Hawaii’s
Back yard
Cheryl Chee Tsutsumi
Molokai Ka Hula Piko
offers wide array of crafts,
food, entertainmentIn the district called Kaana on Mount Maunaloa in West Molokai, the land stretches wide open and unblemished by buildings. Here, at night, the stars seem to shine brighter in a sky that seems to be a deeper blue-black, and when the wind blows through the grasses, trees and shrubs, you'd swear the ancients are speaking to you.
This is the birthplace of the hula. Molokai's pre-Western oral history tells of a woman named Lailai who made her home at Kaana, where she introduced the art of the hula. For five generations after her passing in the 9th century, the sacred dances were performed only by her descendants and only at Kaana.
Then Laka was born into the Lailai clan. She learned the hula from her older sister, Kapoulakinau, and against her family's wishes, she left Molokai to spread it throughout rest of the Hawaiian Islands.
12th annual Molokai Ka Hula Piko
Admission is free to all events. Food and crafts are available for purchase at the ho'olaule'a.Thursday: Lecture I at Kulanaoiwi Halau by John Kaimikaua, 7 to 8 p.m.
Friday: Excursion to Kapuaiwa coconut grove across from Kulanaoiwi Halau, led by Kaimikaua, 10 to 10:45 a.m. (meet at the grove by 9:45 a.m.). Also, Lecture II at Kulanaoiwi Halau by Kaimikaua, 7 to 8 p.m.
Saturday: Ho'olaule'a at Papohaku Beach Park, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Call: 808-553-3876 on Molokai; 800-800-6367 on other islands
E-mail: moinfo@molokaievents.com
Web site: www.molokaievents.com/
kahulapiko.htmlNote: The Lodge & Beach Village at Molokai Ranch is offering special Molokai Ka Hula Piko rates starting at $149 per night. The Beach Village can accommodate five people per bungalow, which includes two units. One unit has a queen bed and the other has a bunk bed and a twin bed. To book, call 888-627-8082.
In her later years, Laka returned to Molokai to live out the rest of her life. After she died, she was buried on Puunana Hill in Kaana. Molokai was praised as Molokai Ka Hula Piko (Molokai: The Center of the Dance), and Laka was deified as the goddess of the hula.
Molokai Ka Hula Piko, Molokai's biggest annual event, was launched in 1991 by community leaders and kumu hula (hula master) John Kaimikaua of Halau Hula O Kukunaokala as a vehicle to educate attendees about the island's pre-Western history.
"Everything revolves around that," says Kaimikaua, whose gentle yet powerful presence provides the impetus for the celebration. "My main intent is to give back to the residents of Molokai. Hopefully, they will take advantage of the opportunities for learning that Molokai Ka Hula Piko offers. It's especially important for the knowledge to be passed on to the youth."
KAIMIKAUA'S TIES TO Molokai are strong. In 1921, his great-grandparents became one of the first homesteaders on the island. His family still maintains that 40-acre parcel in Hoolehua, and although he lives on Oahu, he visits Molokai at least twice a month, in part to teach his men's halau, Halau Hula O Kukunaokala I Molokai.
Molokai Ka Hula Piko was suspended for two years while Kaimikaua addressed some health concerns, but he says it's back bigger and better than ever this year. "It's been two long years without it and I'm very excited it's happening again," he says. "I know the community of Molokai is very excited, too."
Each year, Kaimikaua selects a theme for the festival that revolves around one aspect of the island's pre-Western history. This year's theme, "Aia Ka Wai A Kane Kau I Ka Lani," translates as "There is the water of Kane hanging in the heavens," which poetically refers to the sweet water found in coconuts suspended beneath the leaves of tall palm trees.
Kane, an important deity in Hawaiian religion, was believed to be the giver of life who brought forth water from the skies and from beneath the earth to nourish the people and to fill the rivers, streams, lakes and pools.
"The Hawaiian word for treasure is waiwai (wai means water)," Kaimikaua says. "To the Hawaiians, water was precious, water was wealth." Of the many sources of water that Kane provided, the early Hawaiians considered coconut water the most sacred because its sweet liquid never touched the ground.
Water is the focus of two free lectures Kaimikaua will give before Molokai Ka Hula Piko's main event, the hoolaulea on Saturday. He says, "On the first night I'll probably talk about the meaning of the theme, about Kane, his visit to Molokai and what springs he dug there. I'll give examples of some of these places and how they connect to him." On the second night, Kaimikaua likely will discuss lo'i (irrigated agricultural terraces), aquaculture and ceremonies performed with water.
He also leads a free excursion to a cultural site related to the theme. This year, the site will be Kapuaiwa coconut grove.
"I believe it's important for people not only to hear the lectures, but to personally visit significant cultural and historical sites -- to walk on the land and feel its spirit," Kaimikaua says. "There are freshwater springs in the ocean by Kapuaiwa. Coconut trees were planted there because freshwater runs beneath the land. I'm going to show participants one of those springs. They're anomalies in nature that people normally wouldn't see."
Halau Hula O Kukunaokala uses dance to teach others about Molokai's pre-Western history.
FUN IS ALSO a big part of Molokai Ka Hula Piko; the hoolaulea at Papohaku Beach Park draws some 2,500 people for great food, crafts and entertainment. This year's lineup features Melveen Leed, Raiatea Helm, Brother Noland, Hapa -- and, of course, plenty of hula.
"The ho'olaule'a is like a backyard luau," says professional photographer Phil Spalding, a longtime friend of Kaimikaua's who has attended every Molokai Ka Hula Piko but one. "It's down-home and spontaneous with a feeling of intimacy that other hula festivals like Merrie Monarch don't have. Everyone performs from the heart. It's one big party!"
Come hungry. Kalua pig, laulau, teriyaki pork, kalbi, chicken katsu, fried kole (surgeonfish), Molokai prawns, chili, sashimi, opihi (limpets), kulolo (pudding made of baked or steamed grated taro and coconut cream) -- a wide variety of local favorites will be available to satisfy every craving.
In addition, 28 Molokai artisans will be peddling wares ranging from lauhala hats, wood carvings and deerhorn jewelry to quilts, ceramics and Hawaiian prayer flags handpainted on silk. The festival's official limited-edition T-shirt, designed by Kaimikaua and sporting the event's theme, always sells out.
"I use kapa patterns and other traditional geometric shapes in the design," says Kaimikaua. "A card explaining the design comes with every shirt."
The shirts are not commercially manufactured; Kaimikaua's halau has its own screening equipment and dryers set up in a member's back yard, and they produce everything themselves.
"Every Saturday starting in January, our halau members come in rotating shifts to print the shirts," Kaimikaua says. "Our philosophy is if we make the shirts ourselves, we touch them, we work with them and a part of us goes into every shirt along with the theme. By doing this, we are able to give life to the cultural message -- and that is the primary goal of Molokai Ka Hula Piko."
See the Columnists section for some past articles.
Cheryl Chee Tsutsumi is a Honolulu-based free-lance writer and Society of American Travel Writers award winner.
