AVA Konohiki Launch Party

Click to visit avakonohiki.org 

To learn more about programs and degrees offered at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoaʻs Hawaiʻi Nui Ākea: School of Hawaiian Knowledge click here

Hoʻouka ʻia nā palapala Māhele ma ka pūnaewele i mea e kākoʻo ai i ka mahiōmau o ko Hawaiʻi.

Pilikia ko Hawaiʻi i ka piʻi mau o ke kumukūʻai kakalina.  E like me ka piʻi o ke kumukūʻai kakalina, piʻi nō ke kumukūʻai nohona Hawaiʻi paeʻāina.  A ʻo ka piʻi o ke kumukūʻai meaʻai i loko kēia hihia ka pilikia nui.  ʻO ka hāʻina o kēia, ʻo ia nō ka mahiōmau.  Eia naʻe, inā makemake ko Hawaiʻi e hoʻohua mai a hua nui ka hua loaʻa o ke aukahi mahiōmau ma kēlā kēia mokupuni o ka paeʻāina, e pono ana e hoʻi i ka ʻike o nā kūpuna ʻōiwi o Hawaiʻi.

Wahi a Lilikalā Kameʻeleihiwa, kekahi o nā luna o Ancestral Visions of ʻĀina, “ʻO wai ka mea akamai loa no ke kanu no ka mokupuni? ʻO ka poʻe Hawaiʻi, ʻo nā kūpuna Hawaiʻi. Ua ʻai lākou no 100 mau hanauna ma kēia ʻāina no laila he mea maikaʻi no mākou, maliʻa paha ʻai kalo, maliʻa paha ʻai ʻuwala, ʻai maiʻa paha, a ʻaʻole ʻai loves bread.  I koʻu manaʻo, he mea maikaʻi e kanu wale i ka meaʻai.  A hāʻawi aku, hāʻawi wale i nā poʻe a pau.  Akā naʻe kanu mahea, mahea ka ʻāina pololei no ke kanu ʻana.”

Aia ka haʻina i ka papahana i kapa ʻia ʻo AVA.

Wahi a Lilikalā, “ʻO AVA ka inoa.  He aha kēlā?, Ancestral Visions of ʻĀina.  I ka manawa o Kauikeaouli…ʻelua haneli a ʻoi aku mau konohiki. Maopopo lākou nā ahupuaʻa a pau o kēia paeʻāina.  Akamai loa lākou, a ua kākau lākou i kēlā mea ma luna o ka pepa i loko o ka puke Māhele.  I loko o kēlā mau puke, hoʻokahi puke no ka Māhele, hoʻokahi puke no ka Land Commission, eia nā moʻolelo e pili ana ka ʻāina o nā kūpuna, ʻeā, mahea lākou e kanu ka loʻi, mahea lākou e hana i ka loko iʻa…inā makemake mākou e maopopo i ke akamai o nā kūpuna i kēia mau hana pono mākou e nānā i kēia mau palapala.”

ʻO ka hoʻolaha ʻana aku i ua mau palapala lā i mea e naʻauao ai ko Hawaiʻi i ka ʻike kūpuna i mea e mākaukau ai ko Hawaiʻi no ka mahiōmau, kekahi o nā pahuhopu Ancestral Visions of ʻĀina.  No ia kumu i haku ʻia ai kekahi kahuapaʻa ma ka punaewele i mea e kō ai ia pahuhopu.  ʻO avakonohiki.org ia pahuhopu.  Ua ʻimi ʻia nā palapala ma ka archives, ua kikokiko hou ʻia nā palapala, a ua hoʻouka ʻia nā palapala ma ia kahuapaʻa.

“Hiki ke mālama iā mākou i kēia mau lā,” ka ʻōlelo a Lilikalā.

E mālama ʻia ana kekahi “Pāʻina Hoʻolaha Kahuapaʻa” ma ka hola 5, ma ka lā 18 o Kepakemapa, ma Hālau o Haumea Kamakakūokalani.  A no laila, e aʻo a e hoʻohana i ka ʻike, a e mahalo kākou i nā kūpuna no ka mea inā ʻaʻole lākou, ʻaʻole loa kākou.

-na Nāhulu Maioho

Native knowledge goes digital to help Hawaiʻi go sustainable.

Hawaiʻi is plagued by the rising price of oil. As it goes up, so does our cost of living.  And the rising cost of food is critical.  Food-sustainability strategies are an answer. And maximum yield from food-sustainability can be found in our Native Hawaiian ancestral wisdom.

According to Lilikalā Kameʻeleihiwa, the Principal Investigator of Ancestral Visions of ʻĀina, “Who knows local island sustainability the most? Native Hawaiian’s do.  They have been self-sustainable for 100 generations on this land.  Perhaps their diet allowed for such efficiency. In my opinion, we should just cultivate food and freely share with everyone.  But where? Where are the proper areas for sustainable cultivation?”

AVA has the answer.

According to Lilikalā,  “It’s called AVA.  What does it mean?  Ancestral Visions of ʻĀina.  During Kauikeaouli’s time, there were more then 200 konohiki. They knew and documented details of every ahupuaʻa land division in the Māhele Book.  Recorded in the Māhele and Land Commission books are the historical accounts about the land regarding the location of agricultural terraces and fishponds. All of this knowledge is there for us in these records.”

Easy accessibility to these documents so that Hawaiʻi can be prepared for efficient self-sustainability is one of the goals of AVA.  This is the reason why avakonohiki.org was created.  The documents were gathered from the archives, transcribed, and uploaded to the site.

“It’s about self-sustainability now,” Lilikalā said.

There will be a Website Launch Party on Sept. 18 at 5pm, at Hālau o Haumea, Kamakakūokalani.

Use of this knowledge is a “mahalo” to those who came before, because without them, we wouldn’t be here today.

– by Nāhulu Maioho