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Meet The Other Keli`i Mawae “Hawaiian Renaissance Man”

Friday, December 15th, 2006

KELI’I’S MOLOKAI
A Biography by

I was sure I knew Keli’i, until I was given this book to review. I picked up the book and looked at its cover. Keli’i Mawae’s penetrating eyes stare back at me. It is a strong Hawaiian face, burnished, brown, kindly, contemplative. The gray hair and beard attest to his age. There are deep creases across his forehead.

This is Keli’i’s personal story, his story of Molokai, as told to the authors and written by them as oral history. They said Keli’i had asked them to write it “before grass would be growing on top of him”.

Most residents of the island know that Keli’i is an expert fisherman, a farmer, a hunter and a musician, a multi-talented man who is also the honorary mayor of Molokai. But if some may yet see him as none other than a guitar playing, genial Hawaiian with a twinkle in his eyes and a hearty handshake, then this book will change that image. You will meet the other Keli’i; the off-stage one. It will help you to understand what he feels about Molokai as a Hawaiian.

Keli’i is proud of his heritage. A full-blooded Hawaiian, born and raised on a Molokai homestead by his grandmother, he is deeply concerned that the Hawaiian culture, and traditions which identify Hawaiians and on which he was nurtured are eroding and being replaced by the encroachment of another culture. He fears for the loss of the Hawaiian way of living. Passionate about preserving the past, and disturbed by some of the changes that have taken place on Molokai, he says, “The loss of our Hawaiian way makes me sad.” “…We need to know our past…. it is our heritage….our identity…we must teach our children our history.”

Keli’i covers a wide range of topics in this book. He describes Molokai’s various landscapes, talks about his aumakua, the mano(shark), the stones, and the sacred places. He explains the respect Hawaiian’s have for all of God’s creation—land, sea, animals, and of fishing and hunting in the honorable Hawaiian way. He also expresses his deep love for his family.

In the introduction to this book U. S. senator, Daniel Inouye, states, “Keli’i Mawae embodies the Hawaiian Renaissance – he lives it with quiet dignity and a passionate conviction of his cultural teachings.”

This is “book-club” material. It is certain to stir strong opinions and a lively discussion. I would agree with the author that “…this is a powerful book because it comes from one of the people.” It is unlike any other book about Molokai, and deserves a space on the bookshelf of anyone interested in oral history, in Molokai, in Hawaiians, or in simply knowing Keli’i.

It is available at the Molokai Fine Arts Gallery.

A personal viewpoint on Mayor Alan Arakawa

Tuesday, October 31st, 2006

Quake Jolts Hawaiian Islands

Tuesday, October 17th, 2006

Officials began inspecting bridges and roads across Hawaii on Monday following the strongest earthquake to rattle the islands in more than two decades, a 6.7-magnitude quake that caused blackouts and landslides but no reported fatalities.

According to the Molokai Police Department, the quake caused temporary power outages in Kalae, which shut down two water pumps for a short amount of time. Minor rock slides on the east end were quickly cleared. No other major damage was reported.

Molokai fared well compared to other islands, where airports and even hospitals were shut down for a significant length of time.

"It lets you know Mother Nature is doing her thing," said Robin Eising, a teacher at Waikoloa Elementary School, which was closed for the day for inspection. "It was a wake-up call."

Still, officials cautioned that they needed to inspect the many bridges, roads, earthen dams, schools and other structures across the Big Island, the isle closest to the epicenter.

Ray Lovell, state Civil Defense spokesman, said a loss estimate was not immediately available because damage was so scattered. "It's just premature to come up with dollar estimates right now," he said.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency flew a 100-member response team to Honolulu on Monday with plans to go to the Big Island on Tuesday.

Bob Fenton, FEMA's director of response for the region, said officials were hearing of "light to moderate" damage to infrastructure.

Utilities restored power to 97 percent of the state's customers by early morning. Most of Oahu, the most populous island, with more than 800,000 of Hawaii's 1.2 million residents, had been blacked out on Sunday.

Honolulu residents, however, were urged to continue conserving water while supplies were still being replenished.

The quake hit at 7:07 a.m., 10 miles north-northwest of Kailua-Kona, on the west coast of the Big Island. On Monday, the U.S. Geological Survey raised its measurement of the magnitude to 6.7 from a preliminary 6.6.

At least one stretch of road leading to a bridge near the epicenter collapsed, Civil Defense Agency spokesman Dave Curtis said. Several other roads on the Big Island were closed by mudslides, debris and boulders, but most were still passable, he said.

At the 94-bed Kona Community Hospital - the only hospital within 100 miles - crews were cleaning up. Thirty long-term care patients were taken to a hotel, and six were airlifted across the island to another hospital.

Donald Lewis, president and chief executive, said the hospital was operating at about 10 percent Monday. No patients or staff were injured.

"God was on our side," Lewis said. "It's not as bad as it could've been."

Many Hawaii residents breathed a similar sigh of relief. On the Big Island, people were already returning to work and their lives, as bicyclists training for Saturday's Ironman World Championship zipped along the highway.

"If you're going to have an earthquake, you couldn't have had it at a better time - early in the morning when people aren't even out of their homes yet," Curtis said. "I think people, under the circumstances, have remained very calm."

John P. Lockwood, a former USGS volcanologist who is now a private consultant, said another blessing was that the quake did not divert lava flows from Kilauea Volcano to populated areas. The lava flows safely into the sea.

Even so, "this brings to forefront the need for people to have 72 hours' worth of supplies to keep them going" after a quake, said Kim Walz, a spokeswoman with the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

On Monday morning, the Honolulu airport was filled with passengers still waiting for a flight out.

Silas Garrett, a 52-year-old truck driver from Memphis, Tenn., had been there since 8 a.m. the previous morning. He said he and his five sisters slept on the floor using beach towels as blankets and handbags as pillows.

"Every pound we gained on the cruise ship, we lost in the airport," Garrett said. "The quake shook it off."

But other tourists continued to arrive by the planeload, and some who experienced the quake saw no need to cut short vacations.

"As long as the airports are open, we're OK," said Dave Kenny of Hortonville, Mich., who was with his wife and another couple at Volcanoes National Park when Sunday's quake struck.

"We figured it was a show that Hawaii put on just for us," Kenny said.

State officials also moved to dispel ideas that Hawaii-bound tourists should change plans.

"We are open for business," Gov. Linda Lingle said.

Todd Yamashita contributed to this report