E Ola Ka ‘Olelo Hawaii 

Photo by Jack Kiyonaga

By Jack Kiyonaga, Editor 

“If a culture has its language, the culture will live on. Once the language dies, the culture dies,” explained Kilia Purdy-Avelino. As a longtime kumu of ‘Olelo Hawaii currently teaching ‘olelo in a Hawaiian focused charter school, Purdy-Avelino has helped many students participate in this lifeline of language. Last week though, she sat in a slightly different role as a judge at the annual ‘Aha Ho’okuku ‘Olelo Hawaiian Language Competition. 

Molokai students of the Hawaiian language from preschoolers at Punana Leo to high schoolers and even some post-grad young adults gathered at Kulana ‘Oiwi Halau on Tuesday, Feb. 4, to celebrate their love of and proficiency in ‘Olelo Hawaii. As part of the contest, participants recited personal introductions, verses, chants and stories all in Hawaiian. 

This year’s showcase was organized by Ka’ala Fay Camara Dudoit and is part of Mahina ‘Olelo Hawaii month, which is celebrated annually in February. 

For Purdy-Avelino, who along with Manuwai Peters and a team of kumu and sponsors started the showcase for local Hawaiian language students back in 2014, the contest is an opportunity to let the Hawaiian language live outside of the classroom. 

“When we say ‘ola ka ‘Olelo,’ when we say we want the language to live, we have to look beyond schools,” she explained. “We have to get the language into our community, and then recognize and celebrate them as well. We have to not be afraid or ashamed to speak our language and make it our norm.”

“The value [of the competition] is to showcase that the language lives,” said Purdy-Avelino.  “We can all learn it, and all be part of these types of events.”

The participants in the contest were graded on a sliding scale of criteria based on their grade level. Judges examined the pronunciation, flow of speech, and language comprehension. For older students, judges listened closely to the level of sentence structure complexity, along with a sense of knowledge regarding traditional cultural practices. 

“The most impressive to me was Punana Leo, which is 3 and 4-year-olds,” said Purdy-Avelino. “They memorized a story that was at least 20 sentences long. Some of the vocabulary words weren’t easy to pronounce and yet they got it. That was so impressive to hear the babies memorizing stuff that’s so long.”

For Purdy-Avelino, remembering the hard fought right to practice and celebrate ‘Olelo Hawaii is essential for understanding why contests like these are so crucial. 

“We almost lost that. We were close to the extinction of our language,” she said. 

Hawaiian language was banned in schools in 1896, leading to a precipitous decline in native speakers. It was only in 1978 that Hawaiian was re-added as an official state language, and in 1987 that public schools adopted Hawaiian as an instructional language. 

For teachers and practitioners of the language, keeping Hawaiian alive through events like the ‘Aha Ho’okuku ‘Olelo Hawaiian Language Competition is a critical component for maintaining a connection to their culture. 

“We are Hawaii, we still have our language, and we need to recognize our language as an official state language,” said Purdy-Avelino. “It’s so necessary for us to keep our language alive and make it a priority.”