by K. D. Keenan
An attempt to build a land-based wind farm on the western end of the island was thwarted by the Moloka‘ians themselves. The installation would have transported the electricity via undersea cable to O‘ahu. All of it. None of the electricity generated on Moloka‘i would have gone to the residents of the island. There was a referendum and the Moloka‘ians voted it down. This and a number of other stories convinced me that the Moloka‘ians are not people to be trifled with. They will stand up and act if they feel their rights are being threatened, and they aren’t quiet about it. People after my own heart.
Moloka‘i and the Moloka‘ians
This book would not have been possible without the generosity and aloha spirit of the people of Moloka‘i.
Moloka‘i is perhaps best known as the leper colony island, but that doesn’t begin to describe this island and its residents. The leper colony is still there, isolated on the Kalaupapa Peninsula at the base of 2,000-foot pali. Although what we now call Hansen’s Disease is entirely curable, many of the colony’s older residents chose to stay where they had lived most of their lives. You can visit Kalaupapa by mule, winding down the steep trail from Palaau State Park, or you can hike down. I did not visit, being disinclined to burden an innocent mule who had never done me any harm. I was even less inclined to descend—and then ascend—a steep, narrow trail on foot with gut-clenching drop-offs.
Moloka‘i is called the “Aloha Island.” Aloha, you may remember, means “love,” “hello,” and “goodbye.” In this context, aloha means a spirit of welcome and hospitality. I have rarely visited a place with such friendly people. A woman I met within sixty seconds of disembarking at the airport gave me the names of everyone I needed to meet to fulfill my research goals, briefed me on island etiquette, and gave me a lot of other useful information as well. I didn’t know this person; she just asked me what I was doing on Moloka‘i, and when she found out I was there researching a book based on ancient Moloka‘ian traditions, she generously gave me all the information I needed to get going. As I went about contacting the people she recommended, they welcomed me with warmth and did their best to help me out.
As the Moloka‘ians say, “Don’t try to change Moloka‘i. Let Moloka‘i change you.” Moloka‘i is not the island to visit if you are into plush resort hotels, nightlife, fine dining, or touristy luaus. I didn’t stay in a hotel, but there is at least one. And there is one resort I know of for certain. Most accommodations are in condos and cottages.
Moloka‘i is the island to visit if you want a relaxed, unpretentious place where you can get to know the people who live there, explore local cuisine (warning: this includes a lot of Spam and saimin noodles), or cook your own with fresh, local ingredients. In addition to fresh-caught fish, Moloka‘i produces beef, pork, chicken, vegetables, fruit, honey, macadamia nuts, and coffee.
Moloka‘i may be the island of longest human occupation in the Hawai‘ian archipelago. Archeologists have dated some of the ancient fishponds back to 650 CE. When you consider that the substantial remains of those fishponds are still there, withstanding tides, currents and hurricanes for more than a thousand years, you can understand why many Moloka‘ians believe their construction to be supernatural.
Snorkeling and diving are wonderful because Moloka‘i is surrounded by the largest fringe reef in the islands. The fishing is also excellent. There are some boat charters in Kaunakakai, but you won’t find parasailing or other tourist-type activities.
Ancient Hawai‘ian Society and Religion
Ancient Hawai‘ian society was divided between the Ali‘i, the nobility, and the maka‘ainana, the common people. There were also the kahuna, the priestly class, but these were probably drawn from the ranks of the Ali‘i. The Ali‘i were physically distinct from the maka‘ainana, being taller, heavily built, and lighter-skinned. The maka‘ainana were significantly shorter and darker, leading some anthropologists to speculate that the maka‘ainana were the original inhabitants of the islands, migrating from the Marquesas, while the Ali‘i were conquerors hailing from Tahiti who subjugated the original people.
Hawai‘i may be a paradise on earth, but ancient Hawai‘ian culture was far from idyllic, especially if you were not an Ali‘i. The higher in rank an Ali‘i, the more kapu. For instance, in some cases, to touch the shadow of an Ali‘i or to set your foot upon his footprint, was punishable by death. At any time, the temple mu, or sacrificers, could capture a random person (usually male) and sacrifice him. Human sacrifice was an integral part of the ancient religion. If you were maka‘ainana, your life would have been infinitely less hazardous if you lived in a remote fishing village unfrequented by Ali‘i.
Most religions have internal conflicts, fuzzy areas, and confusing bits, but the ancient Hawai‘ian religion is more confusing than most. The religion is said to have 40,000 gods. This is because, in addition to the Big Four—Kane, Ku, Kanaloa, and Lono (each of whom had many different Avatars, earthly forms, and human descendants)—and a panoply of lesser gods and demigods like Pele and Kama Pua‘a—any individual could adopt a personal or family ‘aumakua. This might be a particular shark or owl or tree believed to embody the spirit of an ancestor, or it could be an unworked stone that someone decided was his god. It’s not as clear-cut as, say, the Greek pantheon, where there’s an accepted genealogy, gods and goddesses have specific responsibilities, and the stories are more or less consistent.
This lavish proliferation of gods is complicated by the fact that traditions vary somewhat from island to island. I have tried to stay true to the Moloka‘ian take on the gods as much as possible, but perhaps I may be forgiven for any inconsistencies.
Kama Pua‘a
Kama Pua‘a is a beloved cultural hero in Hawai‘i, the equivalent to Coyotl the Trickster in Native American stories. Kama Pua‘a is mischievous and prone to getting into trouble like Coyotl, and like Coyotl, he has a good heart. Everything related here about Kama is within the Hawai‘ian tradition, except that he never went to Moloka‘i.
Menehune
In Fire in the Ocean, I have the Menehune originating in the Americas, an idea that was sparked by a Moloka‘ian woman, Louella Albino (known by everyone as Auntie Opu‘ulani), who told me in no uncertain terms that the Ali‘i came from North America, not Tahiti. I will let others argue about this; Auntie Opu‘ulani’s version is fine by me.
Some think the Menehune were actually the original inhabitants of the Hawai‘ian Islands who were oppressed by invading conquerors and dispersed into the backcountry to live furtive, seldom-seen lives. On the Wikipedia page for Menehune, I read that a group of 65 people describing themselves by the term “Menehune” were listed in an 1820 census of Kaua‘i. The Wikipedia page for Necker Island, one of the more remote islands in the Hawai‘ian archipelago, notes clear evidence of former habitation (heiaus and other buildings), and the tradition in Kaua‘i is that Necker Island was the last refuge of the little people.
Various other theories abound, but many Hawai‘ians believe absolutely in the Menehune and will tell you of their experiences with them.
Midway Island, Albatross Chicks, and the Pacific Gyre
Sierra never made it to Midway Island—which is one of the most remote islands in the world, and part of the extensive Hawai‘ian archipelago. Midway and other uninhabited islands in the archipelago are important nesting and breeding habitats for a number of sea birds, including three species of albatross: the black-footed, the Laysan, and the short-tailed mōli. Many of these birds are threatened or vulnerable to extinction. Volunteers use their own time and money to go to Midway, staying there for weeks and sometimes months at a time, cleaning plastic off the beaches, counting albatross chicks and adults, and assisting naturalists with other duties. As of this writing, the volunteer program has been suspended indefinitely due to lack of funds.
The seabird chicks on Midway and the other islands are dying in large numbers because of plastic ingestion. Hawai‘i is at the center of the Pacific Gyre, a gigantic whirlpool of currents. The
gyre—also known as the Great Pacific Garbage Patch—is full of particularized plastic, swirling around and around like so much indestructible confetti. The plastic harms ocean life in a few ways. First, the plastic leaches chemicals into the water that effects the health of ocean life. Second, the colorful bits of plastic attract sea birds, which mistake it for food, ingest it, and feed it to their young. It’s not good for the parents, and it kills the chicks—up to a third of them. Other sea life also ingests particularized plastic, with deadly results.
The plastic in the Pacific Gyre primarily comes from China and North America. Much of it is due to illegal dumping. The Pacific Gyre is only one of five such gyres around the world. Particularized plastic has accumulated in all of them. There are a few cleanup efforts underway. One of the most promising technologies was developed by a young Dutchman, Boyan Slat, founder of The Ocean Cleanup (www.theoceancleanup.com), but there are several others under development.
Notes & References
Notes
[1] Chant and translation from June Gutmanis, Na Pule Kahiko: Ancient Hawaiian Prayers (Honolulu, HI: Editions Limited, 1983).
[2] Hawai‘ian gods can take many different earthly forms. Kanaloa can appear as a man, an octopus, a squid, a banana tree, or various medicinal plants. Oddly, as lord of the ocean, Kanaloa is also the god associated with fresh water.
[3] This is the author’s invention. However, she was informed by a Moloka‘ian woman of great learning and wisdom that the Ali‘i, the elite nobility among the ancient Hawai‘ians, came from the Americas—so in this version of history, the Menehune came with them. The more conventional theory is that the Ali‘i came from Tahiti, and the Menehune were the original inhabitants of the islands, migrants from the Marquesas Islands, later subjugated and marginalized by the conquering Ali‘i.
[4] One of Kama Pua‘a’s bodily forms is the humu-humu-nuku-nuku-apua‘a, the reef triggerfish and state fish of Hawai‘i. The name means “triggerfish with a pig’s snout.” Kama routinely uses this form to escape trouble—usually of his own making.
[5] “Do you have some chocolate?”
[6] “Thank you, Auntie.”
[7] http://www.disappearednews.com/2008/12/life-of-land-files-motion-to-intervene.html.
References
Beckwith, Martha Warren. Hawaiian Mythology. Honolulu, HI: University of Hawaii Press, 1970.
Carroll, Rick. “Incident at `Ili `ili `Opae Heiau.” Weird U.S. Accessed October 22, 2017. http://weirdus.com/states/hawaii/stories/iliili_opae_heiau/index.php.
“E MauAna O Kanaloa, Ha’i Hou.” Kaho’olawe Island Conveyance Commission. Accessed October 22, 2017. http://kahoolawe.hawaii.gov/KICC/12 E MAu Ana O Kanaloa Ho'i Hou.pdf.
Gutmanis, June. Na Pule Kahiko: Ancient Hawaiian Prayers. Honolulu, HI: Editions Limited, 1983.
“How to Speak Hawaiian like a Haole.” Instant Hawaii. http://www.instanthawaii.com/cgi-bin/hawaii?Language.
Kamae‘eleihiwa, L.K. He Mo‘olelo Ka‘ao o Kamapua‘a (A Legendary Tradition of Kamapua‘a, the Hawaiian Pig-God). Honolulu, HI: Bishop Museum Press, 1996.
Kamakau, Samuel Manajakalani. “Ka Po‘e Kahiko (The People of Old).” Translated by Mary Kawena Pukui. Ke Au ‘Oko‘a Honolulu, HI: Bishop Museum Press, 1964.
“Kanaloa.” Kumukahi. Accessed on October 22, 2017. http://www.kumukahi.org/units/ke_ao_akua/akua/kanaloa.
“Kauhuhu, the Shark God of Molokai.” The Internet’s Sacred Texts Archive. Accessed on October 22, 2017. http://www.sacred-texts.com/pac/hlog/hlog12.htm.
“The Legend of the Night Marchers.” To-Hawaii. Accessed October 22, 2017. http://www.to-hawaii.com/legends/night-marchers.php.
Malo, David. Moolelo Hawaii (Hawaiian Antiquities). Translated by Nathaniel B. Emerson. Bernice P. Bishop Museum, 1898.
“Night Marchers.” Hawaiian Myths. Accessed October 22, 2017. http://hawaiianmyths.weebly.com/history-of-sorts.html.
Westerveld, W.D. Legends of Gods and Ghosts (Hawaiian Mythology). Boston: Press of Ellis Co., London, 1915.
Wianecki, Shannon. The Sacred Spine. Maui No Ka ‘Oi Magazine. http://www.mauimagazine.net/Maui-Magazine/September-October-2012/The-Sacred-Spine/index.php?cparticle=2&siarticle=1 - artanc.
Wight, Kahikāhealani. Illustrated Hawaiian Dictionary. Honolulu, HI: Bess Press, 2005.
About the Author
K.D. KEENAN worked in the high technology industries for thirty-plus years as a content creator and public relations expert. She founded her own PR agency, named one of Silicon Valley’s Top 25 PR agencies for ten years running by the Silicon Valley Business Journal. Today, she focuses on her fiction writing, her grandchildren, and a long list of things she’d like to do if there were more hours in the day.
Keenan has always been a voracious reader. Having worked through her grandparents’ extensive library of Victorian children’s literature, she began reading fantasy and science fiction at the age of nine—a move that curbed her tendency to write with a mid-nineteenth-century flair that was never really appreciated by her English teachers.
The Obsidian Mirror, the first book in a trilogy, tells the tale of a Silicon Valley PR executive whose life takes a turn for the weird when a fast-talking coyote appears on her doorstep and plunges her into a whirlwind of hijacked technology, ancient evil, and environmental threat. Fire in the Ocean picks up Sierra’s story as she embarks on a tropical vacation but instead encounters the ancient magic of the “isle of sorcerers” as she fights to protect the precious natural environment of Hawai‘i.
Keenan and her husband of forty-five years have two grown children and two grandchildren.
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