Kanaka Thinking: Man as a Steward of the Land

He Ali'i ka 'aina; he kauwa ke kanaka.

The land is a chief; man is its servant. Pukui 531

Land has no need for man, but man needs the land and works it for a livelihood.

It seems as though we have forgotten our responsibility to the land, the ocean, and the sky. Much of our concentration is on technology and we are forgetting the foundation upon which our lives are built. Getting a close understanding of our relationship between the land, the ocean, and the sky is important in building a lifestyle which can be sustained unto itself.

For many of our children, food comes in plastic bags or is placed on foam trays wrapped with plastic wrap. Ask a teenager to kill and clean a chicken and I can almost guarantee that that youngster would have a quizzical look on his or her face. Ask that youngster's mom to take on the task and most mothers who are in their 30s or 40s would not know how to kill and clean a chicken either.

Relying on growing, gathering, or raising our own food is not a step backwards. Rather, it is a step into the future to protect food sources for our families.

Keauhou o Ka Wa Kahiko

Keauhou...the new era, the new current
The site of the meeting of the old ways, the ancient minds
Kaneloa, autumnal equinox marking the sunsets of the depositories of ancestral memories
Say your piece, share your wisdom, teach your skills.

The night is ready to greet you, the quiet, the velvety soft darkness, Wakea
Time is fleeting like the evening winds cascading down from Mauna Kea
While your eyes are black, you see your sun swallowed by the azure seas of Kona
Say your piece, share your wisdom, teach your skills.

Use your escaping ha to comfort your loved ones, your precious essence sacrificed
You yearn to reach upward to the worlds of Ho'ohokukalani
Yet you tend to those who still cling to Papahanaumoku, keeping you earthbound.
Say your piece, share your wisdom, teach your skills.

Absolute balance of day and night, consciousness and another timeless reality
Markers in your life determine your destiny, your kuleana to ho'omau, ho'ea
Mundane details try to keep you grounded, yet unheard pahu drums call you from beyond
Say your piece, share your wisdom, teach your skills.

Too young to be an elder, lower your eyes in deference
Look to the strident voices, the demands of the kupuna..e maka'ala
Listen as though your life depended on it, whispered words linger in the air
Say your piece, share your wisdom, teach your skills.

The sun steps from the cradle of Haleakala to the east
Cryptic messages carried in the folds of the wind, Apa'apa'a, resound in your ears
New life, ka inoa po, emerges from the sacrifice of the ancient ones.
Say your piece, share your wisdom, teach your skills.