Torch walk
will recall
annexation

It's designed to raise
public awareness of the
events 100 years ago

By Pat Omandam
Star-Bulletin

Hawaiians will begin ceremonies leading up to next week's 100th anniversary of Hawaii's annexation by the United States with an islandwide torch walk.

The procession, designed to increase public awareness of the events leading to Aug. 12, 1898, will begin at 12:01 a.m. Saturday in Nuuanu.

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Organizers say the more that people learn about how Hawaii fell under U.S. rule, the more they will understand why many native islanders - then and now - want their sovereign nation restored.

"We're going to try and break down that barrier that has always kind of separated us from the rest of society - at least when it comes to politics, especially when it comes to history," said Umi Sai, vice president of the Hawaiian Patriotic League, which is organizing the march.

"I think it's one of those things that will bring people together, and give them a chance to participate - at least on Oahu," added NoeNoe Silva, a University of Hawaii doctorate candidate who has researched the annexation era.

Silva helped raise public awareness of two large petition drives by Hawaiians in 1897 against U.S. annexation and for restoration of the Hawaiian monarchy.

At the same time the torch walk begins here, a two-day Hawaiian sovereignty "Aloha March" begins at the U.S. Capitol.

Both are preludes to annexation events Tuesday and Wednesday at Iolani Palace and the Royal Mausoleum in Nuuanu. It was at the palace that a sovereign Hawaiian flag was taken down and replaced with the U.S. flag.

The mausoleum, known as Mauna'ala, is where Hawaiian royalty is entombed.

And it is where the torch will be lit at midnight Friday for its 91- hour trip around Oahu, Sai said.

While there are also torch walks in Kona and on Kauai, Sai said Oahu will be the largest because it is where "all the lepo, all the dirty stuff" took place. Hawaiians believe fire is symbolic of change, cleansing and rejuvenation.

So far, Sai said, 423 entities, organizations, businesses and families are involved in the torch walk. Still, the public is encouraged to participate along the route.

"The person who knows nothing of what's going on on Aug. 12, for a little part of him or her, they're going to be participating in it," Sai said. "And its going to give them that much more motivation to be there on the 12th - to see what this whole thing is about."

From Mauna'ala, the route proceeds down Nuuanu Avenue and turns right on Nimitz Highway toward Leeward Oahu. The torch will be carried through seven moku, or districts, of Oahu: Kona (Honolulu), Ewa, Waianae, Waialua, Koolauloa, Koolaupoko and then back to Kona.

A designated bearer in each district will monitor the torch's progress to ensure it arrives at the palace on time. The flames will be used to ignite torches on the four gates of the palace compound during an 18-hour vigil to honor fallen warriors.

Sai said there are two rules for anyone who wants to carry the torch: If a hand extends out to you, you must pass the torch, and when you hand the torch over, you must hug or kiss the next bearer, making the transfer much more personal.