Hale Pai
Pacific American News Journal
Mei-May 1996 Volume 2 Issue 5
NO HAWAI`ILOA
No Kamuela Ka`Ahanui
Seattle, Wakinekona
Me kakou ka welina mai me kealoha e na mamo o Hawai`i Nei ma
Wakinekona! Nui ka mana`o no`u a me `eli`eli ku`u na`au e pili
ana ka wikio hou o ka wa`a kaulua `o Hawai`iloa noho`i. He
hau`oli no wau a ku me ka hanohano e nana mai i na po`e apu me ko
kakou hoihoi no ke kulana o Hawai`i ma keia `aina i loko. Ua
ho`ohui no kakou me ko kakou pu`uwai hamama no ka helena o ia
wa`a kaulua ikaika no. Ua loa`a mai ka `eha a me kealoha pau`ole
i na mea Hawai`i i loko o ka pahupa`aki`i o ke kanaka Maori, he
hoa hanau ia. Oia ho`i ke ea o na kulaiwi o Hawai`i, na mea
kahiko o na po`e `Ilikini o keia `aina, a me ka ho`okele ana o ka
wa`a ma ke kai puli o ka Pakipika, he mau mea maika`i loa! Ke
alaka`i nei no kakou i ka wa mamua aku. E ho`omaka hou `o
Hawai`iloa me ka ho`omaka `ika`i o na mea hou, oia ho`i ka
`ikepono a me ka na`auao. E ho`ohui kahou me neia mau mana a me
ka no`eau. Imua i loa`a ka lei o ka lanakila!
By Kamuela Ka`Ahanui
Seattle, Washington
Greeting and aloha to my fellow descendants of Hawai`i, now in
Washington! I have great thoughts that move deep within my soul
about the new video, Hawai`iloa. How happy I was to stand proudly
and see the mixture of interesting people, representing all of
Hawai`i’s finest heritage and being in a place so far from
home. We were joined together with open hearts at the appearance
of the strength of this double-hulled canoe. The images of our
own people, the traditions of those natives of this land, and the
heading of the canoe in these dark Pacific waters, are captured
in everlasting aloha by a Maori cousin’s talented camera.
Hawai`iloa is just the beginning of new directions for us all and
foretell the discoveries yet to come as we all learn from the new
knowledge and enlightenment of a spirit that bind us all. Let us
go forward and seize the lei of victory!
By Bob Baird
Corvallis, Oregon
Owner Book Bin - Pacifica
When I was about six years old, my father bribed me to get me
to learn to swim. The deal was that once I could swim on my own
to a raft offshore, I'd get my own outrigger canoe. We were
living in Samoa and Mom and Dad got a young man to teach me to
swim.
The paopao canoe reward came after a while because it took a
while to get it made. This outrigger was just the right size for
a kid and too little for adults. It was about seven feet long and
ten inches wide, with an outrigger three and a half feet off on
the fight hand side. In 1957 there were a lot of these canoes
around the shoreline of Tutuila, the island we lived on. Mine was
about as small as they came, but I don't remember seeing any that
would hold more than three adults.
We went out in our canoes pretty often. Dad had gotten another
that was bigger so he and my brother could be out in it and
sometimes we lashed the two together and put on a sail. To me
these all seemed like normal things to do because everyone had
boats of one kind or another.
In 1960 we moved to Hawaii and brought our canoes along. The
strange thing was that in Hawaii the only canoes were multi-adult
racing canoes. We had the only small canoes I ever remember
seeing the whole seventeen years we lived in Hawaii.
Years later looking at archival pictures of Hawaii I noticed
that many images had small canoes along the beaches like I
remember from Samoa. These were definitely small Hawaiian canoes
and were probably used inside reefs to get around in, fish, and
canoe-surf in.
Pila Laronal, Hale Pai Publisher, invited me to come to
Seattle in April to see the video about the Hawai`iloa's trip
through the Northwest last summer. The film talks about there
being no trees left in Hawaii large enough to make voyaging
canoes. It reminded me of my youth with outriggers and made me
wonder again why Hawaii has no small canoe revival going on as a
part of the Polynesian Voyaging Society revival of canoe culture.
What better way for kids to get involved? There should be plenty
of trees in Hawaii big enough to be used to make this kind of
canoe.
From my own experience I can recommend that reviving this part
of Hawaii's past would be a lot of fun, and might even be a way
for some people to earn a good living making the canoes. I'll be
happy to talk to anyone interested.
Write or call Bob Baird at "The Book Bin -
Pacifica", 228 SW Third St, Corvallis, OR 97333. Phone (541)
752-0045.
Send mail to halepai@punawelewele.com
with questions or comments about this web site.
Copyright © 1996 Hale Pai Pacific American-News Journal
Last modified: February 28, 1998
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