NUPEPA O MAMAKA `AIALO

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AnnualMeetingEdition

Wear Your Lei!

Aloha No Mamaka ‘Aialo!

As we distribute this edition of the Nupepa Mamaka ‘Aialo I am reminded of the robust club that we have. Going through the pictures of the Spring Pa’ina and the Summer Lu’au is a lot of fun. I have to admit that this is a bit of a scramble, as I’d like to get this out before the Annual Meeting, only two days from now. You see, I forgot the power cord for my laptop computer when Lesley and I went to North America last week.

Nahoa Lucas saved the day with a brilliant article about the activities of the “Kalo Konkers” that you are about to read. When you think about it, Mamaka ‘Aialo is making quite a statement about quality Hawaiian food by serving all hand pounded poi at our lu’au.

Kalani Cockett, Kanui Kalauolopua and Les Murray also contributed greatly with some brilliant photos. Email sure makes it easy to share these images and memories! If you would like to see any of the photos here enlarged, just email me and I’ll send you the whole collection.

As we look forward to the Annual Meeting, please don’t forget to give me some feedback on what you see in this newsletter. Do you have an article that you’d like to write? A recipe that you’d like to share? Some photos? My hope in putting this together is that Hammie and all the other kupuna look down on us with pride and know that the tradition lives on.

I na kaua,

Randy

Ke Kukae o Ka Pipi Kane

Message from the editor

Mamaka ‘Aialo Annual Meeting

Thursday, October 17, 2013

Natsunoya Tea House

Mamaka ‘AialoElections

Proposed for election to the Board of Directors:

DR. GARY AHNKEITH COCKETT

PUNA NAM

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Annual Meeting- the Program

5:00pm: COCKTAILS

6:00pm: DINNER

6:30PM: BUSINESS Meeting

6:45pm: FELLOWSHIP

AND EDUCATION

A Board and Stone in Every HomeBy Paul Nahoa Lucas

Hunahuna Mea Hou - Bits of news

Our journey begins at Kualoa, when

Kualoa Ranch President and CEO John

Keoni Morgan gave the go-ahead to cut

and plank an ancient Kamani log that had

fallen several years earlier on ranch

property and remained unused. The trunk

of the log alone (not including its

branches) measured roughly six feet in

diameter and eleven feet long! Mamaka

member Keith Cockett had sought to

harvest the log for carving into papa ku’i

‘ai (poi boards) and kānoa (drinking bowls

for kava) as a joint project between

Mamaka ʻaialo and Hawaiian Lua group

Pā Kuʻi a Holo.

A small ceremony was held in

December 2012 before sunrise at the site

of the fallen log to mahalo ke Akua for this

beautiful gift of wood, to bless the log and

all those who prosper from it, and to keep

the workers safe while carving the wood.

In attendance were representatives from

Mamaka’Aialo (pictured below), Pā Kuʻi a

Holo, and Mana ‘Ai LLC, a non-profit that

seeks to promote and perpetuate the

knowledge and use of kalo and kalo

products in a modern society. Its

President, Daniel Anthony, has served in

the past as a resource and guide to those

Mamaka members seeking to reintroduce

traditional hand pounded poi at our

Mamaka annual Spring Pā’ina and July

Lū’au.

Mamaka member Bill Meheula worked

with Daniel to hold classes for those

Mamaka members interested in learning

how to prepare and pound poi by hand.

Mahalo Bill!! These classes not only

Mamaka members attending the blessing of the

Kamani log (L-R): Keith Kalani Cockett, Willie Tallett,

Scott Ho`olulu May, Mel Kaipoleimanu Soong, Doug

Keauhou Ing, Paul Nahoa Lucas, and Randy Kapahua

Kam.

sparked a re-newed interest in our club

and deeper appreciation of making poi by

hand, but also built a pool of certified poi

pounders (I call them the“Kalo Konkers”)

who can come together as a community

to help pound whenever needed (just like

in the old days!).

Cutting the fallen log was no easy

task as most of the chainsaws were too

small to cut straight through the log itself.

The project moved a step further when

Paul Pau’ole Sensano, Chief

Harbormaster with the DLNR, Pā

member, and friend and supporter of

Mamaka, came to our rescue and

brought his sixty (60) inch chainsaw

blade to carve through the limbs of the

fallen log in order to make the first set of

board blanks available for papa kuʻi ʻai.

The trunk is still untouched, as it needs a

bigger blade – 72 inches to carve

completely through the trunk!!

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Board and Stone (Cont. from page 3)

Earl Kawaʻa at the blessing of the boards and stones.

Blessing and Ho`okupu given by Daniel Anthony of Mana’ai, LLC

While the log was slowly being milled for

its precious lāʻau, an opportunity

presented itself for poi board classes

taught by Earl Kawaʻa, a kupuna born and

raised in Halawa who has learned many of

his skills in nohona Hawaiʻi from his family

while growing up in Halawa.

A former social worker with the Queen

Lili’uokalani Children’s Center (QLCC),

Kawaʻa now serves as a full-time Hawaiian

language and culture resource teacher at

Kamehameha Schools (KS). In addition,

Kawaʻa conducts board and stone classes

with the Keiki O Ka ‘Āina Learning Centers

(KLOK) for families interested in making poi

by hand for home consumption.

Several of our Mamaka members jumped

at the chance to enroll in Earl’s class. We

soon found out that this was no ordinary

“run-of-the-mill” poi board making class

(pardon the pun). Kawaʻa allowed us to use

machines to shape the outside of our

boards, but he reserved the inside of the

boards to teach us how to carve by hand,

and to learn the various wood carving

strokes of our ancestors in Hawaiian. As

Kawaʻa would often say of the one day a

week two hour class, which lasted for nine

weeks: “this is not a shop class.” Indeed,

this class was intense, and Kawaʻa had little

time to listen to our excuses of why we were

not meeting up to his expectations!

Nonetheless, his teaching was always

nurturing, supportive, and in a style that truly

reflects the wisdom of our ancestors.

In order to carve the insides of their

boards, students were required to make their

own koʻi, or hand carving tool, which was

fashioned from a hau wood handle and a

shaped and sharpened blade from spring

steel, all held together using bicycle rubber

tubing.

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Board and Stone (Cont. from page 4)

Nahoa’spapa ku’i `ai made from a branch of the fallen log

On a sad note, most of the Kamani blanks

that we milled from the limbs of the fallen

log were popopo (rotten) and unusable for

board making. Some members found other

suitable wood, such as Jackfruit,

Cinnamon, or Mango to use for their

boards. A few of us, however, (namely

Scottie and I) were able to carve and patch

the holes from the Kamani blanks to make

a board.

In addition to making papa kuʻi ʻai, Kawaʻa

had us make our own pōhaku kuʻi ʻai, or poi

pounder, by using modern hand implements

(again, no machines!). Most of us in the

class experienced (at least once) the agony

of seeing our rock break in two shortly

before it was completed. We were elated,

however, when Kawaʻa allowed us to patch it

back together with epoxy glue (mahalo kaAkua!!).

One of the highlights of taking

Kawaʻa’s class was that he also taught

members about Hawaiian oration and

protocol, and how it can be used for

prayer and oratory, especially whengreeting other indigenous groups such

as our Maori cousins. Class members

were required to compose a prayer,

which was critiqued and edited by

Kawaʻa. Each member of the class

took turns practicing their prayer by

presenting it either at the opening or

closing of class.

Throughout the entire class, Kawaʻa

would keep us entertained by sprinkling

stories about his childhood, or family

stories which were important for us to

learn, because it taught us basic

aspects of Hawaiian language or culture

that you cannot get from reading books

or listening to lectures. We will be

forever grateful for these experiences.

Scottie pounding poi on his completed Kamani

board which he named “Paʻakīkī”

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Board and Stone (Cont. from page 4)

Class members soak their boards in the ocean whileEarl Kawa’a looks on

Near the end of the class, the completed

boards and stones were soaked in the sea

water to preserve and clean them, and

members were asked to name both their

board and stone and give a short moʻolelo

about how they chose their names. A final

Pani (closing) ceremony for the class was

held on October 6th, 2013, where the boards

were blessed, poi was pounded from the

newly blessed boards and stones, stories

were told with families present, and a pāʻina

of fresh poi, lūʻau stew, dried aku, ulu poi,

enenue poke, and other delectable delights

were consumed. Hū ka ono!!!

Papa Ku’i ‘Ai class with their boards and stone at Ala Moana Beach Park

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Board and Stone (Cont. from page 5)

Scott and Wayne gathering and shaping Hau for Ko’i

Close-up view of some of the boards and stones

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Wala’au- things you should know

MARK YOUR CALENDERSOCTOBER 17, 2013 …………………………………………………….……..ANNUAL MEETINGDecember 10, 2013 ……………………………………………………………CHRISTMAS PARTYAPRIL 19, 2014 …………..........................................NEW MEMBER APPLICATIONS DUE

2014 OFFICERSPRESIDENT, CORBETT KALAMATREASURER, ROBERT CROWELLSECRETARY, WILLIE TALLETT

Ho’omake’aka- Hammie’s Corner

Bill, a handsome dude, walked into a sports bar around 9:58 pm. He sat down next to a blonde at the bar and stared up at the TV. The 10 pm news was coming on. The news crew was covering the story of a man on the ledge of a large building preparing to jump.The blonde looked at Bill and said, "Do you think he'll jump?"Bill said, "You know, I bet he'll jump."The blonde replied, "Well, I bet he won't."Bob placed a $20 bill on the bar and said, "You're on!"Just as the blonde placed her money on the bar, the guy on the ledge did a swan dive off the building, falling to his death. The blonde was very upset, but willingly handed her $20 to Bill, saying, "Fair's fair. Here's your money."Bill replied, "I can't take your money. I saw this earlier on the 5 pm news, and so I knew he would jump."The blonde replied, "I did too, but didn't think he'd do it again."Bill took the money...

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Laulau committee Spring Lu’au 2013

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Kalo Konkers