranked first on their list of our state’s food and agriculture challenges, with 95 percent of O‘ahu residents clearly voicing their opinion that food security should be a policy priority. Here on Hawai‘i Island, 101 people responded to the survey, with 57 percent saying that food security is their biggest concern. Survey results from the other islands also reflected this majority opinion. Richard commented on this survey in his blog: “Food security is a critical issue out here, in the middle of the ocean, where we import most of our food. We need to have important and rational discussions, now, about how we will ensure we are food secure as conditions continue to get more challenging.” Jacqueline Kozak Thiel, the new Hawai‘i State Sustainability Coordinator, agrees wholeheartedly. “Because Hawai‘i faces issues with affordability, I don’t want to see food deserts in lowincome communities where people can’t access healthy, locally sourced food,” she says. “After attending the food summit and food caucus in Washington D.C. on January 7, I was inspired to witness so much collective energy around growing more food in Hawai‘i, from political leaders such as State Senator Russell Ruderman, to average citizens. There will be a lot of exciting bills this session to support farmers, school gardens, and agricultural lands.” “Changes will not happen overnight,” Jacqueline added. “With collaboration, education, tracking, and empowerment, we will reach our goals of becoming more sustainable, and the health and vibrancy of our communities will benefit from the change.”
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Tenant Farmers Add to the Diversity
When gasoline prices began to skyrocket, some of Richard’s employees were forced to ask him for financial assistance just to be able to buy the gas they needed to get to work. Over half of their 70 employees live in the local Hāmākua area, Richard explains. Land is also leased to smaller-scale farmers from the community so they can grow things such as sweet potatoes, ginger, taro, cucumbers, eggplant, and various types of bananas.
Tapping Nature’s Energy
“Everything we do is about energy—our sustainability vision is energy-driven,” Richard states. “To keep our utility bills as low as possible, we have experimented with, and are currently using, a simple form of hydroelectric power we generate ourselves.” Making this possible is the Waia‘ama stream, which runs along one side of the Hamakua Springs property, and an old flume that was used to transport sugar cane runs right through the property. They put a pipe into the flume and a turbine at the end of it, which in combination with their farming practices has enabled them to operate almost 100 percent off the grid. As an experiment, Richard’s team planted some of the heritage ‘canoe’ plants around their hydro area in order to try to understand how Hawaiians of a former era used this land. Richard is especially concerned about “peak oil,” which is a theory put forth by M. King Hubbert, who defines peak oil as “the point in time when the maximum rate of petroleum extraction is reached, after which the rate of production is expected to enter terminal decline,” according to Wikipedia. Peak oil is not the same thing as oil depletion; it is merely the point of maximum production rather than dwindling reserves and supply. Although we can’t forecast exactly when peak oil will occur, predictions exist regarding negative effects on the global economy after a “post-peak production decline” and resulting oil prices increase. Richard adds, “All of the farm’s diesel vehicles are powered by bio fuel, and we plan to use hydrogen powered vehicles in the
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Richard Ha, president of Hamakua Springs Country Farms says, “We have been working toward reducing Hawai‘i’s reliance on imported produce for many years. We ship our produce to all of the islands, and never to the mainland, so everything that we grow here stays in the state.”
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future when they become available. Decoupling ourselves from fossil fuels will finally put us on the right side of economic trends.”
Experiments For the Future
Richard and his team have also started to experiment with fish farming. It’s officially known as aquaculture and is a method of producing natural fertilizer in-house, with the help of the fish. They are currently working to determine how they might be able to manufacture or grow fish food cheaply. “Mostly, this type of Healthy local tomatoes food is grain-based, and grains just don’t grow well here,” Richard says. They continue to study alternative methods for producing fish food and give the tilapia raised in their tanks to their workers.
Giving Back to the Community
KeOlaMagazine.com | March/April 2014
Richard is active in finding solutions to high electric costs outside of his farm as well as within it. For example, “When a school has extremely high utility bills, it can adversely affect their
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ability to pay teachers a living wage,” Richard explains. Another thing that has suffered due to budgetary cutbacks and tightened belts is the schools’ ability to take keiki on field trips. The Hamakua Springs website explains that previous field trips students at Keaukaha Elementary School took were walking trips to places around their neighborhood. This was Yummy fresh local produce due to a lack of funds for buses and admission fees. “When we learned about this, Hamakua Springs decided to help create the Big Island Community Coalition (BICC), which successfully fought a 19.2 million dollar electric rate hike,” Richard reported. “The Coalition continues to advocate for lower electricity costs—it benefits the 99 percent of the population that works so hard to keep this country running.” Future plans include a partnership between BICC and ‘Imiloa Astronomy Center. Named Lamakū, or “torch of light,” this Adopta-Visit project will enable Puna and Ka‘ū students to go on a field trip to ‘Imiloa Astronomy Center in Hilo. ‘Imiloa will provide bus transportation and coordinate the visit. Individuals, businesses,
and groups can donate the money that’s needed to send an entire class on a visit to ‘Imiloa. “This kind of adventure is more than just fun for the keiki,” Richard says, adding, “It will broaden their horizons and help them develop positive attitudes about their place in the world.” All donations are tax deductible and it takes only five dollars to sponsor each student. All schools are eligible, including public, private, charter, and home schooled students. Visit Richard Ha’s blog on the Hamakua Springs website for more information and to make a donation. (Hahaha.hamakuasprings.com/schools/)
What the Future Holds
“I do a lot of talks to young people—this is where I want to focus all my attention. They’re all very enthusiastic and hopeful for the future. Every time I come away from a talk with them, I too feel that our future is bright.” Richard also emphasizes the importance of food security in the future. “Agriculture and energy are inextricably tied together. With my 35 years of experience in both fields, I feel I have that to contribute to the young folks.” Richard advises local farmers taking initiative to work toward a more independent food economy. “In Hawai‘i, we need to keep our options open. We need farmers to produce food on all the islands at all elevations, both on the wet side of the island and the dry side. We need farmers to work together so that the whole is stronger than the sum of the parts,” he says.
Keep In Touch With New Developments
KeOlaMagazine.com | March/April 2014
Hamakua Springs Country Farms sells their quality produce to fine restaurants and supermarkets throughout Hawai‘i. “We are also grateful to all of our distributors for making our produce available at as many locations as possible,” Richard says. Social media makes it easy to stay in touch with people and organizations and Hamakua Springs is no exception. Check Richard Ha’s Facebook page (and “friend” him if you like) for up-to-the-minute news and access to his blog, “Ha, Ha, Ha.” Another way to access Richard’s blog is through the Hamakua Springs website. Read all about the issues in this article, such as peak oil, biofuel, hydroelectric power, hydroponics, food safety, the Lamakū project, and much, much more. Richard is an inquisitive and vocal writer, so a visit to his blog is always enlightening. ❖ Contact Richard Ha: Hahaha.HamakuaSprings.com Photos courtesy of Macario: MacarioHawaii.com Contact writer Barbara Fahs: hiiakas@lava.net Info/Sources: HanaHou.com/pages/magazine.asp?Action=DrawArticle& ArticleID=410&Page=2 Hahaha.hamakuasprings.com/schools Hahaha.hamakuasprings.com/peak_oil HamakuaSprings.com/food_safety.htm HamakuaSprings.com/adopt_a_class.htm Hahaha.hamakuasprings.com/schools
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‘Ohana
Those who are family, and those you choose to call your family. As a value, ‘Ohana is a human circle of complete Aloha. Eighth in an ongoing series.
‘O
Managing with Aloha: ‘Ohana
These were some of their responses: • When you are part of this ‘Ohana you honor everyone else in it, by conducting yourself with Aloha, dignity, and respect. So when I work here, I can practice being a good role model for my children. • ‘Ohana is teamwork, and in the context of our Hawaiian cultural values, it’s even more than that. • When you are away from your own family at home, it’s nice to find the same values at work; it feels right. • With ‘Ohana, you get the opportunity to have a stronger relationship with people than would normally happen in a business setting; you care about each other. • Here, even though our origins and ancestry may be different we can still come together as an ‘Ohana. The differences go away; they’re just not as important. • We willingly say we love each other, and we demonstrate it. • In ‘Ohana you lift each other to higher ground—you expect more from each other. You expect more from yourself. • Acceptance for who you are is huge in ‘Ohana, and when you get it, you give it, and you give it to everyone—even the customer who’s grouchy or complains. • ‘Ohana is more intimate than team and more inclusive than department: it takes more truth and honesty. You can’t hide things, but you also don’t need to. • ‘Ohana is the most unselfish gift we can give to the new residents that help us build this community. It is also the first thing we teach them, so they can participate. • Ho‘okipa (the hospitality of complete giving) demands ‘Ohana, and it must be Kākou (all of us), where it is done by every one of us together, not just a few. The “Let’s Talk Story” title we gave to these meetings was appropriate, for they beautifully illustrated something else about the value of ‘Ohana: It gets people talking and empathizing. The conversation about this value is often supportive, passionate, and extremely positive. This spring, I encourage you to take up the discussion and walk the talk of ‘Ohana in your own workplace, whether called a family business, a corporate one, a not-for-profit, or a volunteering effort. What behaviors can the value of ‘Ohana—as our human circle of Aloha—inspire in you and in your culture-building? ~ Rosa Say Next issue: Lōkahi, the value of harmony and unity. Contact writer Rosa Say: RosaSay.com, ManagingWithAloha.com
KeOlaMagazine.com | March/April 2014
hana is a value of strong influence in our Hawai‘i, for a value about family bonds is one we can all relate to in some way. Hānai families (adoptive, usually informally) are common and greatly admired for their warmth, spirit of Aloha, and inclusiveness. I chose “the human circle of Aloha” as the tagline definition for ‘Ohana in Managing with Aloha’s language of intention to convey those feelings rooted through generations in our islands. In my coaching practice, I urge business owners to think of ‘Ohana as a modeling aspiration they can apply their visionary thinking to. Knowing as we do that our values drive behavior, how can an ‘Ohana in Business be useful in shaping organizational structure or for behavioral culture building? Oddly, hearing the phrase, ‘family business’ can give us pause, and we’ll usually wait to hear more about it: What do you mean? Family owned? Family run? Family values? Which ones? Family owned or family run can actually mean the organization is exclusive rather than inclusive, and that distinction becomes a caution. Most people are fine with exclusivity in regard to ownership; they respect foundation and admire an ‘Ohana’s tenacity and resilience. We may even be fine with limited options in promotability. What we will still expect however, is inclusivity in operational decision-making—feeling that our input is welcomed, encouraged, and taken seriously. We have several examples of family businesses locally that pioneer profit-sharing or educational endowments as a way to express their gratitude to both their staff and to the community. It is a visionary and worthy objective to give back and share an organization’s success with these programs, and I will always encourage them in business modeling. However, let’s turn our attentions to the culture-building aspect of an ‘Ohana in Business: What are those distinctions? We started this discussion in Managing with Aloha: In those Let’s Talk Story meetings, we asked our employees, “What does our ‘Ohana mean to you?” We knew that learning of their answer was critically important; it would shine a bright light on the crucial components of ‘Ohana we needed to sustain for them, somehow infusing these benefits with more vitality, more dynamic connection. I took careful notes during those sessions, and what they said would prove to inspire and sustain me over and over again as I sought to be a good manager and leader for them.
| By Rosa Say
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Manaiakalani and Ka I‘a
I
Stories in the Stars
Constellations Hawaiian Style |
n January, four of Leilehua Yuen’s paintings of Hawaiian constellations were put on display in the Visitor Information Station of the Ellison Onizuka Center for International Astronomy. She began research for the illustrations more than 20 years ago—collecting stories, talking with kūpuna, jotting down the stories she heard in childhood, and in the past several years, reading the Hawaiian language newspapers at nupepa.org. She has told the stories to audiences for over a decade. And now, she has begun to paint them.
Bending back one’s head to try and take in the entirety of the sky, the eye is dazzled, the senses overfilled, and the mind overwhelmed. How on earth is one to make sense of this celestial overabundance? Humans actually are very good at sorting out masses of data and making sense of it. Every minute of every day, sounds, sights, scents, tastes, and a variety of physical pressures impact our bodies. We hear voices, see clouds, smell the exhaust of a passing car, taste coffee, feel our clothing against our skin; if we were to try and sort out all of that data every minute of every day, we would be paralyzed with information overload. Like a computer that has been tasked with too much information processing, we would simply shut down. And so we filter, sort, and categorize. From infancy, we learn how to quickly determine what can be safely ignored, what must be ‘Iwahine attended to, and
KeOlaMagazine.com | March/April 2014
As a storyteller, I am fascinated by the folklore derived from the glittering bodies dancing across the night sky. Farmers, wayfarers, kings, and priests have all used the stars as a guide to know when to plant, which direction to head, to commemorate an event, and to predict the future. I collect tales from all of these traditions and tell them again. And between the telling, I seek out the stories behind the stories. Why are these stories so important that they have been preserved for generation upon generation? If one can find a dark place—not a somewhat dim place near houselights and streetlights; not a kind of dark place where one can still see their glow—a truly dark place with no human-made light at all, no reflected city light, and no moon glow—in that dark place, the night sky is not black. It is a dusty grey of varying intensities spangled with brilliant points of light scintillating in diamond colors; bright white, blue, yellow, and red scatter in seemingly random disarray.
By Leilehua Yuen
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KeOlaMagazine.com | March/April 2014
how to organize it all so that we can process the information without being overwhelmed by it. One of the tools we use is pareidolia. Pareidolia is the human tendency to look at random groupings of things and make Huihui kōkō a Makali‘i Kau i Luna pictures out of them. If you have ever looked up at the clouds and seen teddy bears, winged horses, dragons, castles, or other images formed by them, you have practiced pareidolia. Pareidolia is why we see constellations and asterisms in the stars. Of course, what we see in the stars is a reflection of what we see around us in daily life, or those things that fill our own mythologies. And, not all viewers will give each star the same level of importance in choosing which will outline the constellation or asterism they see. Thus, in a grouping of, say, seven stars, some people might use the six that are closest to each other, and leave out the seventh. Others might choose only the brightest. Others might select four that make the corners of a square. And yet others might not close the square, and see a bowl instead.
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In ancient Greece, the group of stars in the constellation that swung around Polaris, or the North Star, was seen as a dog, later as a dragon’s wing, and then as a young bear, Ursa Minor. The smaller asterism, or group of stars, that formed the bear’s hips and tail were known as the Little Dipper by English-speaking tribes. To the Hungarians, it was seen as the Little Goncol Cart, named for the inventor of that type of cart. In the Americas, the Aztec people saw this asterism as Twisted Foot. And to some Hawaiian people, it was a bird circling her nest. Each of these images is associated with a story. The Greek story of Ursa Minor and Ursa Major, which can easily be found in libraries and on the Internet, tells the listener a lesson about how people should act toward each other, gives warnings about the breaking of social mores, and establishes the constellations vividly in the mind. Holding their mental image so strongly is important, as they are useful in finding north, critical for seafarers such as the Greeks, or for nomads who crossed vast deserts and plains with few distinct landmarks. Pleiades (public domain by NASA) Mariners, hikers,
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and other travelers used and continue to use Ursa Minor and the North Star as navigational aids. In this age, we tend to think of the stories associated with these celestial images as fables and tales to amuse children. And yet at one time, they were as important to an adult as a college education is to us today. In an oral tradition, the images spilling across the dome of the night sky illustrated texts on sailing, meteorology, history, agriculture, and aquaculture. The sky was a navigational chart for the sailor, an almanac for the farmer, and a calendar for all. The Polynesian explorers who navigated the Pacific Ocean using the stars, had never seen bears before, but they knew the wing shapes and habits of birds. The sea, sand, and rugged cliffs were not amenable to the wheel, so the arts of their inventors were used in crafting canoes, not carts. Chairs were unknown, scorpions had not yet found a way to Hawai‘i, and fishhooks were cherished: where a man went, his best fishhooks went, too. No cows or goats provided buckets of milk, but fish swam in the ocean. And so, rather than seeing carts, queens on thrones, rampaging bulls, and pails of milk, they saw flying and perching birds, a great fish leaping from the sea, and a giant hook to catch it. The ‘iwa, Great Frigate Bird, Fregeta minor, is a pleagic avian, flying far from land over the sea. By knowing the range and habits of this bird, the Polynesian seafarer used it as one of many navigational aids. Unable to land on the water, one of ‘iwa’s habits is to seek shelter in the lee of high islands when there are storms at sea. When they gather over land, it is a good indicator of an incoming storm. Adding that observation to others, ancient people knew if it was time to pull in the canoes and secure them or secure their household against the heavy winds and rain. In good weather, ‘iwa may range some 80 km (50 mi) out to sea. A favorite food is the flying fish (mālolo). Watching the ‘iwa can show a fisherman where various fish are feeding. One story applied to ‘Iwahine (roughly the Little Dipper) and ‘Iwakeli‘i (roughly Casseopeia) says that ‘Iwahine, the female bird, constantly circles her nest, Pūnana (Polaris). In the summertime, ‘Iwakeli‘i chases Mālolo (Schedar), diving below the horizon. In the stormy winter, he returns, flying high over Hawai‘i nei, just like any reasonable frigate bird. One feature of Hawaiian astronomy, which often drives my students to distraction, is the many different names for one astronomical body or constellation. Seemingly confusing, this feature actually adds a great deal of precision to the field. The Pleiades, an open star cluster in the shoulder of the constellation Taurus, is known to the kilo hōkū, the Hawaiian astronomer, by several names: Ka Huihui a Makali‘i (The cluster of Makali‘i), Huihui kōkō a Makali‘i Kau i Luna (The Net Cluster of Makali‘i Hung Above), Nā Kā a Makali‘i (The Bailer of Makali‘i), Nā kōkō a Makali‘i (The Net of Makali‘i), Nā Wahine a Makali‘i (The Wives of Makali‘i), Ke Aweawe Makali‘i (The Makali‘i Stars Stuck Together), Ka Lālani a Makali‘i (The Makali‘i Line), Huihui (Cluster, Group), and Kūpuku (Clustered). In some traditions, the Pleiades is also called Makali‘i, and there are also traditions that assign that name to Aldebaran. What does such an abundance of names tell us? First, it tells us that the star, planet, or group of stars is very important to a lot of people. The Pleiades is important to the traveler as a navigational feature. The variety of names indicates, I believe, the altitude and angle of the cluster, which is critical information to a navigator.
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One translation for Makali‘i is “Eyes of the Chief,” and that was the name of the head navigator of Hawai‘iloa, a great voyaging chief. If we look at the cluster when it is first rising above Ke Kā o Makali‘i the horizon, it could look a bit like a woman standing upright. Or perhaps it is a group of women, Nā Wahine a Makali‘i. In either case, soon the sail of the husband’s canoe comes into sight, and Makali‘i (Aldebaran), the navigator, sails into view. What better reason to journey forth than to find a wife? As the cluster rises overhead, the stars begin to look like a bailer, an important commodity, indeed for those who spend their lives on the sea. In fact, a number of Polynesian legends center on magical women who take the form of a beautifully carved bailer floating in the ocean. Caught and claimed by the right man, the bailer becomes a beautiful woman who agrees to marry him. And so the Makali‘i line continues down to the sea. Makali‘i and his wives rise a bit north of due east, and pass directly overhead on their way to the sea, where they will set to the south of due west. For the traditional farmer, on Hawai‘i Island, the November 17 rising of the Pleiades marks the approximate start of the rainy
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season. Makali‘i was a great navigator and steersman and also an agronomist (expert farmer). Indeed, we find that around the world the Pleides is associated with farming. In Hawai‘i, the evening rising of those stars is associated with the return of the all-important rainy season. Other chiefs have also been named Makali‘i. Among them is the father of Kamapua‘a, the pig demigod also associated with rain and fertility. At the other end of the spectrum is a greedy Chief Makali‘i, who figures into a story from the Kona Coast. In this story, Makali‘i is translated as “tiny eyes,” which is a euphemism for “greedy” and refers to a chief who taxed the people into poverty during a drought. In this story, ‘Iole, the Hawaiian rat, saved the people from starvation by chewing through Huihui kōkō a Makali‘i Kau i Luna. The net burst open and all the food that the evil Chief Makali‘i had placed in it fell back to earth. Hidden within this story may be a record of the extreme El Niño conditions of 1640. Whatever historical events may be encoded into the story, for myself, when the net hangs over ‘Iwakeli‘i the western sea, I enjoy thinking of Aldeberan as
the right ear of ‘Iole, ε Tauri as his left ear, θ1 and δ his eyes, and γ Tauri his pointy little nose. His body is to my left, and Orion’s bow makes his tail. If I look closely at the Pleiades, which ‘Iole ‘Iole is also eyeing, I see where our heroic little rat bit through the side of the net, making it hang lopsided as it falls below the horizon. ❖
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Contact writer Leilehua Yuen: KaaheleHawaii.com Bibliography
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. Beckwith, Martha W. Hawaiian Mythology. Honolulu: UH Press, 1970. (Originally published in 1940 by Yale University Press.) . Cartwright, Bruce. “The Legend of Hawaii-Loa.” Journal of the Polynesian Society. Vol. 38: 1929. 105-121. . Emerson, N. B., “Long Voyages of the Ancient Hawaiians,” Papers of the Hawaiian Historical Society, May 18, 1893 (No. 5) 5-13. . Finney, Ben. From Sea to Space. Palmerston North, NZ: Massey University, 1992. . Fornander, Abraham. Hawaiian antiquities and folklore. Bishop Museum Memoirs, Vols 4, 5, and 6. Honolulu: Bishop Museum Press, 1916-1920. . Green, Laura; edited by Martha Warren Beckwith. Folk-tales from Hawaii. Poughkeepsie, New York: Vassar, 1926. . Handy, E.S. Craighill. Marquesan Legends. Honolulu: Bishop Musuem Press, 1930. . Handy, E.S. Craighill. The Native Culture in the Marquesas. Honolulu: Bishop Musuem Press, 1923. . Henry, Teuira et al. Voyaging Chiefs of Havai‘i. Honolulu: Kalamaku Press, 1995. A collection of voyaging traditions from across Polynesia. . Irwin, Geoffrey. The Prehistoric Exploration and Colonization of the Pacific. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 1992. . Johnson, Rubellite K. From the Gills of the Fish: The Tahitian Homeland of Hawaii’s Chief Mo‘ikeha. . Kalakaua, David. The Legends and Myths of Hawaii. Rutland, Vermont: Tuttle, 1972. Originally published in 1888. . Kamakau, Samuel Manaiakalani. Tales and Traditions of the People of Old / Na Mo‘olelo a ka Po‘e Kahiko. Honolulu: Bishop Museum, 1993. . Kepelino’s Traditions of Hawaii. Honolulu: Bishop Museum, 1932. . Kāne, Herb Kawainui. Voyagers. Honolulu: Whalesong, 1991. . Kirch, Patrick Vinton. Feathered Gods and Fishhooks: An Introduction to Hawaiian Archaeology and Prehistory. Honolulu: UH Press, 1987. . Lewis, David. We, the Navigators: The Ancient Art of Landfinding in the Pacific. 2nd Edition. Honolulu: UH Press. 1994. . Lindo, Cecilia Kapua and Nancy Alpert Mower. Polynesian Seafaring Heritage. Honolulu: Kamehameha Schools, 1980. . Tobin, Jack A. Stories from the Marshall Islands, Bwebwenato Jān Aelōn Kein. Pali Language Texts, Micronesia . Ka Hae Hawai‘i. Buke 5, Ano Hou.—Helu 36, Aoao 147; Dekemaba 5, 1860 - 5 Kekemapa 1860 . Nupepa Kuokoa; Buke 4, Helu 2; 12 Ianuali 1865 . Nupepa Kuokoa; Buke 1, Helu 51, 16 Nowemapa 1862
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Crossword Puzzle | By Myles Mellor
This page is for Ke Ola readers to have FUN while learning about the Hawaiian culture and this wonderful island we call home. Some answers are in English, some are in Hawaiian. Some answers will be found when you read the stories and ads in this issue. Feel free to use the online Hawaiian electronic library.wehewehe.org Oh yes, you can find the answers on page 83.
KeOlaMagazine.com | March/April 2014
Your feedback is always welcome. HIeditor@keolamagazine.com
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ACROSS 1 Hawaiian dancing festival held at the Edith Kanaka‘ole Stadium (2 words) 9 Hawaiian word meaning the breath of life 10 Relating to the area nearby 11 Hawai‘i County Mayor who grew up in Kalapana 12 Hawaiian word for a delay 13 Hawaiian word for to chew 14 Makes better 16 Hawaiian word for a sudden sound 19 Head motion of agreement 21 He was responsible for the Hawaiian cultural resurgence of the 1880s and 1890s, King David ____ 22 Trendy 23 Expression of delight 25 Beach dwellings 26 Hawaiians are concerned about this kind of security 29 Hawaiian word for responsibility 30 Hawaiian word for daggers fitted with marlin bills 32 Kupuna, ___ Raylene Ha‘alelea Kawaiae‘a 33 Plant that can calm the nerves and promote restful sleep
DOWN 1 Hawaiian word for newcomer 2 President of Hamakua Springs Country Farms, ____ Ha 3 There are 8 of these that make up Hawai‘i 4 Type of shark 5 Number of pineapples produced by a pineapple plant 6 Hawaiian state bird 7 They bring water to the land 8 Hawaiian word for turtles 15 Wood used extensively in the Hulihe‘e Palace 16 Geographic feature between Mauna Loa, Mauna Kea and the Hualālai volcanic mountains 17 Hawaiian word for shadow 18 Edible root 20 Hawaiian word for infatuated 21 Hawaiian word for “slack key” as in “slack key guitar” 24 Hawaiian word for school 27 Course for actors 28 Hawaiian word for bag or purse 30 Lū‘au food 31 Hawaiian word for metal tools
Luana Kawelu:
Community builder and protector of the Merrie Monarch legacy |
By Paula Thomas
T
his year, Luana Kawelu will celebrate 44 years of working with Queen Lili‘uokalani Children’s Center (QLCC). Her area is Keaukaha, and her work supports children up to 18 years of age. Luana manages and coordinates programs that range from tutoring and after school sports to community projects like health fairs, GED programs, and summer school, often in partnership with the Keaukaha Community Association, Kamehameha Schools, and Keaukaha Elementary School. Her job is to get children to attend activities, and she works on this full time year-round. Perhaps the biggest activity is the August Ho‘olaule‘a, a three-day event that brings the entire community together for volleyball, basketball, tug-o-war competitions, lots of local music, food, and other festivities. The QLCC provides all the food for the 1,200 residents, and block captains from the neighborhoods along with committee members and volunteers work together to coordinate all the competitions, arts and crafts, logistics, entertainment, and cleanup. When Luana speaks about her work, it is clear that she loves it, and she says as much. It’s one her life’s joys to support the Keaukaha community in this way. “Our Ho‘olaule‘a helps so much to consolidate the community. Some of the families do their family reunions around it . . . and we have a community that cares. The families are getting to know one another, and the kids can run to the neighbors and feel safe.”
Merrie Monarch Festival
Once winter comes, she shifts gears and spends time around the lunch hour at the Merrie Monarch Festival office across from the Edith Kanaka‘ole Tennis Stadium where she takes on her second role as director of the Merrie Monarch Festival, or as her cousin Wally Camp puts it, “the new boss.”
Merrie Monarch Hō‘ike 2013
For Luana Kawelu, the Merrie Monarch Festival has become her destiny, put in her protective hands by her mother, Dorothy (Dottie) Mae Elizabeth Soares Thompson, who ran the festival since 1968 as a volunteer, and who passed away in March, 2010. Luana sits at her piled-high desk in the festival office, with a portrait of her mother hanging on the wall to her left. And it’s with this awareness of her mother’s legacy that Luana has taken the reins. She laughs when she talks about it, and yet she feels the pressure to stay the course. It’s her job, her duty, to make sure that the much beloved, much appreciated, and signature cultural event in Hilo remains successful and stays in Hilo. To that end, Luana is loath to change much. She is approached all the time with requests to move the festival to O‘ahu where there are bigger venues, more hotels, and a better infrastructure. In a sense, the festival’s success is also its Achilles heel.
KeOlaMagazine.com | March/April 2014
photo by Renée Robinson
Luana with her mom, Aunty Dottie
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The Merrie Monarch Festival attracts people from all over the world. Tickets can only be ordered by mail, and the envelopes come in from Switzerland, Germany, Austria, France, Taiwan, Tahiti, American Sāmoa, Japan, Aunty Dottie and Luana Korea, Finland, Poland, Saudi Arabia, Siberia, Canada, and all 50 US states. The global appreciation of the Merrie Monarch Festival is still a source of amazement to the staff. “This started off as a small-town festival, and people from all over the world want to come,” says Luana. “It’s a wonder how some have heard about it.” The global draw and increasing number of participating hālau puts a stretch on access to seats. There are just so many at the Edith Kanaka’ole Stadium, the largest venue in Hilo. Each hālau are entitled to 75 tickets, no matter how many dancers they have, which Luana calculates is nearly half the 4,200 tickets available each night. To build a bigger facility here to accommodate more people, there just aren’t enough major events in Hilo to justify the cost, at least not right now. The County, under Mayor Kenoi, did complete renovations of the Tennis Stadium in time for the 50th anniversary festival last spring, but that didn’t expand capacity. The 51st annual Merrie Monarch Festival, to run from April 20–26 this year, will showcase 28 hālau: 17 wahine (women) and 11 Luana with her daughters kāne (men). Ticket Colleen (l) and Kathy (r) requests had to be postmarked by December 26, 2013, so late-to-the-gate folks have to find people who already have tickets in order to be able to attend. On the bright side, the extraordinary festival is televised statewide and is streamed live online so that anyone who wants to see it has an opportunity to—as long as they have access to a TV and/or computer. It was Dottie Thompson who approved television coverage, mostly to enable the kūpuna who could not attend to be able to watch from home. Now, it’s quite possible that hundreds of thousands of people across the globe watch this grand hula event, sometimes referred to as, “the Olympics of hula.” The first night of hō‘ike performances will be free and open to the public. All other nights require tickets for entry. The colorful Merrie Monarch Parade (also free, on Saturday) is a royal tradition in downtown Hilo not to be missed. An event of this scale cannot be done alone, and Luana’s daughter, Kathleen Kawelu (an assistant professor of anthropology/archeology at UH Hilo), assists when she can, as do all Luana’s children and extended family members.
Mayor Kenoi and Project Manager Aubrey Summers join Aunty Luana Kawelu and George De Mello of the Merrie Monarch Festival in untying the maile
Photos courtesy Luana Kawelu and Hawai‘i County Contact Luana Kawelu: MerrieMonarch.com Contact writer Paula Thomas: paula@delphipacific.com
KeOlaMagazine.com | March/April 2014
Some of the jobs Luana takes on as her kuleana (responsibility) include selecting the seven judges, choosing the design for the t-shirts and tote bags (they are a lovely royal blue and periwinkle this year), directing the ticket sales, and, of course, overseeing the event over its four-day span. Judge selection is a particularly sensitive process, and the pool of candidates comes from the hālau themselves. Each suggests three people. Combing through the list and coming up with a balanced slate of judges is delicate work says Luana. “There is only a one-point difference sometimes between the hālau,” she says. “When it’s that close, you need to have a balanced representation from the hālau among the judges. You have to know who is who.” Although hula is the focus of the festival, it wasn’t early on. It was pageantry, coronation of ali‘i, and barbershop quartets in 1964. The first hula was performed in 1971, thanks to Uncle George Na‘ope, the festival co-founder whom had introduced Dottie Thompson to kumu hula around the state. “Aunty Dottie” and Uncle George went around town selling buttons for $1 in those early years to raise money. By 1976, the first kāne performed, and after that, the festival began to take off. The rules for performing, set out by Aunty ‘Iolani Luahine as well as Lokalia Montgomery and Puanani Alama, haven’t changed since the 1970s. “Kahiko needs to stay pure,” says Luana. “Whenever you make changes, small or big, you lose the tradition.” The only change that Luana has made is the elimination of the lei from the t-shirt design. “Some of the men don’t really like a t-shirt with a lei; other people love it and consider it a signature of the Merrie Monarch Festival. I understand that. But I just didn’t add it in this year,” she says. In addition to the hula festival, Luana has a chairperson who organizes the Hawaiian craft fair A new building alongside the stadium held at the features additional dressing rooms Afook-Chinen and restrooms for performers Auditorium.
It augments the hula festival by providing screened, authentic Hawaiian crafts within walking distance of the tennis stadium. The fair serves as ongoing support for the revival of the Hawaiian arts, and The front lobby concession area was Luana is pleased expanded and covered and now and proud, in a features a permanent counter modest way, to have and seating for those waiting played a small part in the revitalization of hula and the Hawaiian arts over the years. Among the biggest constraint of a festival of this size is the overnight accommodation available, or not, in and around Hilo, for off-island visitors and also for the performing hālau, many of which have upwards of 30 dancers. And anyone who has tried to rent a car or get a cab or a flight during festival week knows the strain on transportation resources. These days, not a week goes by without a mention, a suggestion, or pressure coming from off-island to move the Merrie Monarch Festival to O‘ahu, in part because of these capacity issues. If there is pressure for the festival director, much of it comes from this angle. Merrie Monarch Festival moving? “Never on my watch,” asserts Luana. She has been working under her mother for more than 35 years, and directing the festival is not something she feels like she had a choice about. While it’s an honor and a privilege and a huge job to direct the Merrie Monarch Festival, it is not Luana’s first love. The work that she does with the Keaukaha community the rest of the year has a special place in her heart. She loves the children, she loves helping the community, and she loves seeing growth, development, support, and collaboration among community members. Luana has noticed over the course of her working life and her involvement with Merrie Monarch that collaboration is becoming a stronger and stronger force. She sees it in her community work and she has seen it in the hālau over time. “There used to be so much competition among the hālau. There was not much camaraderie and no cooperation between them. Now,” Luana says, “They do so much to help one another. They are very collaborative, and if it wasn’t for them, there wouldn’t be hula.” “It’s a gift to be able to dance the way they do, and it’s a gift to pass on. They are very careful about what they’ve learned, and they understand that they aren’t just dancing for themselves, but for their kumu and for their culture.” That is what is perpetuated with the Merrie Monarch Festival: the culture of hula and the arts. And Hilo is where it was born, and Hilo is where it will stay— as long as Luana Kawelu has anything to say about it. ❖
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Honoka`a
Historic Plantation Town near Waipi`o Valley Take the lush scenic northern route, and you’ll find Honoka’a only 15 minutes east of Waimea, 30 minutes northwest of Laupahoehoe, and 1 hour northwest from Hilo. It’s the gateway to Waipi`o Valley, so come over and spend some time at our restaurants and shops.
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Hula practice
Lighting the Way
...L
Honoka‘a People’s Theatre ventures into a new century |
ong shot from above right, wide shot closes in on the hand painted marquee…
…credits rolling… Cut to newsreel, Honolulu Hawai‘i… 1909, Joel C. Cohen announces in the local papers, “First appearance in Honolulu of the Cameraphone, the machine that sings, dances, and acts.” He is inviting audiences to the newly refitted Opera House. Originally in storefronts and outdoor walk-in theaters, finally cinema in Hawai‘i moved under a roof. Movie houses sprouted like air-dropped transplants in the Hawaiian Islands.
Fade into: flickering sepia black and white over subtitles in English... In 1930, Honoka‘a was the third largest town in the state after Hilo and Honolulu. Circa 1930s The Honoka‘a People’s Theatre began showing films and holding music, dance, and theater events on Mamane Street in downtown Honoka‘a town. This workingman’s theater is one of the finest with an honorable lineage of care and nurture. In the heyday of Hawai‘i plantations, movie houses brought entertainment to the hard working people of Hāmākua, often a captive audience. Moving pictures traveled across the oceans bringing language and culture to Hawai‘i’s spectrum of immigrants. Theaters near plantations typically cycled Japanese, Filipino, American films and newsreels. Often it was the only source
KeOlaMagazine.com | March/April 2014
It is 1939, and downtown Mamane street is a walker’s paradise. Soft evening air, light linen shirts and skirts, some kimonos, some cheongsam. Lines forming for the evening’s movie step forward slowly, anxious for the show with talk, whispers, and laughter. Most had walked in from any one of the three Hāmākua sugar plantation fields: a chop suey of cane cutters, drivers, lunas, land lords, and ladies gather in their finest attire in downtown Honoka‘a for the evening. A few horses and carriages tie up for the night’s movie, traveling from Waipio Valley and as far as Laupāhoehoe.
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of news or culture of their home for immigrant workers in the islands. The Tanimoto family was responsible for building and running several movie houses on the island, including what is now the Aloha Theatre in Kainaliu and what were theaters in Honomū and Mountain View.
Family Fare
It is the legacy of the Tanimoto family that the Keeney Family is carrying Chris Tanimoto on today. Phaethon Keeney remembers Mrs. Peggy Tanimoto fondly, in what were her salad days in town. “Mrs. Tanimoto occasionally performed in whiteface and costume as a Kamigata-mai—a female Kabuki soloist. She danced hula and was an active and lively community member who performed in talent shows, parades, and bon dances. She was quite gracious and a wonderful lady. I remember her well,” Phaethon shares. Peggy’s husband, Mr. Christian Tanimoto Sr. ran films until he passed. Then, his good friend, Jiro Kawatachi took over managing; he also ran the sweet shop across street where the Filipino Store is now. At that time it was operated as a Consolidated Theatre; films would come three to six months after they were released elsewhere. Tawn Keeney, a family doctor in town, took over the lease in 1987, and lived behind the screen, in what was an apartment back then. Yolanda Keeney, took over managing, and the theater Peggy Tanimoto was soon an independent theater enterprise with private booking that enabled them to get the films requested sooner. Cut to 2013 the theater is nearly empty, not dark... George Santos Jr., projectionist and son of a former master of the magical pyrotechnic wonder called a carbon arc projector, looks up at the large empty screen, side lit with the exit doors emitting beaming afternoon light and remembers. A slow dissolve to…1978
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“Back then, Mrs. Tanimoto had two cats, the rascals, and I had to hunt them down before the movie ‘cause they would brush up against the customers legs in the dark and people would think they were rats.”
He pauses, eyes glistening in memory. “Saturday Night Fever was the best grossing film. It changed Honoka‘a town, playing two times a day for three weeks. The theater was packed every night, every seat up to the front, looking straight up, sore neck, looking at screen; back then, no stage, seats right up to the screen; costs were $1.50 to $1.75 a ticket; the lobby was filled with more than 20 pinball machines, a jukebox, bowling game— we made good money,” George says. …Hold the Sugar, Cut! Is there a doctor in the house? …slowly fade up on fields of overgrown cane, wet and glistening in a morning light under a rainbow… It is the late 1990s, times are hard in Honoka‘a with the closing of the last of Hāmākua’s sugar plantations: an abandoned ranch and cane town is left to its own devices. With the old screen, poor sound, and the passing of Mrs. Tanimoto, the People’s Theatre closed. Doctor Tawn Keeney purchased the theater he leased, and nursed it back to health. With his family, he repainted the interior on nights and weekends, upgraded the electricity, put in a new screen, projectors, sound system, dance floor, and People’s Theatre reopened in 1992. Tawn’s friends, Don Mitts and Jay Sims managed the newly restored theater until 2004 when Phaethon returned from college and found a consolidated partner and husband in Kanoa Withington. Together they took over management and opened the cafe in the front lobby. The growing Keeney family has performed a multitude of tasks to continue bringing the theater up-to-date. Then came the new millennium of digital projection, omnimedia performance and art, and once again, it was recognition of the times, the needs, and the people. This time it was a full-on restoration, historically, of a relic, carefully saving the best parts and meeting the new technological needs of the next generation. In their loving renovation of the
projection booth, apartment, lobby, dressing room, 525 seat theater, and land, the Keeney family have restored The People’s Theatre to its anachronistic beauty, with state-of-the-art upgrades, attention, and care. Phaethon details the improvements. She says, “We’ve moved the screen back for a larger stage; installed a house sound system for live events, a new video projector to play DVD/ Blu-rays for independent films; improved the theater lighting, put in a new roof, added in solar, and have begun programming two shows a day six days a week with touring and local live performances. This has partially been made possible by the installation of new lights and an in-house live sound system that allows us to stage community events at far lower costs to the organizers than anywhere on the island.”
Theater With A Vision
…cut to Saturday night 2014… The five o’clock art film is letting out, and a friendly crowd mills about the cafe with soft drinks and popcorn for the seven o’clock blockbuster. Families and smiling couples stroll into the theater for stories on film and stage. On other days it’s a children’s matinee, or a first run, or a documentary. At other times, People’s Theatre presents live music and a dance floor in the restored music hall designed to serve the people. Like a well-strung violin with years of polish and human oils, this wonderful theater is back and vitally functioning as a stage, hosting world traveling events in acoustic and visual splendor. People’s Theatre has been home to the Hamakua Music Festival, Gary Washburn’s excellent Honoka‘a Jazz band, and brings in European, American, and Asian music, film, and art. It was also featured in the film, Honoka‘a Boy.
A Theater for the People
KeOlaMagazine.com | March/April 2014
People’s Theatre is working on a joint project with North Hawai‘i Research Center along with local merchants to put on a rotating display of photographs and mementos, which assuredly will deepen the appreciation of the rich history of the area. With a Dr. Keeney, his daughters Phaethon progressively and Evianne, and Leo Yoshida populist vision to promote the rich local stories with drama and hula depicting Hāmākua history from Waipi‘o to the summit of Mauna Kea, People’s Theatre has begun to give the theater back to the people. The “Honoka‘a Community Theatre Group” is currently underway, writing and performing original plays on stage. The dance floor is graced with dance classes in modern, tango, butoh, and a hula hālau of more than 50 members. Again, the theater is open to Hāmākua coasts needs in sponsoring various public fundraisers and events. Phaethon shares, “The theater is a family business and a hub for the community, yet the income from business does not
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cover the costs of keeping the building open, yet. We’d like to continue offering the theater to the community, so we see the need to open the theater to a nonprofit that will guide the use of the space in creating events and activities to benefit the community. This includes selecting films, hosting meetings and lectures, as well as classes in the performing arts, film, live events and cultural shows.” A nonprofit will also be helpful answering the question of what to do about the movie industry changing from 35 mm film to digital format. “We’re still brainstorming but are open to suggestions in how to keep the theater from going dark. We welcome input from the community and would love any help with regards to the formation of a nonprofit and finding ways to serve the people. The theater really lucked out with being in a town like Honoka‘a—it’s the people here who fill the place and make it such a cool place to be. They’re the right mix of people who love country life, nature, family, culture, creative and independent thinking, and a sense of community. The reason that the theater holds on is that the people fill it with their energy and take from it a little bit of each other, and over the years that has amounted to a lot of good times. Lucky we live Hawai‘i!” In the last year, they opened a cafe in the lobby serving organic, local Hāmākua coffees, fresh fruit smoothies, salads, and sandwiches on
street side tables in addition to the inside lobby. More than just a movie house, it is a place for gathering before and after shows where one can watch a town move by. It is its past, present, and future that is keeping the Honoka‘a People’s Theatre a beacon for art and cultural gathering in and amongst a shrinking screen hand held world. ...house lights at half, credits rolling, slippahs shuffling, whispers, laughter... ❖ Contact Honoka‘a Peoples Theatre: HonokaaPeople.com North Hawai‘i Research Center: Hilo.Hawaii.Edu/academics/nherc Contact writer John J. Boyle: jjjboyle2112@gmail.com
KeOlaMagazine.com | March/April 2014
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L: Ae‘o Hawaiian endemic stilt R: Kahuli, an endangered and endemic Hawaiian tree snail on Ohia Tree with Lehua Blossom
Featured Cover Artist: Alaina deHavilland
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“It takes a really, really long time from concept to composing to executing any of my pieces. Every wrinkle, dimple, eyelash, fold, color, crease and shadow is studied before paint goes to canvas.” Her oil paintings are on either canvas or exotic Hawaiian Koa wood. She has just started experimenting with Paniolo-Hawaiian Cowboy pastel, after being The eyes of Uncle Billy Paris inspired during a have koa showing through workshop with our to make them realistic wonderful Hawai‘i Island artist, Kathy Long. “Occasionally, inspiration is a subtle thing that creeps up, then manifests fully formed into a visual. Other times something just bonks you over the head with its obviousness. Screaming ‘paint me, paint me!’ Who knows—if we knew the formula to inspiration, we’d all be ‘rock stars’ in our chosen field!” Alainaʻs studio is a few steps away from she and her husbandʻs farmhouse. It was originally built as an ‘ohana for their boys and granddaughter when they visit from O‘ahu or the mainland. Sheʻs gradually taken over the space, and now visiting family and friends are squeezed in the cracks and corners. Her stunning ocean view stretches from the Hokulia point to Kailua Village and looks down over Kahalu‘u Beach. When she’s not creating art, Alaina enjoys snorkeling, scuba, sailing on their sailboat, hiking, or entertaining friends and family. Contact Alaina deHavilland: alainaartist@gmail.com, 808.895.4032
KeOlaMagazine.com | March/April 2014
orn in South Africa, Alaina deHavilland moved to Hawai‘i on Jan 3, 1983, the day Kīlauea began what is now a 31-year continuous eruption. Her first images sold the day she made them. “I took a colored pencil class for an afternoon and completed two flowers—Bird of Paradise and Crab Claw Heleconia—and they are still selling.” Alaina has been most influenced by William Bouguereau, for the sheer beauty of his paintings, his extraordinarily realistic skin tones, and his ability to capture the soul and spirit of his subject matter. For a portrait or figurative piece, Alaina likes to spend time with the client or model, photographing in different light, poses, or outfits. “After choosing the pose, I work with photos and composition until it ‘feels’ right. With the clients final approval, I get to work. Initially I block in the pose working in the Lovely Hula Hands on koa grisaille method, that is, doing a full monochromatic painting, working out all the details. Then I like to have the person come back for a session so I can work from life to get the skin tones correct.” Doing still life, floras, endemic, and endangered wildlife, she works much the same way. (Except the wild animals or marine life don’t come to the studio to sit for a pose). Kokio keokeo
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KeOlaMagazine.com | March/April 2014
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Visitor Center Free Admission • Open 8:30 a.m - 4:30 p.m. Daily • Farm & Mill Tours • Free Award-winning Ka‘ū Coffee & Macadamia Nut Tastings. • Purchase Macadamia & Ka‘ū Coffee at Factory Prices. • 96-2694 Wood Valley Rd., Pāhala (808) 928-0550
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The Secrets of Generations
How Slack Key Guitar grew community and culture |
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their traditional chants, songs, and rhythms, and over time, it blended into a new sound. The Hawaiians developed a way to get a full sound on just one guitar by picking the bass and rhythm chords on the lower three or four pitched strings with the thumb while playing the melody or improvised melodic fills on the upper two or three pitched strings. The slack key tradition was also highly supported by King David Kalākaua, who was responsible for the Hawaiian cultural resurgence of the 1880s and 1890s. Kalākaua believed the revitalization of traditional culture was at the root of the survival Hawaiian kī hō‘alu slack key of the Hawaiian guitar master, Cyril Pahinui kingdom.
KeOlaMagazine.com | March/April 2014
nyone who’s grown up or even visited Hawai‘i will notice one thing: here in these islands, it is never silent. Instead, the air is filled with a rich array of sounds—from the din of wild roosters crowing to the chatter of someone’s aunty speaking pidgin—our culture tingles with sounds that enliven the heart. And there is one sound, one so steeped in Hawaiian culture, that it is an unmistakable representation of the Hawaiian people, their hearts and breath: slack key guitar. Quite simply, slack key guitar is a style of playing acoustic guitar, and it is one that has secured deep roots in Hawai‘i over time. In Hawaiian, it’s referred to as kī hō‘alu, which means, “loosen the key.” Some mystery surrounds the story of how the art of slack key guitar came to the Hawaiian Islands, however it is supposed that the six-string guitar was probably originally introduced to the Hawaiians by European sailors around the beginning of the 19th century. Guitars were also brought to Hawai‘i by Mexican and Spanish vaqueros (cowboys) hired by King Kamehameha III around 1832. In the evenings around the campfire, the vaqueros played their guitars, and when they returned to the mainland, some of them gave their guitars to the Hawaiians. The Hawaiians incorporated what they had learned of the Mexican and Spanish music into
By Le‘a Gleason
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Atta, Phil, Gabby, Cyril, and Martin in the family backyard
KeOlaMagazine.com | March/April 2014
Kalākaua was succeeded by his sister, and last reigning monarch of Hawai‘i Queen Lili‘uokalani, who is revered as “the greatest composer of this period.” Over time, a wide variety of styles and tunings developed. The Hawaiians often used the standard Spanish tuning (E-A-DG-B-E, from lowest-to-highest-pitched string), resulting in sweet sounding tunings with “slacked” open (unfretted) strings. Or, the guitar was tuned to a major chord, like the popular G Major “Taro Patch” tuning (D-G-D-G-B-D) The tunings the Hawaiians invented fall into five basic categories: Major, Wahine, Mauna Loa, Ni‘ihau/ Old Mauna Loa, and miscellaneous. Although slack key tunings are widely known now, that wasn’t the case when music legends Keola Beamer, Cyril Pahinui, and others were learning to play in the 1950s. Cyril’s father, Gabby Pahinui is known as one of the great slack key legends. Gabby was born and raised on O‘ahu into a humble working-class family. He only attended school up to fifth-grade, when he dropped out to begin working to support the family. Gabby’s stepmother bought him a guitar that cost somewhere between five and ten dollars, and he began playing Hawaiian music in bars at just 13. He went on to learn slack key guitar from Herman Keawe, raised 11 children with his wife Emily, recorded numerous albums, and won a Nā Hōkū Hanohano Award, before passing away in the 1980s. Cyril remembers growing up playing music with his father, who taught him to play slack key guitar. His dad didn’t sit down
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Cyril teaching in Waipi‘o Valley
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KeOlaMagazine.com | March/April 2014
and tell him how, as a person would nowadays. “In those days, we didn’t get music lessons, and most of the musicians I knew didn’t read music. Most of the techniques were considered to be secret and were not shared outside the family or music community. My dad would slack all of his strings and hide his guitar in the closet at night because he knew we would sneak in to try and figure out his tunings once he was asleep. That was the style in the old days; if you really wanted to learn, you had to listen,” Cyril remembers. Once he did begin to learn, he says he’d get up at four o’clock and make breakfast so that Gabby would spend time with him before leaving Hi‘ilawe workshop at the base of the Waipi‘o waterfall for work. “When he had shared something new, he would expect me to practice, and the It’s no wonder so many musicians continue to play, as Cyril next time I played, I could tell he was listening to see if I had explains there is something special about slack key guitar. mastered it. Then he would share something else,” Cyril says. “It carries the traditions of Hawaiian music to people who Like his father, Cyril has maintained a lengthy career playing are listening. My Hawaiian culture is one of the most important Hawaiian music, recorded numerous albums, and won multiple things in my life, and I am very proud to come from Hawai‘i. I Nā Hōkū Hanohano awards. And unlike his father, he is now think people recognize that and if they love Hawai‘i or dream of beginning to share those secrets that were once so guarded by visiting Hawai‘i, they get a sense of how deep that emotion is. I offering youth music camps. think many traditional music styles do this,” he says. “Many of us have decided to share the secrets to keep When he plays, he can still feel the presence of his dad and Hawaiian language, culture, music, dance, and slack key alive for some of the other guitar masters who taught him. future generations. My dad was instrumental in the preservation “I try to play for them and do the best I can so they will be of slack key. He traveled throughout the islands and learned as happy with what I have done with the music they gave me. My many tunings as he could,” Cyril says. inner voice guides me and sometimes I close my eyes and just He continues, go with the feeling. The feeling comes straight from the heart “The sharing was like a meditation. I feel like the music is just passing through me. Gabby Pahinui, different than I can always feel my dad’s presence when I play, and he is still Cyrils father today. It was very the inspiration and the soul of my music,” he says. much watch and There is still a touch of the old days lingering for Cyril, and he listen and don’t ask gets to share that with one special student: Peter Moon. questions. Today we “I still have a lot of secrets that I have not shared with anyone put things on paper yet. Probably the most I share is with Peter. He is like my own and let the students son and I am very proud of him and what he has learned. ask questions. We Sometimes we spend the weekend together and just play all day. don’t get the kind Like in the old days.” of time with them In truth, many exotic places play host to a tantalizing array that we had in the of sights and sounds. And nowhere else is home to the sweet old days.” sound of traditional Hawaiian music. The high notes ring out like Like Cyril, Keola a beautiful falsetto voice, while the carefully picked, melodious Beamer also comes undertone of low notes weave themselves into a song you from a long line of wouldn’t believe can come from just one guitar. ❖ musicians and is hailed as a great master of slack key guitar. Keola has also begun For information on monthly Slack Key shows in West Hawai‘i: to teach, offering music camps and even an online slack key WoodSongAcoustic.com, 808.960.1026 course. There’s a numerous list of slack key legendries who keep the music alive today, including Jeff Peterson, Ikaika Brown, John Photos courtesy of Cyril Pahinui Keawe, Ledward Ka‘apana, and George Kahumoku, Jr., just to Contact Cyril Pahinui: CyrilPahinui.com name a few. Contact writer Le‘a Gleason: lgfreelancehawaii@gmail.com
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Lavender Moon Gallery—Kainaliu
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ong time Hawai‘i Island residents Patricia and Dux Missler opened Lavender Moon Gallery in December of 1999. The gallery is located in the quaint upcountry village of Kainaliu, just seven miles south of Kailua-Kona. It offers a unique collection of original fine art, exquisite one-of-a-kind jewelry and gracious island accents. Dux, a San Diego native, originally journeyed to Maui in 1969 to pick pineapples as a summer job and ended up living five years at what he calls “a garden of Eden” in Hāna. Patricia grew up in South Texas and moved to Kailua-Kona in 1983. She cites her early years as being pivotal in her life’s evolution into the realm of art. From her parent’s innate artistic tendencies, to her own natural sense of design, style, and creativity, Patricia has emerged a successful artist. She has managed to mix her love of all things beautiful, colorful, and artistic with her abilities to reach out to others. This combination has resulted in creating paintings that evoke emotional responses in the viewers. Both continue to display their own artwork along with other well-known Hawai‘i Island artists at the gallery.
Patricia has been instrumental in the dayto-day managing of the gallery. Her taste in jewelry Into the Sun selections for the gallery is legendary. A devoted following stops by the gallery to see the latest jewelry from Hawai‘i and around the world. Patricia is currently exhibiting her latest collection of large abstract paintings. Also highlighted is her Mauka Forest Thoughts new book, Pink Elephants and Chocolate Éclair: Memoir of a Border Town Chica (girl). A colorful memoir of a young girl growing up in a South Texas border town transcends the stereotype of the Mexican-American experience and tells a poignant story of a loving family and a rich culture. Signed copies are available at the gallery. Patricia’s abstract painting, “Into the Heart” was used as the background for the book jacket design. Lavender Moon Gallery Tues–Sat, 11am–5pm 808.324.7708 LavenderMoonGallery.com
KeOlaMagazine.com | March/April 2014
To Sleep, Perchance to Dream
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High Fire Hawaii Gallery and Studio llc—Hilo
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igh Fire Hawaii is a venue and resource for island artists offering instruction, materials, and representation in their gallery. It is dedicated exclusively to local art and local artists representing ceramicists, jewelers, painters, and textile artists. They offer classes for artists of all ages in their studio and are the only authorized distributor for Laguna Clay Company on Hawai‘i Island. Their patrons are artists, students, locals, and visitors who enjoy art and find that it plays an important role in their lives. They have been in business for six years. The studio provides classes and workshops for both established and aspiring island artists. A majority of the artists represented in the gallery are graduates of the Art Department of the University of Hawai‘i at Hilo and all are island residents who live and work in the local community. Making a living as an artist is a challenging endeavor; the gallery supports local artists by helping them create and show their work in a supportive environment. The islands pose unique challenges to local artists because local materials are primarily organic or of relatively recent geologic origin. Fibers and seashells are relatively abundant, however metals and precious stones have to be sourced elsewhere. Ceramic artists work with heavy clays not found
in the Hawaiian Islands. Local artists must choose a level of integration that suits their personal aesthetic and strive to integrate diverse materials into a cohesive whole. Therefore, materials and ingredients are sourced locally and globally. Owner Steve Lang is Native Hawaiian and a graduate of Punahou School on O‘ahu and the University of Hawai‘i at Hilo. Manager, instructor, and ceramic artist Shannon Hickey is a graduate of the Art Department at the University of Hawai‘i at Hilo. Steve and Shannon realized that local ceramic artists were having difficulty sourcing the materials they needed to create their work and lacked a resource for education and development as well as a venue in which to show their work. The opportunity to serve all these needs came when they moved their small gallery on Haili St. to their present location on Kamehameha Ave. They are now able to offer ceramic and painting classes to kids and adults, while also providing gallery exposure for established local artists and carrying supplies for ceramic artists. High Fire Hawaii Gallery and Studio 114 Kamehameha Ave., Hilo 808.935.8380 info@highfirehawaii.com HighFireHawaii.com
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Hawai‘i Island Farmers Markets West North
Saturday and Tuesday 2–6pm, Tuesdays 8am–pau, Saturdays * Hawi Farmers Market, North Kohala, across from Post Office and Nakahara Store under the banyans. Saturday 8am–1pm Waimea Town Market at Parker School, 65-1224 Lindsey Rd., Waimea/Kamuela. Saturday 7am–noon Waimea Hawaiian Homestead Farmers Market, 64-759 Kahilu Rd., located at Kuhio Hale Bldg. (off of Mamalahoa Hwy., two miles east of Waimea town).
KeOlaMagazine.com | March/April 2014
Saturday 7:30am–2pm Honoka‘a Farmers Market, Mamane St., Honoka‘a, Honoka‘a Trading Co., Old Botelho Bldg.
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Tuesday and Friday 2–5pm Kekela Farms Organic Farmers Market, 64-604 Mana Rd., Waimea. 100% organic. Wednesday 9am–4pm Waimea Mid-Week Farmer’s Market at Pukalani Stables, site of the Paniolo Museum. Pukalani Road in Waimea.
East
Sunday 9am–1pm Laupāhoehoe Farmers Market. Next to the Minit Stop on Hwy. 19. Daily 8am–5pm Pana‘ewa Hawaiian Home Lands Farmers Market, Puainako and Ohuohu Streets by Walmart, Hilo. Sunday, Monday, Tuesday and Thursday 7am–4pm Hilo Farmers Market, corner of Mamo and Kamehameha Ave., downtown Hilo. 30 vendors. Wednesday and Saturday 6am–4pm * Hilo Farmers Market, corner of Mamo and Kamehameha Ave., downtown Hilo. 200 vendors. Saturday 7am–noon * Kino‘ole Farmers Market. Kino‘ole Shopping Plaza, 1990 Kino‘ole St., Hilo, Sunday 7am–2pm Akebono Farmers Market. Luquin’s/Akebono Theater parking lot in Pāhoa. Sunday 8am–2pm * Maku‘u Farmers Market, Kea‘au-Pāhoa bypass road.
Sunday and Thursday 2pm–dusk, Thursdays Dawn–2pm, Sundays Pepe‘ekeo Farmers Market. Off Hwy. 19 on Ka‘akepa St. Produce and foods. Daily 7am–5pm Kea‘au Village Market, 16-6550 Old Volcano Rd., Kea‘au Wednesday Evenings 5–9pm Farmers Market Kalapana end of Kalapana-Kopoho Rd, (Rte 137), next to Kalapana Village Cafe. Local grown produce, ono grinds and live music. Saturday 7:30am–4pm Keaukaha Pana‘ewa Farmers Market. Railroad Avenue, across from Home Depot, Hilo. Homegrown produce offered by Hawaiian Homelands lessees. Saturday 8am–noon * SPACE Farmers Market, Seaview Performing Arts Center for Education, 12-247 West Pohakupele Loop, Kalapana. Saturday 8am–1pm * Hilo Coffee Mill, 17-995 Volcano Rd., Mountain View (on Hwy. 11 between mile markers 12 and 13).
* EBT accepted: KohalaCenter.org/ebt/markets.html
Saturday 8am–noon * Keauhou Farmers Market, Keauhou Shopping Center Keauhou. Saturday 7:30am–10am Waikoloa Village Farmers Market, 68-3625 Paniolo Ave., Waikoloa Community Church parking lot across from Waikoloa Elementary School. Sunday and Friday 9am–1pm South Kona Green Market Captain Cook, Amy Greenwell Ethnobotanical Garden Wednesday 8:30am–1pm Kings’ Shops Farmers Market Waikoloa Beach Resort Kohala Coast Wednesday and Saturday 9am–2pm Ho‘oulu Community Farmers Market, Sheraton Kona Resort at Keauhou Bay Wednesday–Sunday 7am–4pm Kona Farmers Market, corner of Ali‘i Drive and Hualālai Rd.
South
Sunday 6am–9am * Volcano Farmers Market, Cooper Center, 1000 Wright Rd., Volcano Village. Saturday and Wednesday 8am–noon Na‘ālehu Farmers Market, Ace Hardware lawn.
Please send info on new markets or changes to sharon@keolamagazine.com
The Pineapple
A symbol of hospitality | By Sonia R. Martinez
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Agua Fresca de Piña
Agua Fresca de Piña is a refreshing drink and wonderful thirst quencher on a hot summer day and can be made using the discarded parts of a fresh pineapple when preparing one to eat outright or for a recipe. Take all peelings and center core and any other part you have discarded and place them in a pot with water and a bit of sugar. (Be sure to save the green top for planting!) Bring to a boil, turn down to simmer, and cook for about half an hour to concentrate the taste. Pass through a colander and pour into a pitcher. Serve ice cold.
Mixed Fruit Salad
I also like to scoop out the insides and use the shell as a vessel for holding a mixed fruit salad or as a container for a sweet dip— Greek yogurt, turbinado sugar, and a touch of Grand Marnier— when serving a mixed fruit platter.
Pineapple Dessert Baskets
Easter will soon be here, and I kept thinking of what I could serve as dessert for our Easter celebration when I thought of making little ‘baskets’ with either phyllo dough or puff pastry. To form the baskets, turn a muffin tin upside down and spray the outside bottom of each cup with cooking or baking spray. Prepare your pastry as per package instructions or make your own pastry. Cut in squares to fit over the bottom of each mold. I used four squares of Phyllo pastry per cup. Bake until golden brown and flaky. Cool completely before using. Fill each cup with your favorite ice cream or sorbet, homemade or store-bought. (The cups in the picture were filled with a homemade pineapple sorbet which I made in the Vitamix— pineapple pieces, ice, and a bit of sugar.) Top with chopped pineapple cooked in syrup—small amount of water, a bit of sugar, dried vanilla bean, and either fresh or dried chopped pineapple pieces and boil until the pineapple is tender and translucent. Dust powdered sugar over the filled basket or on the plate before placing the little basket on it. Rinse, air dry, and save the vanilla bean for other future uses or dip it in a jar of refined sugar for several weeks. The sugar will absorb the vanilla taste. Recipe photo by Sonia R. Martinez. Contact writer Sonia R. Martinez: SoniaTastesHawaii.com
KeOlaMagazine.com | March/April 2014
lthough the pineapple has long been associated with Hawai‘i, they are actually recent malihini (of foreign origin) residents of the islands. Pineapples (Anana comosus) are thought to have originated in Paraguay or Brazil and were used as trade or barter by the Carib Indians through their travels to the islands of the Caribbean, where they eventually were found by Columbus’ crew during their “discovery of the New World” and named piñas. Three hundred years later, in the 1700s, pineapples found their way to Hawai‘i where they eventually became synonymous with the islands. The Hawaiian name for the pineapple is hala kahiki, or foreign fruit. Pineapples are an herbaceous plant belonging to the Bromeliaceae family and the only bromeliad to produce edible fruit. Believe it or not, the fleshy and oh-so-juicy part of what we consider the fruit is not considered a fruit at all. The fruit is actually those little scales on the pineapple rind. Pineapples are loaded with Vitamin C and were used during the days of the early sea explorers to prevent scurvy among the crews. The stem of the pineapple is a source for the protein-digesting enzyme Bromelain and used as a meat tenderizer. This is why pineapples can’t be used in gelatin molds, since the enzyme breaks down the congealing proteins. Pineapples are easily reproducible by planting the tops. It takes at least 18 months for the plant to produce fruit and each plant produces only one pineapple. Sometimes you can get a second harvest from a plant, and it will be a much smaller pineapple and not deemed commercial quality. This is one reason pineapples grown on the island can be much more expensive than those from countries where growing them is not as costly due to scarce land space. Pineapples were very expensive during the Colonial days, and during the holidays, any hostess worth her social status made sure to display pineapples in her table centerpieces or attached to Della Robbia style wreaths. This is how they became a symbol of hospitality. I like using pineapples in many ways, mostly in salads or desserts and also as dried fruit in cakes and quick breads (see the recipe for the Tropical Fruitcake in the photo courtesy of Forest November-December 2013 and Kim Starr issue of Ke Ola magazine).
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Hawai‘i Island Happenings
Wondering what’s happening around Hawai‘i Island? Visit these businesses and organizations websites for the most up-to-date event calendars.
Amy B.H. Greenwell Ethnobotanical Garden
Konaweb
KonaWeb.com shirley@konaweb.com Shirley Stoffer, 808.345.2627
BishopMuseum.org/greenwell pvandyke@bishopmuseum.org Peter Van Dyke, 808.323.3318
Hawai‘i The Big Island
Basically Books
BigIsland.org calendar@bigisland.org Sherry Bracken, 808.334.1521
BasicallyBooks.com bbinfo@hawaiiantel.net 808.961.0144
Quick Eventz
Donkey Mill Art Center
quickeventz.com info@quikeventz.com
DonkeyMillArtCenter.org 808.322.3362
Downtown Hilo Improvement Association
Akebono Theater–Pāhoa
Facebook.com/AkebonoTheater 808.965.9990
DowntownHilo.com 808.935.8850
Aloha Theatre–Kainaliu
EHCC/Hawaii Museum of Contemporary Art
Aloha Performing Arts Company ApacHawaii.org info@apachawaii.org 808.322.9924
EHCC.org arts@ehcc.org 808.961.5711
Aloha Performing Arts Company Presents
Food Hub Kohala
FoodHubKohala.org karla@andreadean.com Karla Heath, 808.224.1404
Hawai‘i Homegrown Food Network HawaiiHomeGrown.net editor@hawaiihomegrown.net
Hawai‘i Volcanoes National Park Volcano Art Center
VolcanoArtCenter.org julie@volcanoartcenter.org Julie Callahan, 808.967.8222
Honoka‘a People’s Theatre HonokaaPeople.com hpt@honokaapeople.com 808.775.0000
Hulihe‘e Palace
daughtersofhawaii.org info@daughtersofhawaii.org 808.329.1877
‘Imiloa Astronomy Center of Hawai‘i ImiloaHawaii.org jharman@imiloahawaii.org 808.969.9703
Kahilu Theatre–Waimea KahiluTheatre.org 808.885.6868
Kailua Village Business Improvement District HistoricKailuaVillage.com kailuavillage@gmail.com 808.326.7820
Kalani Oceanside Retreat kalani.com 808.965.0468
KeOlaMagazine.com | March/April 2014
Kona Historical Society
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Encore! Encore! A Quarter Century with APAC
Apr 18-May 4, 2014 Sat. Mar 15 - 6:00pm AlohaTheatre.com $75 $10-$20 AlohaTheatre.com
KonaHistorical.org khs@konahistorical.org 808.323.3222
Kona Music Society KonaMusicSociety.org 808.334.9880
Kona Stories Bookstore KonaStories.com ks@konastories.com 808.324.0350
Living Arts Gallery LivingArtsGallery.net 808.889.0739
Lyman Museum
LymanMuseum.org ebenton@lymanmuseum.org Emily Benton, 808.935.5021
North Kohala Community Resource Center NorthKohala.org info@northkohala.org 808.889.5523
One Island Sustainable Living Center One-Island.org/hawaii hawaii@one-island.org 808.328.2452
Palace Theatre–Hilo HiloPalace.com info@hilopalace.com 808.934.7010
Society for Kona’s Education & Art (SKEA) Skea.org 808.328.9392
UH Hilo Performing Arts Center ArtsCenter.uhh.hawaii.edu artscenter@hawaii.edu 808.974.7310
Waimea Community Theatre WaimeaCommunityTheatre.org 808.885.5818
West Hawaii Dance Theatre and Academy whdt.org vh2dns4@ilhawaii.net Virginia Holte, 808.329.8876
Resort and Shopping Center Cultural Events Visit websites for event calendars
Keauhou Shopping Center KeauhouVillageShops.com 808.322.3000
Kingsʻ Shops–Waikoloa KingsShops.com 808.886.8811
Kona International Marketplace KonaInternationalMarket.com 808.329.6262
Prince Kuhio Plaza
PrinceKuhioPlaza.com/events 808.959.3555
Queens’ MarketPlace–Waikoloa QueensMarketplace.net 808.886.8822
The Shops at Mauna Lani
ShopsAtMaunaLani.com/events.html 808.885.9501
To submit volunteer information for your nonprofit, kokua@keolamagazine.com (Listings provided on a space available basis.)
Community Kokua Volunteer Opportunities
Use provided contacts for information
AdvoCATS
Friends of NELHA
Kahalu‘u Bay Education Center
Paradise Ponies, Carousel of Aloha
Trap, neuter, spay, community education, colony feeding, management. Contact Cathy or Nancy advocatshawaii@aol.org 808.327.3724 AdvocatsHawaii.org
Share Ocean Science/Technology using deep ocean water. 808.329.8073 EnergyFutureHawaii.org
ReefTeach Volunteers educate visitors on reef etiquette and protection. Contact Jean BevanMarquez jbevanmarquez@kohalacenter.org 808.987.6249 KahaluuBay.org
Seeking volunteers to create the Carousel of Aloha Pavilion. Contact Katherine Patton carouselofaloha@gmail.com 808.315.1093 CarouselOfAloha.org
Methodist Church Palani, Kailua-Kona 3rd Saturday, 10am
Boys & Girls Club of the Big Island Hilo, Kea‘au, Pāhoa, Pāhala Oceanview, Hāmākua Monday–Friday, 2:30–5pm
Volunteers needed for after-school youth programs Contact Gail gail@bgcbi.org 808.961.5536 bgchi.com
Calabash Cousins
Kailua-Kona Hulihe‘e Palace Grounds 2nd Tuesday of the month 1–2:30pm
Men and women who support the mission of Daughters of Hawai‘i. Contact Sabine Andresen ccousinskona@gmail.com 808.329.9555 CalabashCousinsHawaii.com
CommUNITY cares
Kailua-Kona Monday–Friday, 9am–5pm Saturday, 9am–2pm
Community suffering from cancer, medical hair loss, domestic abuse. Contact Tiana Steinberg communitycareshawaii@gmail.com 808.326.2866
Donkey Mill Art Center
Volunteers help in arts education program. Contact Anne Catlin donkeymill@gmail.com 808.322.3362 DonkeyMillArtCenter.org
East Hawaii Cultural Council Hilo Monday–Friday, 8am–3pm
Volunteer in the art galleries, performing arts, classes, workshops, festivals. exec@ehcc.org 808.961.5711 ehcc.org
Hamakua Youth Foundation, Inc. Hamakua Youth Center, Honoka‘a Daily, Mon. Tue. Fri. 2–5:30pm Wed. 1–5:30pm, Thu. 2–8pm
Serving Hamakuaʻs school-age kids. Contact T. Mahealani Maiku‘i HamakuaYouthCenter@gmail.com 808.775.0976 HamakuaYouthCenter.wordpress.com
Hawai‘i Island Humane Society Kona Shelter, Kailua-Kona Monday–Saturday, 9am–5pm Need volunteers 16 or older, parent/child team 6 or older. Contact Bebe Ackerman volunteer@hihs.org 808.217.0154 hihs.org
Hawai‘i Wildlife Fund Wai‘ōhinu Coastline, Ka‘ū
SE Hawai‘i Island beach cleanups.
Ongoing 7:45am
Contact Megan Lamson meg.hwf@gmail.com 808.769-7629 WildHawaii.org
Hospice Care
North Hawaii Hospice Waimea Monday–Friday, 8am–4:30pm
Care for families facing serious illness. Contact Catrinka Holland volunteer.coordinator@northhawaiihospice.org 808.885.7547 NorthHawaiiHospice.org
‘Imiloa Astronomy Center of Hawai‘i Hilo Tuesday-Sunday 9am–5pm
Assist with tours, shows, education programs and membership. Contact Roxanne Ching rching@imiloahawaii.org 808.969.9704 imiloahawaii.org
Kahalu‘u Beach, Kailua-Kona Daily 9:30am–4:30pm
Hilo Coffee Mill, Mountain View Ongoing
Kalani Retreat Center
Parrots in Paradise Sanctuary
Varied Schedules Seeking volunteers: skilled trades/maintenance, housekeeping, kitchen, horticulture. Contact Volunteer Office volunteer@kalani.com 808.965.7828 Kalani.com/volunteer
Sanctuary for displaced parrots. Contact Dorothy Walsh Dorothy@parrotsinparadise.com 808.322.3006 ParrotsInParadise.com
Kalapana
Kona Music Society Kailua-Kona
Seeking volunteers for help with box office and ushering at our concerts. Contact John Week info@KonaMusicSociety.org 808.334.9880 KonaMusicSociety.org
Kona Toastmasters
Kailua-Kona 1st and 3rd Tuesdays, 6pm
Lynn Bell contact@konatoastmasters.com 808.989.7494 KonaToastMasters.com
Lions Clubs International
Various Locations, Kailua-Kona 2nd Tuesday, 5:30pm
“We Serve” is the motto of Lions Clubs International. Contact Lani 808.325.1973 lanika@hawaii.rr.com
Make-A-Wish Hawaii Ongoing
Granting wishes for children with life-threatening medical conditions. info@hawaii.wish.org 808.537.3118 Hawaii.wish.org
North Kohala Community Resource Center
Kohala Welcome Center, Hawi Daily 9am–noon or noon–3pm
Greet people to North Kohala with aloha. Contact Juanita Rivera juanita@northkohala.org 808.889.5523 NorthKohala.org
Kealakekua Flexible hours Monday–Friday
Snorkel Day for People with Disabilities Kahalu‘u Beach Park 3rd Friday, 10am–2pm
Volunteers needed. Contact Stephanie Kovatch snorkelday@deepandbeyond.org 808.326.4400 x 4017 DeepAndBeyond.org
Soroptimist International Kona Kailua Kona Monthly Meetings
Enriching the lives of women and girls in our community for more than 40 years. SIKona.org
Sundayʻs Child Foundation Kamuela
Serving at-risk youth aged 6 to 17 Volunteers needed islandwide. Contact Lauren Rainier requests@sundayschildfoundation.org 877.375.9191 SundaysChildFoundation.org
PUZZLE SOLUTION
KeOlaMagazine.com | March/April 2014
Holualoa Holualoa Foundation for Arts and Culture Tuesday–Saturday, 10am–4pm
Natural Energy Laboratory of Hawai‘i Keahole Kona Monday–Friday, 9am–noon
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Upcountry Waimea Sweet Wind Books & Beads Unique Gifts, Jewelry, Crystals, Incense, Meditation Supplies & Much more!
A peaceful place to shop - come in and relax! Located in Parker Square, 65-1279 Kawaihae Road, Waimea 808.885.0562 • Open 7 days a week
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Kona Center of Facial Surgery
Honoring a Five Year Advertiser with Ke Ola
W
hen Dr. Joan Greco made the decision to move to Hawai‘i Island in 1993, she says she was met with aloha, and it has only gotten better from there. Dr. Greco is an oral and facial cosmetic surgeon—she’s known as the surgeon with a delicate touch. She loves what she does, and hopes to be doing it long beyond retirement age. Dr. Greco was inspired by her father, Dr. Victor Greco, one of the surgeons who invented and developed the first heart/ lung machine, allowing the bypass of blood from the heart during surgery, which then allows safe surgery on the heart and vessels. Her father was not only an outstanding surgeon, he was also an amazing businessman. She says she always wanted to be a surgeon just like her dad. Dr. Greco started out as a nurse (neo-natal and pediatric ICU), which helped her work her way through dental school. She also graduated from the Wharton School of Finance at the University of Pennsylvania, with a triple major. She did her undergraduate prerequisites at Texas A&M University then Dental School at University of Texas Health Science Center in San Antonio. By the time she finished dental school she had published 11 papers in their referred journals and had given as many presentations at the national and international meetings.
Dr. Joan Greco
She wanted to specialize in children with facial deformities. One of the routes was through dentistry with a specialization in oral and maxillofacial surgery (OMFS). Oral surgery education programs only take the top one-to-two percent in the class, and being a woman made it statistically even more difficult to qualify. (Of the practicing 6,500+ oral surgeons, less than 150 are female.) She graduated from the top ranked program in the country for OMFS— Louisiana State University at New Orleans. Her training was in the Charity Hospital system, and she says, “It was amazing! Every day was an amazing challenge— with little sleep and so much surgery to do. I realized I had a finite time to learn everything I would need to know to prepare myself to be successful in private practice. In my chief residency year, I realized facial cosmetic surgery was a real part of the specialty and I began finding my patients and doing the surgeries. I came out of my program completing more cosmetic cases than my plastic surgery counterparts. I was well-equipped the day I started my practice here in Kona in July, 1994.” Dr. Greco has three offices on Hawai‘i Island. “I have patients who are referred from all over the island. I thought it was wiser to have two cars (mine and Julio’s, my nurse of 22 years) on the road than many cars with patients having to come see me. Besides, it clears my mind at the start and end of my days to drive back and forth.” Dr. Greco specializes in helping anyone that she can make feel better from the neck up. She enjoys being able to serve the residents of Hawai‘i Island. She says, “I love what I do and I don’t see that changing.” In regards to managing her staff, she says sheʻs “friendly, firm, and fair. I offer lots of education and try to get my employees to a much better place than where they start. I send staff, and myself, for continuing education. I generously bonus my staff and I give back to the community. It is not unusual for me to do free services for patients in need—all I ask in return is for them to ‘pay it forward’ with random acts of kindness.” Congratulations on 20 years in private practice, Dr. Joan Greco, and mahalo for being one of Ke Ola’s original advertisers!
TSWA
only1drgreco@gmail.com DrJoanGreco.com
KeOlaMagazine.com | March/April 2014
Kona Center of Facial Surgery Kona Kailua Trade Center 75-5706 Hanama Place Suite 208 808.323.3434 Waimea Carter Professional Center 65-1230 Mamalahoa Hwy. 808.885.9000 Hilo 280 Ponahawai St., Suite 101 808.930.6555
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Tax planning is a year round event!
Paula Wilson, EA • Action Business Services
808-329-3403
Lucy’s Taqueria
Talk Story with an Advertiser
Owners Gabriel (Tomas) Ramirez and his wife, Marlene Akana Hall with daughter and restaurant namesake Lucy
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KeOlaMagazine.com | March/April 2014
ucy’s Taqueria is a casual, fun, and happy Mexican restaurant serving food, drinks, beers, and margaritas. Owners Gabriel (Tomas) Ramirez and Marlene Akana Hall met on O‘ahu in 1990 and then moved to Seattle in 1994. After their arrival in Washington, they set out to find jobs, eating at several Mexican places in the process. This unintended “research” drove them to conclude that no one cooked as good as Tomas, so they decided to solve that problem, and their job problem, by opening their own restaurant: Gordito’s Healthy Mexican Food in Greenwood, WA. Two more locations and 16 years later, their son and 21-yearold namesake, Shannon (the little Gordito), declared to his parents that he was never leaving home. “Oh no,” was their response, and within a year, they moved back to O‘ahu, leaving their son the house and the restaurants, knowing that he was fully prepared to operate the restaurants having grown up in them. Tomas and Marlene then moved to Hilo to live in Marlene’s grandparents house to see if retirement on Hawai‘i Island was more suitable. They immediately loved it. About six months after moving to Hilo, they took over their friend Carlos’ tamale business. Carlos has a daughter named Lucia, and Marlene and Tomas’ daughter is named Lucy, so they called the businesses Lucy’s Tamales and Lucy’s Tamales Salsas. Marlene says of that time, “We got to know all of the local farmers, which would play a big role in our produce for Lucy’s Taqueria.” She continues, “A few months later, our nephew, David Ramirez called and said, ‘why don’t you open a restaurant and we will move over and work?’ We originally said ‘nah, we are retired,’ ” and soon changed their minds. David and his family moved over, and Lucy’s Taqueria was born. It’s been two years since Lucy’s opened and the owners still love what they’re doing. Marlene loves their business and applauds their customers. “We feel so lucky to be in Hilo and have such a fun restaurant with the best customers! Thank you to Hilo and everyone, from everywhere who come in. Your happiness makes us happy.”
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Lucy’s Taqueria 194 Kilauea Ave, Hilo 808.315.8246 LucysTaqueria.com These stories are special features for our advertisers. If you have a business you would like to have featured, please call 808.329.1711, x1.
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Yurts of Hawai‘i
Talk Story with an Advertiser
Owner Melissa Fletcher and her husband, Jupiter Crosson, with baby Zetta
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KeOlaMagazine.com | March/April 2014
eople are becoming more aware of their own footprints on this planet and realizing that it’s time to simplify, time to take back control, and time to eliminate debilitating debt and the stress associated with it. Yurts are a great way to get on that path. Yurts of Hawai‘i provides customized yurts, as well as full construction management through their licensed professionals. They are the only licensed yurt company in all of Hawai‘i. They have made it their business to provide a top quality product, as well as help residents navigate the often stressful process of construction and permitting. Melissa Fletcher started Yurts of Hawai‘i eight years ago when looking for an affordable way to build a permitable home. She was attending UH Hilo, finishing her degree in psychology/ art therapy and was working with the homeless populations on Hawai‘i Island for her practicum requirements. She realized that yurts were a credible solution for many island residents (as well as herself, because she felt she was paying too much in rent!). After proving the engineering to the county building department, Yurts of Hawai‘i was born. Melissa and her husband, Jupiter Crosson, a third generation Hawai‘i Islander, built a yurt showroom in Volcano where people can see how well they work in varying climates. Melissa has faced many challenges over the years, from explaining what yurts are, to dispelling myths about the modern yurt. Their yurts are engineered to withstand up to 120 mph winds. There’s no mold because they are well ventilated. Yurts are an inspiring, beautiful space to live and/or work in. Anyone who is interested in living simply would benefit from reading, A Handmade Life: In Search of Simplicity, by the late William Coperthwaite, Melissa and Jupiter’s favorite yurt guru. Melissa says, “We’ve been blessed and are so grateful to have worked with many incredible people, including our families and Dan and Emma of Colorado Yurts.” Currently, they are looking forward to the first yurt with Habitat for Humanity. The joint project is scheduled for 2014. It will be a residential yurt home for some lucky family chosen by the great team at West Hawai‘i Habitat for Humanity. Yurts of Hawai‘i—Outside of Volcano Village on Hwy 11, just across from mile marker 23 808.968.1483 yurtshawaii@gmail.com yurtsofhawaii.com
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Action Business Services
Talk Story with an Advertiser
Paula Wilson
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ction Business Services is a tax preparation and bookkeeping service owned by Paula Wilson, E.A. She has been an Enrolled Agent since 1994 and has prepared taxes for most of that time. She has offered bookkeeping and payroll services for more than 30 years, both in California and Hawai‘i. An Enrolled Agent is an individual who has demonstrated technical competence in the field of taxation by sitting for a series of tests administered by the IRS. The designation dates back to 1884, during the time of the Carpet Baggers, when questionable claims were being submitted to the government for Civil War losses. Congress acted to regulate those individuals who represented people to the Treasury Department by creating the professional designation of Enrolled Agent. The term “Enrolled” indicates the individual is licensed by the federal government. “Agent” indicates the individual is authorized to appear before the IRS in the place of the taxpayer at all administrative levels. This service can only be provided by Enrolled Agents, CPA’s, and attorneys. Paula is also available and skilled in helping to set up and train clients with various accounting software packages such as QuickBooks and more. Academically, Paula attended Golden Gate University in San Francisco, CA, majoring in accounting and finance and completes at least 24 units of continuing education annually. The clientele serviced by Action Business Services are primarily individuals and small businesses. Paula has been in Kailua-Kona since 2002. She initially worked for a local CPA while preparing to launch her own practice. She has been located in her current office since 2004 and is available to clients during the entire year for consultations, planning, tax preparation, and filing. Paula says, “Quite simply [my clients] are the nicest and best people I know in Kona, and it is my pleasure to provide services to them.”
KeOlaMagazine.com | March/April 2014
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Owner
Action Business Services 75-5751 Kuakini Hwy, Ste. 207; Kailua-Kona 808.329.3403 actionbsns@aol.com These stories are special features for our advertisers. If you have a business you would like to have featured, please call 808.329.1711, x1.
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Blue Dragon Restaurant
Talk Story with an Advertiser
Head Chef, Noah Hester, and General Manager, Jenny Hackleman, enjoying the 2013 Hawai‘i Food and Wine Festival
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KeOlaMagazine.com | March/April 2014
lue Dragon is an open-air live music venue and restaurant focusing on fresh and local ingredients. Chef Noah Hester serves creative and delicious dishes. He works closely with local farmers, ranchers, cheese makers, etc. to make sure they are serving the best local products. Pastry chef, Danny Tabancura, keeps their desserts and breads in-house and fresh. Brandon Winslow serves his cocktails with fresh ingredients, while Larry Roppolo keeps the music varied, local and enjoyed by all. All of this while sitting under the night sky and swaying palms! Like many residents, owners Bennett and Delphina Dorrance frequented the Blue Dolphin (the previous incarnation) and loved the open-air music venue. They purchased the building and opened the Blue Dragon in June 2008 because they wanted to continue providing a positive gathering place for the community. They recognized that music, food, and drinks bring people of all walks of life together and they wanted to keep this possible in their own community on the Kohala Coast. People are always surprised when they walk in and look up to see stars in the sky, with the open-air building. The ability to watch the moon rise and stars twinkle is quite the perk for patrons and employees, too. Manager Jenny Hackleman says “As a restaurant manager the highest compliments I’ve been paid are when guests say they love the feeling they had dining with us. We have guests that literally dine with us every week. We have people plan their vacation around our music schedule. We have two-year-olds on the dance floor next to 92 year olds.” Jenny continues, “My grandfather, Ollie Mitchell, started the Olliephonic Horns, a Big Band that started performing at the Blue Dolphin in 1996. I would attend their performances as a child. Although my grandfather has recently passed, his band is still performing regularly at the Blue Dragon.” About six times a year the Blue Dragon hosts a fundraiser for a local nonprofit organization. In the past they have teamed up with Soroptimist of Kona, Waikoloa Elementary School Garden, Parker School Music Department, Hawaii Nature Conservancy Center, and Hawaii Civic Club, to name a few. Blue Dragon Restaurant 61-3616 Kawaihae Road across from the Kawaihae Harbor (Big Blue Building!) 808.882.7771 BlueDragonManager@gmail.com BlueDragonRestaurant.com
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Ka Puana–The Refrain Following is an excerpt from Kapa‘au resident Gavin Harrison’s book, Petals and Blood. Used with permission.
T
he poems within this book have been offered at public gatherings in Hawai‘i and South Africa. Afterwards, there is usually a community meal where new and old friends, spiritual seekers and lovers of poetry can connect and be together before leaving. Always there is laughter and a lot of noise! The poems have also been offered into the quietude of long meditation retreats, where they move easily upon landscapes of contemplation and stillness. ... In Hawai‘i the tradition of “talk-story” is deeply rooted in the ancient ways. When we gather at the feet of the well-traveled and the elderly and listen without agenda, all ears and heart, we can find their stories instructive, perhaps even pointing to
the depths of who we are and the very Nature of Existence. Every human story carries intimations of the Infinite, if we are undistracted by details. The stories within Petals and Blood celebrate the human and fallible ground from which these poems have emerged and an awakening nourished by that same ground. Because these stories are not sequential, a brief synopsis of my life may be helpful. ... Gavin Harrison is the author of In the Lap of the Buddha (Shambhala Publications, Boston, 1994) and a recipient of the Unsung Heroes of Compassion Award presented to him by H. H. the Dalai Lama for “kindness and quiet dedication to others.” Gavin’s spiritual teachings are foundationed in the Buddhist Insight Meditation Tradition. His poetry has flowered from the realization of his True Nature. He grew up in South Africa and lives on Hawai‘i Island. He is a
student of Yoga, Tai Chi and Qi Gong. His passions include ocean swimming, hiking, and growing fruits and vegetables. He is a USA fundraiser for the Woza Moya Project supporting AIDS orphans in KwaZulu, South Africa. Contact author Gavin Harrison: Gavin@petalsandblood.com Petals and Blood is available at: Basically Books in Hilo. Hawi Gallery in Hawi, Kona Stories in Keauhou, PetalsAndBlood.com Books purchased from the author and his website generate a contribution to the orphaned and vulnerable children.
PRAYER TO PELE There was no intimation, My Beloved, of the raging fire into which my life would fall.
KeOlaMagazine.com | March/April 2014
Every part of me carries the scar tissue of this inferno.
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It is a mystery from which direction You will erupt and where You will have Your way next. Beloved Pele, Goddess of Fire, I cast myself upon the molten landscape of Your benevolence.
Birth within me the courage of a firewalker and may the flames within this bloodstream never deflect me from my longing for You nor fray the edges of my resolve.
Fortify the madness of this conflagration.
Bring heat, destruction and lava flow to every landscape of this life.
Smolder within as intimation. Immolate resistance and half-heartedness and like the majesty of Kilauea*, be unforgiving in Your destruction of all that separates me from You.
Cast fire and fury upon me. Have Your way anywhere.
I’m willing to be a child of fire, forevermore.
Incinerate all inhibition and mediocrity.
This is my humble prayer:
Burn whatsoever You must, and do so now!
Ignite a flaming passion beyond describing. Throw giant shadows across the topography of my forgetfulness.
Beloved Pele, Goddess of Fire, reduce me to ashes and fling me at the feet of My Beloved, forever! *Kilauea on Hawai‘i Island is one of the most active volcanoes in the world.
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The Big Island’s Premier Shopping, Dining, Cultural Events & Live Entertainment
Legendary Shopping and Dining
From high style to family style, Kings’ Shops and Queens’ MarketPlace are the ultimate shopping and dining destinations along the Kohala Coast. Adjacent to each other, the two centers offer over 100 stores and 18 restaurants, ranging from exclusive luxury brands to popular boutiques and eateries. It’s a pairing made in paradise, with more variety than any other resort or shopping center on Hawai‘i Island. Just 20 minutes north of Kona International Airport. Open Daily from 9:30am to 9:30pm.
Coach Genesis Art Gallery Louis Vuitton Macy’s Martin & MacArthur Mary Jane’s Merriman’s Mediterranean Café Roy’s Waikoloa Bar & Grill The Three Fat Pigs Tiffany & Co. Tori Richard
Crocs Hawaiian Entertainment Hearts & Stars Salon Island Gourmet Markets Lava Light Galleries Mahina Quiksilver Romano’s Macaroni Grill Sansei Seafood, Steak & Sushi Bar Starbucks Coffee Volcom
808.886.8811
808.886.8822
KingsShops.com
QueensMarketPlace.net
At The Waikoloa Beach Resort On The Kohala Coast Of Hawai‘i Island