MAKAHIKI
COURTESY PASIFIKA FOUNDATION
The dances and handiwork of native cultures throughout the Pacific will be featured this Saturday at Kapiolani Park.
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A dream come true
Like all good things do, the concept of modern makahiki came to Ka'uhane Lee in a vision.
Culture Fest
Maohi Native Cultural Festival, part of Makahiki Pasifika Week
Where: Kapiolani Park
When: 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Saturday
Admission: Free
Call: 234-5664
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Lee, director of the Ke Ala 'Olino Native Cultural Center in Kaneohe, dreamed that the time had come to restore the concept of makahiki, the four months when Hawaiians set aside differences and explored similarities. Other Pacific cultures have similar cultural time-outs, and Lee's vision encompassed the world.
"A new word even came to me," she said. "Not just Polynesia, but 'Globalnesia.' A time to partake in the four aspects of makahiki -- unity, peace, healing and aloha."
Lee's Maohi Native Cultural Festival, now in its third year, has proved so popular that it keeps outgrowing its venues. And yet, it is just one aspect of "Pasifika Aotearoa," a recognition by oceanic peoples on this side of the planet that, yes, they are more alike than different.
COURTESY PASIFIKA FOUNDATION
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Accordingly, there's Makahiki Pasifika Week, starting Saturday and running through Nov. 25. Get used to it -- the way things are going, it can only grow. The idea is to hui several annual events under a common cultural banner.
It's no accident that it takes place during Thanksgiving week. Hawaii native-rights activists aren't fond of the whole Indian-Pilgrim breaking-bread-together scenario.
Why Pasifika? The newly coined word comes out of New Zealand/Tongan/Samoan hip-hop culture, heavily influenced by Rastafarian and American black grooves. "Folks from places like Vanuatu and Fiji are left out of the Western term 'Polynesia,' and yet, clearly, they have much in common with other Pacific cultures," said Gretchen Kelly of the Pasifika Foundation, the organization created to honcho the event. "And these are cultures that are still evolving and are vital and growing, not stuck in the past."
The model is Auckland's Pasifika Festival, a dozen years old and growing wildly. "Last year it attracted 220,000 people a day," Kelly said. "Yeah, wow! But it started small, just as we are. New Zealand is very like Hawaii in that it is a place that Pacific islanders emigrated to, and because they are gathered together in one place, there's a sense of coming together. And because Pacific cultures all share some sort of makahiki experience, it's a good time to be together."
Said Lee: "There are so many negative vibrations in the world today, we need to pull people together with cultural and spiritual connections. In doing so, it's best done at a peaceful time, like the traditional season of makahiki. To save the world, you have to save your own home first. People have always come to Hawaii seeking a new way of life. The trick is not to dilute what aloha truly means. It's non-political! Just come together!"
Which means that Makahiki Pasifika Week and Thanksgiving can peacefully co-exist. Or, as Kelly points out, the festival events are a good place to do Christmas shopping.
COURTESY PASIFIKA FOUNDATION
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