"Aloha no kaua e . O ke Akua pu me oe." He mea pololei no kela, no ka mea, aia no oe i mua o ke Akua. O keia wale no ka'u mea e makoeg61hfirrr. SPROAT: Pololei kela. E nihi ka hele,, mai hoopf--: ::: WA}IINEOKAI: FOdTTI' HUMANITIES Hoolohe aku au ia oukou a pau loa. Ano like no kakou ma keia ano ka pule. A ke noonoo nei wau, aole au i lohe i na mea ma mua o ko kakou komo ana i loko o ke ano o ke Kalikiano WILSON: Kala mai, O Pila au. IJa poina wau i kou inoa. Pono t' e ha'i ia i kou inoa ma ke . WAIIINEOKAI: Aole aui makemake ehaha'i loa... O Nawahine, oia ko'u makuahine. Nana i kaku i kela himeni a oukou e himeni nei "Ekolo Mea Nui." Oia kana hana. Maiemake loa oia i kaku i na mele, aka aole no ka lealea, no ka mea haipule wale no" KA LEO O NA- KUPUNA- Proceedings Of The First Statewide Conference Of Hawaiian Kupuna Alu Like, Inc. May 30 and 31, 1980 at the Kamehameha Schools -lL w This Program Is Supported In Part By A Crant From The HAWAII COMMITTEE FOR THE HUMANITIES able of Contents OVERVIEW OF PROCEEDTNGS 3 GROUP DISCUSSIONS Group A 7 Group B 9 Group C 19 Group D 43 Hawaiian Transcriptions 52 English Translations of Hawaiian Transcriptions 56 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS 63 \ VERVIEW On May 30 and 31, 1980, the first statewide con- conference questions at the first assembly session ference of Hawaiian elders was held at the Kameha- Friday, May 30. This was done to ensure the partic- meha Schools as a physical, intellectual and spiritual ipants sharing of their own experiences relative to the convening of elders to address matters vital to the Ha- topic being discussed rather than the sharing of infor- waiian community and its heritage. The conference mation that they might have prepared as a result of provided a forum for collectively addressing major research and prior discussion and cogitation had concerns of the Hawaiian community and a record of they not been comfortable with the conference top- cultural practices. The conference was a culmination ic and or discussion questions. of the discussions and deliberations that had begun in The conference participants were randomly as- the summer of 1979 by Kupuna Gregory Kalahikiola signed to one of four discussion groups which had a Naliielua with K[puna Adelaide Frenchy DeSoto, kupuna as discussion moderator, support staff in a KUpuna Napua Stevens Poire, and Kupuna Abraham discussion facilitator skilled in the Hawaiian language Piianaia. These kUpuna, concerned about the plight of and culture, a recorder versed in the Hawaiian lang- the native Hawaiian and the myriad socio-economic uage, and two indexers who indexed the discussions pressures upon him, felt that perhaps other kUpuna according to speaker and audio tape recorder tape like themselves could be brought together to discuss number. Six discussion sessions were held, with each the concerns and shed some cultural insights as to the session lasting an hour. The discussion sessions focused reasons for these problems. lt was the opinion of this on the past, the present, and the future historical planning group that the k0puna, who held a domi- time referrents of the conference topic. During the nant and stabilizing position in the Hawaiian home break between sessions, participants were free to so- and culture, could perhaps provide the'answers to cialize with the other participants and observers pre- many of these problems. The ktrpuna were turned to sent. in the past to solve problems. Why not now. Discussion group deliberations were summarized This report provides an account of the confer- for the group by the moderators, facilitators and re- ence, discusses the findings as related to the confer- corders and these summaries were orally presented ence topic and includes translations of discussion ses- to the large group assembly during the lunch period sions along with a segment of the discussion in the on Friday. This was done so as to apprise all par- Hawaiian language, its transcription and translation. ticipants of the highlights of the discussions which occurred in each discussion group. ln addition, a summation session, the last session of the confer- THE CONFERENCE ence, served to provide the kupuna with an encapsu- lation account of the discussion according to the The Participants conference topic and discussion questions posed for A total of 5 3 ku pu nu *"|. convened at the confer- deliberations. The summation session also. served as ence. Of the 53, 27 were from O'ahu, 11 from Ha- the means by which accord could be reached by the wai'i,4 from Kaua'i,6 from Maui, and 5 from Molo- kupuna as to the conf6rence findings. ka'i. Fifteen of the delegates were male and with the exception of the O'ahu delegates who were born and The Conference Topic raised not only on O'ahu but on the neighbor islands The conference sought to obtain insight into as well, the majority of the delegates were native to Hawaiian cultural virtues and values that might be the islands from which they came. The youngest of used to aid in formulating strategies and policies that the kupuna was 50 and the oldest within a few days would enhance current efforts to aid the contempo- of reaching 90 years of age. All had fluency in the rary native Hawaiian resolve many of the socio - eco- Hawaiian language of varying degrees and were in rel- nomic problems he faces. So as to achieve an atmo- atively good health. sphere of unity, the original conference topic was re- worked so as to allow for a broader, non - threatening The Conference Proceedi ngs consideration of the issues intended for discussion. Deliberations on the conference topic occurred This tact also afforded the participants the freedom Friday, May 30 and Saturday, May 31, 1980 with to raise specific issues for consideration. The intent in discussion sessions in the morning and afternoon of reworking the conference topic was to provide a broad each day. Participants were given a general orienta- umbrella topic under which all issues could be raised. tion to the conference objectives and the conference Statements as to the specific values and virtues that topic at least a week prior to the beginning of the were to be considered were prepared by the humanist conference. They were provided with the agenda and scholar and given to the participants at the outset of 3 -lr OVERVIEW the conference. These were to be used as gujdes in to that of the problems facing teachers in the school discussions and deliberations and participants were system. Admonitions were given time and time again free to add to the questions. lt was hoped that the dis- as to the need for parent involvement in the educa- cussions'would yield the sought for information. tion of the child. lt appeared that this particular The conference topic, Our Hawaiian Heritage, group of k[puna participants had decided that the sought to identify the virtues and values of the Ha- key to solving many of the socio - economic problems waiian culture that had been imparted to the kupuna the native contemporary Hawaiian faces lay in the from their kupuna and that which had helped to pre- education of its youth. Although they realized the serve the Hawaiian culture and legacy. ln addition, in value of an education and the need for the entire fam- the discussion of these values and virtues, it was hop- ily to be involved with the welfare and progress of the ed that an identification and discussion of some of family and its members, they were not unaware of the general problems as well as the generational prob- the impact that the larger society and its attendant lems facing the Hawaiian family would be achieved. values had on the Hawaiian family. Neither were The kUpuna were asked to not only look back in time they totally unaware of the decisions and the conse- but to look at the present and to look forward in quences that the family had to make and bear in or- time in their deliberations. The reworking of the con- der to survive in the larger society. Although a few ference topic proved to be a positive undertaking and specific suggestions were addressed to policy makers, allowed for free discussion to occur. most of the suggestions were made for the parents and the kupuna. Some specifics include the admoni- THE FINDINGS- tion that parents go to PTA meetings, that they assist the child with homework, that they become aware of parents, quit The conference, aside from providing an opportu- what their child is doing, that they, the nity for students of the Hawaiian culture and history galavanting, and that they begin communicating with participants to garner additional cultural information, sought to their children. From where the kdpuna identify Hawaiian values and virtues which had been were engaging in the disussions, it seemed as though taught to the conference participants in the hopes they realized the value of the quality of upbringing need some of the that these could be used to ensure a Hawaiian legacy they experienced and the to restore forthe future. ln addition, it was hoped that the de- child - rearing practices they experienced in today's liberations would show if any of these transmitted Hawaiian families. The difficulty for them lay in de- was be achieved. The consen- values and virtues would be posed for transmittal to termining how this to particular group each the next generation.