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Hawaiian Culture

Hawaiian culture stories from Molokai

Channel Riders

Wednesday, September 25th, 2013

Channel Riders

Wa`akapaemua Canoe Club’s Team Boomski wahine paddlers placed 10th out of 69 crews at the 35th annual Na Wahine O Ke Kai race last Sunday. Paddling 42 miles from Molokai to Oahu against top teams from around the world, the open women’s Molokai crew crossed one of the most difficult channels in the state in 6 hours 46 minutes 11 seconds. They met their goal of placing in the top 10, improving from last year when they finished 14th.

“The biggest struggle is trying not to hit the wall,” said Team Boomski paddler Teon Simmons. “You cheer on your teammates and you try to get into your Zen mode–whatever you got to do to get it done.”…

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Defending the Departed

Wednesday, September 25th, 2013

More than 20 years ago, the state approved the creation of island burial councils, to give Native Hawaiians a voice to protect their iwi kupuna, or ancestral remains, after plans to build a Maui Ritz Carlton at Honokahua had uprooted 1,100 unmarked graves.

“There is a connection between our [kupuna] and us. We’re not who we are without them.” said Opu`ulani Albino, a past Molokai burial council member. “You should never, ever have iwi [bones] in the sun. That’s the highest desecration you can do to iwi in our culture.”

Each island has a council made up of community members and land developers who decide whether remains found on a development site must be preserved in place or relocated.…

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Local Filmmaker Receives Worldwide Support

Wednesday, September 18th, 2013

Local Filmmaker Receives Worldwide Support

Last month, Molokai filmmaker Matt Yamashita set a lofty goal: he wanted to raise $22,000 to fund the completion of a new documentary he calls “the most exciting project I’ve worked on.” The film, called “Return to Halawa,” is about Halawa Valley and the life of Anakala Pilipo Solatorio, one of the last Hawaiians born, raised and still living in the east Molokai valley.

As of Sunday night, 150 backers from around the world had pledged $21,831 to the project on Kickstarter.com, a website that’s been coined the world’s largest funding platform for creative projects. Funding on Kickstarter is all or nothing — project creators set a goal amount and deadline, and if the goal isn’t reached, they don’t receive any of the money pledged by backers.…

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Taro Variety Field Day 2013

Wednesday, September 18th, 2013

UH CTAHR Molokai Extension News Release

Not too long ago, rice, pasta and bread were not a major part of our diet in Hawaii.  Instead, taro, or kalo, was the main source of food that provided dietary carbohydrate for Native Hawaiians.  They produced kalo on all the islands and on as many as 50,000 acres of the best upper and river valley lands in order to maintain the health of the population of 500,000 or more.  In order to improve their food security, Native Hawaiian developed more than 300 varieties of taro.

Today only about 70 of the varieties are left. …

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Hawaii Orchids Today

Wednesday, September 18th, 2013

Hawaii Orchids Today

Community Contributed

By Glenn I. Teves, UH County Extension Agent

Dendrobium orchids are a major export crop for Hawaii, and are broken into two segments, cut flowers and potted plants. Potted plant production is fairly new, and focuses on compact plants with short sprays facilitating ease of shipping.

The Hawaii dendrobium cut flower industry is based on one dendrobium cultivar, Dendrobium Jaquelyn Thomas, a primary cross of two species, Dendrobium phalaenopsis and Dendrobium gouldii. Together, the best qualities of both parents emerge in an intermediate-sized flower with a shelf life exceeding four to six weeks. This cultivar’s flower color can be found in white, pink, blush, two-tone, and purple.…

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Rising from the Rocks

Wednesday, September 4th, 2013

Rising from the Rocks

Native plants making a comeback

Editorial by Catherine Cluett

We’re bumping along a rocky track, ascending steeply through a landscape some would call lunar. Ahead of us is mostly gray—Kawela’s barren, stony slopes and gulches, topped by a thin line of green where the mountaintops meet the sky. But I can’t help turning in my seat of our all-terrain vehicle toward the view behind us—each bump expands a breathtaking panorama of Maui to the east, Lanai’s slender back, the turquoise fingers of Molokai’s south shore reef, and the slopes of Pu`u Nana to Molokai’s west.

In the years before European contact in the 19th century, these mountainsides were covered in lowland forests, according to historic records.…

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A Decade of Environmental Leadership

Thursday, August 22nd, 2013

A Decade of Environmental Leadership

As a child, Uncle Mac Poepoe fondly remembers fishing down at Mo`omomi Beach with family and friends, but as time passed, he began seeing the area increasingly populated with unfamiliar boats and people, over-fishing in its waters.

“I said, ‘Hey we’ve got to do something about this because if this continues, we’re not going to have many fish left for ourselves,’” said Poepoe.

He came together with a group of Molokai fishermen and community members who decided they needed more public input as to how environmental resources are managed.

Nearly 20 years later, his efforts have spread statewide. With the help of Kua`aina Ulu `Auamo (KUA)—formerly known as the Hawaiian Community Stewardship Network—a community-based management network formed incorporating more than 25 communities statewide dedicated to restore and sustain their environmental heritage.…

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Partnering for Preservation

Wednesday, August 14th, 2013

Partnering for Preservation

Protecting Molokai’s Watersheds

An understanding of the connections between mountains and ocean — mauka and makai — is rooted in ancient Hawaiian culture. Today, invasive species and human impacts are threatening to clog Molokai’s reef — the most extensive coral reef in the Main Hawaiian Islands — with sediment washed down from the mountain slopes. Today, scientists are doing studies to provide proof of this evidence and offer their data to help find solutions. And today, Molokai residents are meeting together to discuss those solutions and taking action to protect the island’s most valuable resources — both the mountains and the ocean.…

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Protecting a Cultural Legacy

Sunday, August 4th, 2013

Protecting a Cultural Legacy

When today’s kupuna were growing up, they remember being told that the Kapuaiwa Coconut Grove was a sacred place. It was kapu, or forbidden, and their kupuna told them not to play in the grove or freshwater springs that open up in the ground beneath the towering trees. But today, those kupuna are concerned because they often see trucks driven into the grove, children swimming in the pools, tourists oblivious to the dangers of falling coconuts and rubbish littering the springs and grove.

“We were all taught by our parents and our grandparents that we are not to go in there and play [in the grove],” said Kanani Negrillo of Kalamaula.…

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Summer Surf Results

Thursday, August 1st, 2013

Summer Surf Results

Ko Molokai Keiki O Ke Kai News Release

The 2013 Ko Molokai Keiki O Ke Kai summer surf series has come to an end, providing dozens of keiki with an opportunity to spend quality with their families and a fun, safe and drug-free activity during the summer break. The series celebrated its 24th anniversary this year, organized by a not-for-profit group of dedicated parents and volunteers to perpetuate the culture and traditions of surfing for the next generation.

Organizers would like to thank supporters and sponsors Friendly Market, Molokai Drugstore, Volcom, Dennis Kirk-HIC, Mickey Neilson-Quiksilver, Donald and LaVonne Pahia-Quiksilver, Kehau Mckee- Wailua Beach, Pua and Heather Rochlen- Jams World, Aunty Shirley Rawlins- Chevron, Pu`u O Hoku Ranch and Friendly Isle United Fund.…

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