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History

Stories about Molokai’s rich cultural history.

Alii’s Life Story Through Hula

Wednesday, October 14th, 2015

When Kumu Hula Micah Kamohoali`i and his halau started gathering stories about Kamehameha the Great, they simply wanted to save their Hawaii Island community’s history before it was lost.

Now, what began as a cultural revival has been channeled into a hula drama called “Hanau Ke Ali`i: Born is the Chief,” which combines hula, chant and Hawaiian martial arts to reenact lesser known details of Kamehameha’s life. After performing on six islands, Waimea-based Halau Na Kipu`upu`u is completing its tour on Molokai this Friday at the high school gym.

“It’s based on the life of Kamehameha as told by his descendants,” said Kamohoali`i.…

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Celebrating a Queen’s Love of Kalo

Thursday, October 8th, 2015

Celebrating a Queen’s Love of Kalo

At last month’s Taro Field Day, Molokai residents celebrated cultural and agricultural traditions, harvested their own kalo to grown in their backyards, and participated in a prestigious cooking contest honoring a queen’s commitment to taro.

The annual event offers community members a chance to learn about and be a part of efforts to preserve dozens of historic taro species, as well as taste test poi and kulolo made from varieties grown here on Molokai at the UH Maui Community College Farm in Ho`olehua. Attendees could also venture into the field after receiving a labelled map to select and harvest plants of their favorite varieties.…

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Kulaia: One Community, One Wa`a

Wednesday, September 30th, 2015

Kulaia: One Community, One Wa`a

Last Friday on the closed main street of Kaunakakai town, children spoke Hawaiian fluidly. Community members pounded poi while shop owners told ancestral stories through their handmade crafts. Hawaiian culture was alive and well at Molokai’s second annual Kulaia, a celebration whose purpose was reconnecting with traditions of the past.

“I like the idea that it’s a historical event that we’re trying to revive in our own Molokai way,” said resident Pulama Lima. “… I think it brings our community together in a way that people look at us as this model of aloha and this model of why we still continue this life of subsistence.”…

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Tutu’s Memories: Halcyon days at the Sheraton Kaluakoi

Friday, September 25th, 2015

Community Contributed

By Marie Yamashita

“You people here are so lucky,” said my good friend Ethel, who had come from Oahu with her husband and friends to spend another weekend golfing and staying at the Sheraton.   “It’s beautiful here and the course is better than our Mid Pacific Country Club on Oahu.”

That was way back in the early 1980s. Many times I had heard similar words from those who visited our island, not only from those who golfed, but others who came primarily to luxuriate in the hotel’s vacation atmosphere or to dine in the charming dining hall.

The view of Kepuhi beach was breathtaking.…

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Connecting Culture and a Canoe Race

Wednesday, September 23rd, 2015

Connecting Culture and a Canoe Race

Fifty years ago on the evenings before major outrigger canoe races, Molokai residents and paddling crews from Hawaii and around the world camped together on the shores of Hale o Lono Harbor. They shared tents, meals, music and conversation under the stars.

“It was really good for everybody to get together. No matter what club you were in, everybody had fun together,” said local fisherman Mervin Dudoit, who paddled in seven Molokai Hoe races during the 1960s. “… Now most guys don’t talk to the next team [before a race].”

As races got more competitive and a good night’s sleep more valuable, lodging separately in hotels or local homes became commonplace.…

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Aloha on the High Seas

Wednesday, September 23rd, 2015

Aloha on the High SeasQ&A with Hokulea crewmember Kawika Crivello

A handful of Molokai residents have been honored to be invited as crew on the Hokulea, a double-hulled voyaging canoe whose first journey from Hawaii to Tahiti in 1976 successfully replicated ancient Polynesian travel using traditional navigation techniques. The late Mel Paoa and Penny Martin began a long tradition of Molokai crewmembers, among them Kawika Crivello. He was one four local watermen to complete legs of the Malama Honua Worldwide Voyage, a 47,000-mile journey that will conclude in 2017. While not his first voyage, Crivello served as steersman on a leg across the dangerous Tasman Sea between New Zealand and Australia between April and June of this year.…

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90 Years of Homesteading

Friday, September 18th, 2015

Ho`olehua Homestead Association News Release

On Oct. 28-30, a celebration will be held to commemorate the 90th year of Hawaiian homesteading in the Ho`olehua/Palaau area of Molokai. Events to take place will be displays of family genealogies, pictures, and sharing of family histories both oral and written. The culminating celebration will take place on the evening of the 30th with a pa`ina and recognition of individual families. More information will be forthcoming.

The committee is seeking donations for this celebration. All inquiries please contact Ochie Bush at 567-6027 or Nona Kaawa at 567-6442.…

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Recalling Kulaia History

Friday, September 4th, 2015

Molokai Canoe Festivals Committee News Release

Historical records dating back to 1865 note Hawaiian outrigger canoe race competitions as one of the many events our kupuna took part in during annual la kulaia, days of festivities honoring the Kingdom of Hawaii and especially honoring our beloved monarchy.  During that era, kulaia generally occurred once a year during a national holiday or birthday celebration of a mo`i (monarch).

After the overthrow of our beloved Hawaiian Kingdom, kulaia festivities changed focus and no longer celebrated the Kingdom and monarchy.  In historical records, we see the shift from national celebration to simply canoe race competitions. …

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Celebrating Life and Tradition

Wednesday, September 2nd, 2015

Celebrating Life and Tradition

Last Saturday at Molokai’s Guzeiji Soto Mission, families gathered together to keep the memory of loved ones and the traditions of Japanese culture alive on Molokai. The island’s annual bon dance brought more than 100 residents and visitors together for lively drums, dancing and good food.

“It’s a time of celebrating ancestors who have passed on,” said Marge Bento, one of the event’s organizers. “We’re kind of partying with them.”

In an event repeated every summer in towns around Japan and places around the world, including Hawaii, community members smiled as they danced around the yagura, or bon dance tower, stepping to the beat of the heavily thumping taiko drums.…

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Iconic Grove Restored

Wednesday, August 5th, 2015

Iconic Grove Restored

Just weeks ago, Molokai’s historic Kapuaiwa Coconut Grove was thick with shrubs, piles of dead fronds and manmade trash. Now, after a thorough weeklong overhaul, the ground is bare and smooth, the fallen tree trunks are stacked neatly and Molokai residents see what many of them said they remember growing up: an unobscured view of the ocean between the towering palms.

“We’re happy it’s clean. It’s like we got back the old Coconut Grove,” said Kalamaula Homestead Association President Gayla Haliniak-Lloyd, who said the last clean-up was about four years ago.

The Department of Hawaiian Home Lands (DHHL), which owns land the property, organized the cleaning in response to community meetings in May and June during which many Kalamaula residents pointed out the grove’s deteriorating conditions.…

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