APRIL 1, 2015 - VOLUME 31, ISSUE 13
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Molokai Dispatch
The
THE MOLOKAI DISPATCH • APR 1, 2015 •
T H E I S L A N D ’S N E W S S O U R C E S I N C E 198 5
Rebuilding a Tradition By Colleen Uechi | Staff Writer
W
hen Sheldon Wright builds walls, his main focus is to listen. He hefts a rock in his hands, flips it, spins it, lets it fall and hears the clack as it hits the stack of rocks in front of him. To construct walls the way Wright does—the same way ancient Hawaiians did hundreds of years ago—he has to tune into the tools of his trade. “The rocks speak to me,” said Wright. “They tell me where they want to go.” Wright is carrying on the Hawaiian tradition of dry stack masonry in which the rocks are placed in an interlocking fashion that requires no mortar, he said. It’s a practice that’s spanned civilization for centuries, and the early Hawaiians’ stone handiwork is still visible today among the state’s remaining fishponds and heiau. About three years ago, Wright left his masonry job on Maui and returned to Molokai. He needed work and decided to learn how to dry stack, as he already had a background in stonework. He visited the island’s fishponds to better understand the dry stacking technique. “I use the same idea as they [did],” said Wright. “We have pretty smart people. They knew how to take care of the resources.” It wasn’t long before he picked
up the skill. It came surprisingly natural to him, said the Molokai grown Wright, who has family roots in Kalawao and feels his connection to the `aina factors into his work. He built his first dry stack wall two years ago when resident David Madsen asked him to help overhaul Madsen’s yard, which was littered with rocks and too rough to grow grass in. “I just wanted to clear rocks and do something creative with them,” said Madsen. “… I didn’t know about this [practice], and then when he started doing it I go, ‘Oh my God, this is beautiful.’” Wright has constructed five walls of varying sizes around Madsen’s twoacre Kawela property in the past two years. He can put a dry stack wall together in about one week, give or take, and does most of the work without a level or string to guide him. The yard is now lush with grass and accented by red-brown walls, some low and circular to enclose plants, and others tall and sloping to border the hill. Since he worked on Madsen’s yard, he’s done similar work for one other client but doesn’t run a formal business. Madsen said he sees Wright as an artist, visualizing and creating. “I think there’s an inherit talent there,” said Madsen. “I don’t have it. I don’t think I could ever have it … ‘cause what he does is so beautiful.”
Photos by Colleen Uechi
Like any artist, Wright wrestles with his creation but is also learning to “let my ideas flow.” “Certain ones, I kinda fight with them sometimes,” he said of the rocks. “I want it to go there but it just doesn’t want to go there. … Now I kinda see the rocks in different ways. I thought they only could stack one way. Now I kinda know that you can move [them] around.” The walls need maintenance occasionally, especially as deer running through the property can knock some of the top rocks loose, explained Wright. However, Madsen said they’ve had to do very little repairs to the walls
Rock Walls Continued pg. 2
Farmers Afar: Scouts Build Stand-up Rizpah Umi Racks Photo by Colleen Uechi
In a new series, the Dispatch celebrates former Molokai athletes who have taken their homegrown skills to new stages off island. If you know of a Molokai athlete competing at college, the professional level or elsewhere, let us know by emailing editor@themolokaidispatch.com or calling 552-2781.
By Colleen Uechi | Staff Writer
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he first Native Hawaiian wrestler in Wayland Baptist University (WBU) history is already making a name for herself and the small island she hails from. Just a freshman at WBU, 2014 Molokai High School graduate Rizpah Umi was named an All-American wrestler last month. Umi earned the distinction after finishing eighth out of 29 wrestlers from across the country. Wayland, located in Texas, came in seventh overall at the Women’s Collegiate Wrestling Association National Tournament. “To be an All-American as a freshman is a great feat,” said Wayland Head
Umi Continued pg. 3
By Colleen Uechi | Staff Writer
Slammed with Passion
By Catherine Cluett | Editor-In-Chief
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motions were raw and honesty took a front seat at a poetry slam at Molokai High School last week. Youth used their tongues to bear their souls in a form of spoken word performances known as slam poetry, having been guided in the art for several days by visiting national champion slam poets. A group of poet facilitators from Pacific Tongues, a nonprofit dedicated to fostering spoken word arts for Pacific Islanders, spent last Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday at Molokai Middle and High school. They visited classrooms, held workshops, did writing exercises and inspired students with their own verbal prowess. Their visit was made possible through a grant written by several Molokai High teachers following the group’s first visit to the island last year. Maile and Hano Naehu, local slam poets, organized the island’s first ever slam competition around this time last year, said Maile, and the grant allowed the Pacific Tongues poets to return and take things a step further. “[Hano and Maile] mentioned the people of Molokai have fire in them, and it’s so evident,” said Harrison Ines, a poet facilitator and international slam poet champion. “The youth here are so much more raw... honest and fearless from the get-go. As a poet facilitator, that's really inspiring to see.” Following the group’s three-day visit this year, students competed in a competition that had big stakes: a chance to compete at the Youth Speaks Hawaii Grand Slam Finals on Oahu on April 4. Judges from both Molokai and Pacific Tongues scored each of the nearly dozen student performances last
Slam Poetry Continued pg. 4
THIS WEEK’S
Dispatch
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ast week, a Molokai grown Boy Scout returned to his roots to help the island’s youth. While on spring break from KamehamehaKapalama (KSK), high school senior Rusty “Naholowaa” Nakayama and a group of fellow Boy Scouts came home to build stand-up paddleboard racks as part of Nakayama’s quest to become an Eagle Scout. Boys can join the Cub Scouts at the age of eight and become Boy Scouts at the age of 12. In order to reach the rank of Eagle Scout, they must earn 21 merit badges and put together a community service project by their 18th birthday. “I’m not only doing this to get my Eagle, but it is satisfactory to give back to the community,” said Nakayama. The racks will hold boards for Youth in Motion (YIM), a local nonprofit focused on getting kids involved in ocean sports. A group of visitors from a California paddling organization called Kelp Farmer noticed many paddling events are connected to Molokai and
Celebrating Prince Kuhio
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Farmers Weekend Round-up
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Rusty “Naholowaa” Nakayama, left
recently decided to donate 29 boards to YIM, said Clare Mawae, YIM’s chairman and director. However, with no place to store the boards, Mawae often had to cart them from her house for the
Scouts Continued pg. 2
Why I fly with Makani Kai Maria cites the usual factors when she talks about why she made Makani Kai Air her airline of choice, “You can’t beat the convenience and the airfares are great.” Today she is traveling with Lehua, her three-year old granddaughter, “Lehua has a baby brother, Milton,” she pauses, “have you ever tried going through TSA with two young ones?” When people ask her if she’s afraid to fly in small aircraft, she answers, “Not at all. On Molokai, we all grew up flying small airplanes.” From topside Molokai to Honolulu or return
$50 online fare, every seat, every flight, every day. MakaniKaiAir.com | (808) 834-1111 The
Molokai Dispatch
P.O. Box 482219 Kaunakakai, HI 96748
Maria Rawlins & Lehua Molokai Born & Raised