Makahiki observance in
prisons spreads to Oahu

Six years ago, Kalehai Kamauu started on a quest to bring the makahiki celebration behind bars. At the time, he was in a prison in Minnesota.

Over the years he has been sent to correctional facilities in Arizona, Oklahoma and then finally back to the islands. But he has always kept up his insistence -- and has gotten support from other native Hawaiian prisoners -- that authorities grant formal recognition and allow practice of the ancient Hawaiian ceremony.

Last night, Kamauu was able to see his dream fulfilled in his home state.

He and six other Oahu Community Correctional Center inmates gathered for the first-ever makahiki season celebration at the facility. The celebration of makahiki has been revived in recent years. In early Hawaii, wars were put on hold, and sporting competitions between villages were held in the festival time after the harvest season.

Lono, the god of agriculture and fertility, was honored in processions and offerings of gifts from the harvest.

About 100 men at the Oklahoma prison also participated yesterday in makahiki -- the second year for the event at that facility.

"This is a great thing," Kamauu said while the attendees, who included spiritual leaders, sat in a circle to discuss the significance of the occasion. "It is a recovery effort, spiritual healing. ... This whole thing just fills me with strength."

The observance of makahiki at the Oahu facility is linked to a freedom-of-religion lawsuit filed in federal court by 33 native Hawaiians, including Kamauu. In 2003 the Native Hawaiian Legal Corp. filed suit on behalf of prisoners who sought to pursue native Hawaiian spiritual practices while incarcerated in Oklahoma.

The suit is near settlement. But last year, U.S. District Judge David Ezra acted to allow a makahiki celebration in Diamondback Correctional Facility in Watonga, Okla.

The makahiki at OCCC was organized about two weeks ago.

A spokesman for the state Department of Public Safety has said it was the first time inmates in Hawaii have sought permission to celebrate the makahiki.

The festival started about 6 p.m. in a large seating area at the Kalihi prison. Attendees gathered in a circle to talk about makahiki, Hawaiian culture and spirituality. Inmates also learned chants, which were recited during the formal ceremony.

The observance was led by Kekailoa Perry, an instructor at the University of Hawaii Center for Hawaiian Studies. The Rev. Kaleo Patterson, a mediator and Christian pastor, and Rodney Shim, a former Maui pastor, also participated in the program.

"In our Hawaiian culture we have a lot of rebuilding today," Patterson told the prisoners.

"We had a foundation before, but things happened and we were dismantled from that foundation."

Inmate Michael Pawai said the observance of the makahiki has helped him find his native Hawaiian identity.

He also participated in last year's festival in the Oklahoma facility.

"I had to come to jail to find out about this," he said with a laugh. "Coming to know my culture helps me out to know who I am. ... Maybe it will help me to keep staying on track in my life."

Plans for inmates to participate in an awa ceremony were denied by the Corrections Division. The drink, made from the root of the pepper plant, numbs the mouth.

Awa was allowed to be brought into the facility as an offering but was not ingested.

The ritual of drinking awa is a sacred ceremony throughout Polynesia, and one associated with the makahiki festival, Patterson said. Awa is also sold in various forms as a health product.

Rather than drinking awa, the inmates drank ceremonial water.