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We made namesticks for several of our recently planted babies – ʻākulikuli, ʻōhiʻa, ʻilima, and pāʻū o Hiʻiaka. We're hoping that this will inform the curious, deter the oblivious, and not tempt too much the mea hana kolohe. Fingers are crossed. – KdS  Photo: KdS The Hōkūleʻa and her Galapagos crew were greeted by the ʻōiwi of Rapa Nui at a landing ceremony held Saturday, March 4, on the marae at Anakena, one of whose older names is our own Olomana. Kaleo Wong, navigator of the penultimate leg of the WWV (Rapa Nui-to-Pitcairn-to-Nuku Hiva-to-Tahiti) offered his hosts the gift of Hawaiian-language oratory with words that recounted the journey of our voyaging canoe ("Mozambique! How's that for a journey traveled by Hawaiians or Polynesians?"), that honored the tradition of Polynesian navigation, that celebrated the Hōkūleʻa's power to restore and unite, and that gave thanks for the generosity of Rapa Nui's people over the 18 years that have passed since our canoe's first visit to their shores. – Kīhei de Silva  Screen Shot: ‘Ōiwi TV ʻAnakala Kīhei to his helpers Jillian and Kawehena: "...so this little plant grew quickly over Hiʻiakaikaikapoliopele to protect her from the heat of the sun. When Pele came back to shore from surfing, she found her baby sister sheltered in what looked like a pāʻū, a skirt, of green leaves and tiny lavender flowers. So Pele named this plant pāʻū-o-Hi‘iaka, the skirt of Hiʻiaka, and this has been its name a hiki i kēia lā – until this very day." – Kīhei de Silva Eia nō au ‘o Kīhei ma ka lihilihi o Ulupō in a two-hour conversation with Katrina Lashley of the Smithsonian's Anacostia Community Museum. She Is part of an Urban Waterways initiative that began with the Anacostia River in DC and is in now in the process of partnering with groups involved in similar "ongoing activities that will enable reclamation and restoration of urban waterways and surrounding communities." They call it "reclaiming the edge." At Kawainui, of course, the edge is only the beginning. – KdS  Photo: Beth Anderson About 30 volunteers, mostly from MINA (UHMʻs Malama I Na Ahupuaʻa), turned out last Saturday for the monthly KHCC-AML-Hikaʻalani community workday at Ulupō. Kaʻolu Luning, Kamuela Bannister, and Ryan Ueunten led the group in Kaleo Wong's absence (he is currently navigating the Hokuleʻa from Rapa Nui to Tahiti by way of Pitcairn). Kaʻolu sent in the following before-and-after shots of one of the areas they cleared. With a little more work, we might just have our long awaited opu palai. And that would really be something! – Kīhei de Silva |
