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COURTESY OF KAMEHAMEHA SCHOOLS

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Spirit of Lono
celebrated
at Makahiki

"Makahiki: Games"

A big boy called out: "Aren't you going to the games?" as he ran past.

Kaiki and Noe raced after him. Already people had gathered around a flat, open field. At one side stood a large carved figure. Noe stared. "I never saw that before. What is it?"

"That is Lono, god of games." The boys had not seen Malu, Kaiki's uncle, close beside them. He led them through the crowd, which made a circle around the field. Now the boys could see well.

Noe was still thinking about the carved figure. "Are there two Lonos?" he asked.

"No," Malu answered. "Lono is a spirit. The kahuna prays and Lono sends his spirit into these wooden figures. One travels around receiving gifts. The other stays to watch the games."

"I guess he likes games," Kaiki said. "Who are those men, Malu?" he asked as two came into the circle. Each carried a spear hung with many lei.

"They are the referees who are in charge of the games. The contests are beginning now."

A stout man stepped into the circle. "I know him!" Noe whispered. "He's a boxer."

Kaiki was laughing. "Look at the high steps he takes! He looks like a rooster getting ready to fight."

Men were shouting, "Sick one! Take to your mats! A beginner could beat you."

"They are for another man," Noe explained. When a second man came forward others made fun of him. The boys shouted with both sides.

The first man struck, but the other dodged the blow. Men and boys shouted. Finally the second man was hurt and carried away. The games were rough but the boys loved them.

After a time they grew tired of the hot, dusty boxing circle and wandered off to see what others were doing. Small children were sailing ki-leaf canoes. Some spun tops of kukui nuts. One little fellow was trying to turn a somersault. Every time he tried he fell sideways and the other children laughed. The child just laughed with them and got up and tried again.

Suddenly he noticed a group of boys. "There are my cousins from the upland, Kaiki. Let's see what they want to do."

A tall cousin spoke. "You told us you had darts, Noe. Let us have a game."

Noe led them to his home and brought out the darts. They were the stalks of ko tassels, each about as long as a boy's arm. The cut end had been bound with string; then it had been dipped in water and stuck into the ground to be smoothly covered with clay.

"Let's go to the place where men slide pahe'e. No one is there now and it is a good, grassy course."

"Do you want the first turn?" Kaiki asked the tall boy. "Visitors may always choose whether they'll be first or last."

"Let us go two and two. You who live by the sea are 'kai' and we are 'uka.' You start."

"Let me be first, Kaiki," Noe begged. "I'm not very good," he explained. Noe balanced his dart, ran to the starting line and threw. The dart shot along the ground then turned and hit a stone and stopped.

The tall cousin picked it up and looked at it. "See, Noe," he said. "The darts are yours, yet you chose a crooked one. This stalk is bent a little. That is why it turned and hit a stone."

"You next!" he called to a small brother. The little fellow's dart went straight but not far. Noe had won the first point.

The game went on. Sometimes kai was ahead and sometimes uka. The darts went farther and farther as Kaiki and the tall boy each called on better players.

That tall boy knows the game, Kaiki was thinking. I must play my best. He chose a straight, smooth dart. He balanced the dart, then stepped back. He swung his arm, bent low, ran to the line and let fly. The dart flew like a bird, now touching the grass, now rising.

"'A! 'A!" shouted the kai boys.

Noe danced with excitement. "That's the best you ever did!" he told his friend.

Suddenly Kaiki stopped. "What is he doing?" he asked, watching the tall boy.

The uka boy had a string fastened to a slender green bamboo pole. He wound the string around the dart he had chosen. Stepping to the starting line he snapped the string so skillfully that the dart was hurled over the ground. It touched and rose as Kaiki's had, but it went farther. A shout came from the uka boys, "'A! Our side has won!"

Kaiki was angry. He cheated! he said to himself. He had no right to snap the dart with a whip. But Kaiki knew it was not cheating. That was the way older boys played. Suddenly Kaiki thought of Lono. Lono would want him to be fair. "That was good," he said. It was hard to say and Kaiki's voice was low. Then he added, "I've got to learn that trick."

The boys heard a distant shout, "Come to the feast!"

Away they went, winners and losers together.

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Bishop Museum hosts introduction
to Makahiki games

When the constellation Makali'i rises, the season of Lono has arrived. In celebration of the Hawaiian god of rebirth, renewal, peace, fertility and healing, the Bishop Museum is hosting the exhibition "Lono-I-Ka-Makahiki" in the Vestibule Gallery through Feb. 27.

An introduction to Makahiki games will take place at 10:30 a.m. daily on the Great Lawn, with free tours available as well.

Featured will be artifacts and works by contemporary Hawaiian artists exploring the many facets of Lono. Also on display will be a rare traditional papa holua, or sled, used in one of the games played during the Makahiki. It will be shown alongside a contemporary sled made by cultural practitioner Pohaku Stone.

The exhibit also recognizes Kahoolawe as the place where the ceremonial practices of Makahiki were reborn, with poetry, prose and artwork by Hawaiian youths who recently visited the island.

Lectures planned in conjunction with the exhibition are "He'e Holua," with Stone on Jan. 11, and "The Makahiki: Hawaiian Philosophy in the Natural World," by Manu Aluli Meyer on Feb. 4. Call 848-4190.

Museum hours are 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily. Admission is $14.95 for adults, $11.95 for ages 4 to 12, with children under 4 admitted free. Kamaaina rates available. Call 847-3511 or visit www.bishopmuseum.org.

While at the museum, stop at Shop Pacifica at the entrance for holiday shopping. A "12 Days of Christmas" event starting today will feature 25 percent discounts as follows:

Today: Stationery products

Tomorrow: Aloha shirts

Wednesday: Hawaiian graphic T-shirts

Thursday: Women's attire

Friday: Made-in-Hawaii food products

Saturday: Made-in-Hawaii jewelry and accessories

Sunday: South Pacific products

Next Monday: Gallery shop items

Dec. 21: Music, DVDs, CDs and videos

Dec. 22: Housewares and bedding

Dec. 23: Select Hawaiian quilt items

Dec. 24: Museum logo items.