AT WAIʻAUIA
Wai‘auia is a sliver of land at the entrance to Kailua town. Its traditional importance cannot be overstated. It was the site of the mākāha through which the water of Kawainui fishpond once flowed, of the fish-attracting tree named Mākālei, of the restoration of harmony to Kailua by the goddess Haumea, of the hala grove where one of the pond’s mo‘o guardians made her home, of the access point to the pond’s edible mud, of the bathing pool and residence of two of O‘ahu’s storied chiefs, and quite possibly of Pāmoa, a famous house of learning established by Kākuhihewa, the 16th century ruling chief of all O‘ahu.
More about the Waiʻauia of old.
Today, Wai‘auia is an open field that is put to occasional, desultory use by tourists, pump station contractors, and the hau bush homeless. But we have different, focused, old-time plans for this once-storied site. We envision a restored Pāmoa here, a center of education where our literary, performing, and applied arts can again be taught and practiced. We envision a house of learning where ceremony, ritual, and protocol can again bring order to our world. We envision Hālau Hikaʻalani, a kauhale-style facility that will reclaim for us a sacred site at which excellence prevails and the future is secure.
Our vision for Waiʻauia is contingent upon BLNR approval of the Kawainui-Hāmākua Master Plan EIS, a process that began for us in 1982 with our work on what was then called the Kawainui Directional Plan – the first iteration of what is now a 36-year effort to reestablish a permanent Hawaiian cultural presence in Kailua. Our reasons for supporting the current plan are provided on the Documents that Define Us page of this website. Until the plan is approved, we can only advocate, in words, for what we are dying (a word not used lightly) to accomplish by action – by turning the hands down and doing the actual work i kūleleiwi ʻole ai ka nohona, so that life will not be one of scattered bones.
More about the Waiʻauia of old.
Today, Wai‘auia is an open field that is put to occasional, desultory use by tourists, pump station contractors, and the hau bush homeless. But we have different, focused, old-time plans for this once-storied site. We envision a restored Pāmoa here, a center of education where our literary, performing, and applied arts can again be taught and practiced. We envision a house of learning where ceremony, ritual, and protocol can again bring order to our world. We envision Hālau Hikaʻalani, a kauhale-style facility that will reclaim for us a sacred site at which excellence prevails and the future is secure.
Our vision for Waiʻauia is contingent upon BLNR approval of the Kawainui-Hāmākua Master Plan EIS, a process that began for us in 1982 with our work on what was then called the Kawainui Directional Plan – the first iteration of what is now a 36-year effort to reestablish a permanent Hawaiian cultural presence in Kailua. Our reasons for supporting the current plan are provided on the Documents that Define Us page of this website. Until the plan is approved, we can only advocate, in words, for what we are dying (a word not used lightly) to accomplish by action – by turning the hands down and doing the actual work i kūleleiwi ʻole ai ka nohona, so that life will not be one of scattered bones.
Performing and Language Arts
As the home of Hālau Mōhala ‘Ilima – with its staff of traditionally trained and graduated teachers and its 42-year presence in Kailua – Hālau Hika‘alani will serve as a center for the careful study and transmission of traditional chant and dance with special emphasis on the mele traditions of Kailua and on the stories, legends, and histories to which our Kailua-based oli and hula are connected. Hālau Hika‘alani will also provide a solid foundation of tradition on which new mele and hula for Kailua can be carefully created and shared.
Mele for Kailua.
Mele for Kailua.
Applied Arts
Hālau Hika‘alani will also serve as a center for the practice and promulgation of traditional applied arts and of contemporary Hawaiian art that is informed by tradition. Hālau Hika‘alani will draw upon the knowledge of a coalition of master artisans dedicated to the careful transmission and perpetuation of their craft. Hālau Hika‘alani will partner these masters with apprentices from the Ko‘olaupoko community and provide them with dedicated, on-site space in which to practice, discuss, demonstrate, document, and store their work. And Hālau Hika‘alani will provide this coalition of artisans and apprentices with opportunities to discuss, exhibit, and market their work in appropriate, off-site venues, perhaps in a Kailua town gallery, and particularly in conjunction with other Hawaiian organizations in Ko‘olaupoko.
Artisans with whom we are affiliated.
Artisans with whom we are affiliated.
Ceremony, Ritual, Protocol
Hālau Hika‘alani will serve as home base and temporary curation site for Kailua Kau A Ho‘oilo, the association of Kailua’s native descendants responsible for the care of iwi kūpuna at the 151 Hekili St., First Hawaiian Bank, Kailua Town Center III, Target, Ka Malanai, and CPB burial preserves, and in the recently completed reinterment site at Wai‘auia.
Hālau Hika‘alani will serve as a center for the study and practice of ceremony, ritual, and protocol as these apply to our iwi kūpuna, to the formal graduation of master teachers, to the maintaining and honoring of storied and sacred sites in Kailua, to the making and presenting of traditional artifacts, to the preparing, serving, and consuming of traditional food and drink, and to the hosting of visiting indigenous peoples.
Hālau Hika‘alani will serve as a center for the study and practice of ceremony, ritual, and protocol as these apply to our iwi kūpuna, to the formal graduation of master teachers, to the maintaining and honoring of storied and sacred sites in Kailua, to the making and presenting of traditional artifacts, to the preparing, serving, and consuming of traditional food and drink, and to the hosting of visiting indigenous peoples.