The exercise was clear
Craft a genealogy based on the 'O Wakea chant
A pedagogically sound followthrough.
I dug up files from my "safe"
And put words to paper.
Memorization and recital took place on trips to Hilo,
Though passing drivers might have thought me mad
As my mouth moved, my eyes glazed over, my hands clenched.
'O Kamahalo, great great grandfather 200 years ago
On the slopes of Kipahulu began the family line
Foreign grandfathers for two generations
Changed the demographic status of the family's ethnicity.
Diluting the blood, adding new perspective.
Learning the names of ancient kupuna
Seeing the repetition of family names
Jacob, Lemuel, Rose, Muriel
Calling them back to life
In the recitation of the Moku'auhau.
The classroom presentation went well
Until
I called forth the names of my siblings
Bruddah Lemuel, the handsome Hawaiian hotel manager
Beloved Joseph, with his dashing Panama hat
Sweet Tita Cookie, the family songbird
Ua hala lakou...missing them
Now only three of us remain.
Though I forbade it,
My voice quivered.
Kealoha, a classmate, encouraged the
completion with a gentle touch to my shoulder.
Tears welled behind the eyelid dam.
Young students tilted their heads at the emotional display.
The existence of these loved one remain in our (ko makou) memories.
What will our grandchildren know about these people
When their names are called forth in our Moku'auhau.
Aloha e ko'u 'ohana.
Thursday, December 3, 2009
She asked me to write about what I learned.
I learned I knew nothing of substance
About my roots, my culture, my kupuna.
A very sad commentary after six decades of existence
It is as though my life is a vignette,
A collage of ethnic snapshots,
Japanese, Chinese, Hawaiian, American
Scattered helter skelter across my consciousness.
Who am I? Really?
What do I stand for? Really?
What are my motivations? Really?
I know I am a poi dog, polyracial.
I know there are aspects to respect...
The Japanese Daruma doll...seven times down
Eight times up...a demonstration of perseverance
The Gambare Spirit to keep getting back on your feet.
"I tell you one thing, you will know 10 things,"
A seemingly quixotic proverb with vast implications.
"Heaven lasts long, and Earth abides
What is the secret of their durability?
It it not because they do not live for THEMSELVES
That they last so long?" Wise words from
Thought shattering Lao Tzu
Where oxymorons make sense and become reality.
Eat bitter things to cure your stomache troubles,
Kau yuk will give you a beautiful complexion
Friendly advice from Aunty Rose Tom,
Dad's favorite sister, the one with the porcelain skin.
Aloha...a greeting, a farewell, an action,
an emotion, a noun, a verb, an attitude.
Come inside, come inside, eat, eat
Hele mai e 'ai...generous ho'okipa, hospitality
Without ulterior motives or desires for repayment.
No show off, be ha'aha'a...ho'omanawanui
Patience is a virtue
The land does not belong to you...
You belong to the land, ke one hanau
E Hawai'i e ku'u home hanau e
Know your place in the 'ohana, ke kaiaulu
Keep the loving attitude
Abide by the proper protocol
Fulfill your kuleana, respect
The soft and strict edges of Hawaiian existence.
Who am I? Really?
What do I stand for? Really?
What are my motivations? Really?
I am a person lost in a chasm
My place in history is a nebulous black hole.
I am Hawaiian but not Hawaiian
The ancestral memories and 'olelo Hawai'i
Have been whitewashed by pidgin and English words and thoughts.
I am not old and yet
When I talk about plantation camp life
My students look askance
As though these lifestyles were third-world countries.
The journey is before me
Like Hi'iakaikapolioPele.
Finding people who will help nurture growth
on this journey,
Facing head-on the mo'o, the detractors,
the naysayers who block the path.
Looking into the unexplored depths
Searching for the light in dark places.
A journey of maturation can take place at any age.
And this is only part of what I learned.
I learned I knew nothing of substance
About my roots, my culture, my kupuna.
A very sad commentary after six decades of existence
It is as though my life is a vignette,
A collage of ethnic snapshots,
Japanese, Chinese, Hawaiian, American
Scattered helter skelter across my consciousness.
Who am I? Really?
What do I stand for? Really?
What are my motivations? Really?
I know I am a poi dog, polyracial.
I know there are aspects to respect...
The Japanese Daruma doll...seven times down
Eight times up...a demonstration of perseverance
The Gambare Spirit to keep getting back on your feet.
"I tell you one thing, you will know 10 things,"
A seemingly quixotic proverb with vast implications.
"Heaven lasts long, and Earth abides
What is the secret of their durability?
It it not because they do not live for THEMSELVES
That they last so long?" Wise words from
Thought shattering Lao Tzu
Where oxymorons make sense and become reality.
Eat bitter things to cure your stomache troubles,
Kau yuk will give you a beautiful complexion
Friendly advice from Aunty Rose Tom,
Dad's favorite sister, the one with the porcelain skin.
Aloha...a greeting, a farewell, an action,
an emotion, a noun, a verb, an attitude.
Come inside, come inside, eat, eat
Hele mai e 'ai...generous ho'okipa, hospitality
Without ulterior motives or desires for repayment.
No show off, be ha'aha'a...ho'omanawanui
Patience is a virtue
The land does not belong to you...
You belong to the land, ke one hanau
E Hawai'i e ku'u home hanau e
Know your place in the 'ohana, ke kaiaulu
Keep the loving attitude
Abide by the proper protocol
Fulfill your kuleana, respect
The soft and strict edges of Hawaiian existence.
Who am I? Really?
What do I stand for? Really?
What are my motivations? Really?
I am a person lost in a chasm
My place in history is a nebulous black hole.
I am Hawaiian but not Hawaiian
The ancestral memories and 'olelo Hawai'i
Have been whitewashed by pidgin and English words and thoughts.
I am not old and yet
When I talk about plantation camp life
My students look askance
As though these lifestyles were third-world countries.
The journey is before me
Like Hi'iakaikapolioPele.
Finding people who will help nurture growth
on this journey,
Facing head-on the mo'o, the detractors,
the naysayers who block the path.
Looking into the unexplored depths
Searching for the light in dark places.
A journey of maturation can take place at any age.
And this is only part of what I learned.
Kihei
Kihei...a visual glimpse into one's soul
Unexpected insights into private lives, hidden minds.
The intricacy, the abandon, the careful thought
All blatantly splashed on a blank canvas.
The choice of color, design, care
Were evident at a second's glance.
Further examination and explanation
Bared the hearts and minds of the creators.
Sometimes hidden messages became evident
Though not meant for deliberate sharing.
Blank faces became real people
Without the interference of verbage.
Surprising revelations and newfound respect.
Ultimate expression without pretense,
All blatantly splashed on a blank canvas.
Unexpected insights into private lives, hidden minds.
The intricacy, the abandon, the careful thought
All blatantly splashed on a blank canvas.
The choice of color, design, care
Were evident at a second's glance.
Further examination and explanation
Bared the hearts and minds of the creators.
Sometimes hidden messages became evident
Though not meant for deliberate sharing.
Blank faces became real people
Without the interference of verbage.
Surprising revelations and newfound respect.
Ultimate expression without pretense,
All blatantly splashed on a blank canvas.
'Aikamumu
Stirring up fire on transfixed feet
'Aikamumu, with its land devouring teeth
Pushing upwards to the heavens
Sinking downward to the depths of Halema'uma'u
Danced like a martial arts kata
Energy in the hands and feet,
Extending beyond the horizon.
Words chanted from the depths of one's core,
The explosion of ki, kyats.
Not your plasticized hula seen in movies from the 40's.
Meaning Full
Energetic explosions
A gift of hula with specific protocol to be observed
A remedy for those in need
Of fires stirred on transfixed feet
'Aikamumu, with its land devouring teeth
Pushing upwards to the heavens
Sinking downward to the depths of Halema'uma'u
Danced like a martial arts kata
Energy in the hands and feet,
Extending beyond the horizon.
Words chanted from the depths of one's core,
The explosion of ki, kyats.
Not your plasticized hula seen in movies from the 40's.
Meaning Full
Energetic explosions
A gift of hula with specific protocol to be observed
A remedy for those in need
Of fires stirred on transfixed feet
Tuesday, December 1, 2009
Book Review: The Shark God
The Shark God: Encounters with Ghosts and Ancestors in the South Pacific was written by Charles Montgonery and tells of his journey to Melanesia to learn more about the work of his kupuna Henry Montgomery who was appointed the bishop of Tasmania in 1889. The book intertwines historical accounts with Montgomery's experiences in Melanesia...meeting the tribal leaders, the shamans, and the people of the traditional faith.
In chapter 7: The Word and Its Meaning, Montgomery defines mythology. Here are some cogent comments.
"...the power of a myth always has more to do with its function than its historic origin." p. 97
His definition: "Myth: a story, often involving the expression of supernatural power, that explains its believers' relationship with the world. The definition will not alienate anthropologists, mythologists, or mystics because it omits the question about which men have argued since they first gathered to tell stories around campfires: Which myths are historically true?" p. 98
Sigmund Freud's Take- "Freud gave myths hell. He insisted they were 'public dreams'--collective expressions of obsessional neuroses. Psychic baggage." p. 98
Carl Jung's Take - "He argued that myths represented the wisdom the human species had gathered over the millenia. They contained essential truths that the 'collective unconscious' had carried for generations and that science should never be allowed to displace. ...Some of these truths were straightforward...(some were) a description of the geography of the human heart. It is a place of innocence that lies within all of us, a place we cannot return to because we have tasted the knowledge of good and evil." p. 99
Montgomery continues..."...regardless of their histories, they (myths) have been kept alive in stories in order to perform certain mythic functions. They represent ideals. They inspire. They offer their believers clues about the nature of the universe." p. 99
"but these theories mortally wound myths because even as they value them, they defang them with deconstruction. A myth without believers is a fairy tale. It is a fantasy, fiction, stripped of sacredness. It is mere entertainment. It is a loss, perhaps, of something unfathomable." p. 100
In conclusion to this discussion, Montgomery states
"...As soon as you stand apart from myths, divorce them from faith, pick apart their function and their origins, you become like an anthropologist.... You may be fascinated and amused but you will never see a ghost, or magic, or the hand of God, because you have stepped outside the realm of faith. p. 100
"You must make room for mystery beore you can reach for it." p. 100
I think this is the best part of the entire book. Generally this book was a soothing balm for my insomniac nights.
In chapter 7: The Word and Its Meaning, Montgomery defines mythology. Here are some cogent comments.
"...the power of a myth always has more to do with its function than its historic origin." p. 97
His definition: "Myth: a story, often involving the expression of supernatural power, that explains its believers' relationship with the world. The definition will not alienate anthropologists, mythologists, or mystics because it omits the question about which men have argued since they first gathered to tell stories around campfires: Which myths are historically true?" p. 98
Sigmund Freud's Take- "Freud gave myths hell. He insisted they were 'public dreams'--collective expressions of obsessional neuroses. Psychic baggage." p. 98
Carl Jung's Take - "He argued that myths represented the wisdom the human species had gathered over the millenia. They contained essential truths that the 'collective unconscious' had carried for generations and that science should never be allowed to displace. ...Some of these truths were straightforward...(some were) a description of the geography of the human heart. It is a place of innocence that lies within all of us, a place we cannot return to because we have tasted the knowledge of good and evil." p. 99
Montgomery continues..."...regardless of their histories, they (myths) have been kept alive in stories in order to perform certain mythic functions. They represent ideals. They inspire. They offer their believers clues about the nature of the universe." p. 99
"but these theories mortally wound myths because even as they value them, they defang them with deconstruction. A myth without believers is a fairy tale. It is a fantasy, fiction, stripped of sacredness. It is mere entertainment. It is a loss, perhaps, of something unfathomable." p. 100
In conclusion to this discussion, Montgomery states
"...As soon as you stand apart from myths, divorce them from faith, pick apart their function and their origins, you become like an anthropologist.... You may be fascinated and amused but you will never see a ghost, or magic, or the hand of God, because you have stepped outside the realm of faith. p. 100
"You must make room for mystery beore you can reach for it." p. 100
I think this is the best part of the entire book. Generally this book was a soothing balm for my insomniac nights.
Journey of Realization
Beowulf, The Taming of the Shrew
To Kill a Mockingbird
The Color Purple, Walkabout
Holo Mai Pele
All stories of journeys
Battles within, without
Painful realizations singe white petals of innocence
Who is the monster?
Does a Familiar morph into a mo'o, a dragon?
Struggles of life and death
Physical, emotional, spiritual
Death of innocence gives birth to a new life,
A new understanding
Who is right?
Who is wrong?
In the living of life, how does a wrong
Create right, pono, justice?
Change is essential.
Understanding comes hard.
To Kill a Mockingbird
The Color Purple, Walkabout
Holo Mai Pele
All stories of journeys
Battles within, without
Painful realizations singe white petals of innocence
Who is the monster?
Does a Familiar morph into a mo'o, a dragon?
Struggles of life and death
Physical, emotional, spiritual
Death of innocence gives birth to a new life,
A new understanding
Who is right?
Who is wrong?
In the living of life, how does a wrong
Create right, pono, justice?
Change is essential.
Understanding comes hard.
More Questions than Answers
Although the title of the piece is Holo Mai Pele, the play itself hinges on the maturation journey of Hi'iakaikapolioPele. After watching the video and then reading the summaries of the acts and scenes, I am coming away with more questions...why,why why?
? If Pele wanted Lohi'au, why didn't she go and get him herself?
? What are the attributes of Pele? Of Hi'iaka?
? How would one describe the relationship between Pele and Hi'iaka at the beginning of the play? After Hi'iaka returns back to Hawai'i?
? How would the story have changed if another character took on the protagonist's role other than Hi'aka?
? How would one describe the relationship between Hi'iaka, Wahine'oma'o, and Pa'uopalai?
? What are the powers of the mo'o?
@ There is a paradox in Pele's power--Through destruction, there is new life. Reaffirmation of death --> life
? What was the significance of Hi'iaka's failure to meet her sister Kapo'ulakinau? Hi'iaka -the giver of life, Kapo'ulakinau - the taker of life
? How does Manamanaiakaluea represent people in our society? A symbol of ???
? What are the roots for the beef between Hi'iaka and Waihinano?
? What manifested in the heated exchange between the women? What were the curses?
How do the curses reflect a cultural perspective?
? What was 'Olepau's arrogant kapu?
? What is the purpose and protocol in setting kapu? How can someone break a kapu and get away with it?
? How was Kauhi "enslaved?" Why?
? Despite the show of respect through the awa ceremony, why did Hi'iaka decide not to free Kauhi?
@ Hi'iaka seems to show a more humane side to her personality. If compassiion is one of her atrributes, why did she not free Kauhi?
@ Hi'iaka risked everything to get what Pele desired, yet despite the fact that Pele broke her promise, Hi'iaka follows through on her commitment to bring Lohi'au to Hawai'i island. The nobility of her conduct becomes evident.
@ Pele's motivation for action seems to be based on petty and selfish desires. The shallowness serves as an excellent foil to Hi'iaka's course of action. Ki'i aka?
Many of these questions were answered in class. Now it would be appropriate to revist the DVD.
? If Pele wanted Lohi'au, why didn't she go and get him herself?
? What are the attributes of Pele? Of Hi'iaka?
? How would one describe the relationship between Pele and Hi'iaka at the beginning of the play? After Hi'iaka returns back to Hawai'i?
? How would the story have changed if another character took on the protagonist's role other than Hi'aka?
? How would one describe the relationship between Hi'iaka, Wahine'oma'o, and Pa'uopalai?
? What are the powers of the mo'o?
@ There is a paradox in Pele's power--Through destruction, there is new life. Reaffirmation of death --> life
? What was the significance of Hi'iaka's failure to meet her sister Kapo'ulakinau? Hi'iaka -the giver of life, Kapo'ulakinau - the taker of life
? How does Manamanaiakaluea represent people in our society? A symbol of ???
? What are the roots for the beef between Hi'iaka and Waihinano?
? What manifested in the heated exchange between the women? What were the curses?
How do the curses reflect a cultural perspective?
? What was 'Olepau's arrogant kapu?
? What is the purpose and protocol in setting kapu? How can someone break a kapu and get away with it?
? How was Kauhi "enslaved?" Why?
? Despite the show of respect through the awa ceremony, why did Hi'iaka decide not to free Kauhi?
@ Hi'iaka seems to show a more humane side to her personality. If compassiion is one of her atrributes, why did she not free Kauhi?
@ Hi'iaka risked everything to get what Pele desired, yet despite the fact that Pele broke her promise, Hi'iaka follows through on her commitment to bring Lohi'au to Hawai'i island. The nobility of her conduct becomes evident.
@ Pele's motivation for action seems to be based on petty and selfish desires. The shallowness serves as an excellent foil to Hi'iaka's course of action. Ki'i aka?
Many of these questions were answered in class. Now it would be appropriate to revist the DVD.
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