Aloha kakou, greetings all,
Obviously, I've been posting a lot about the situation in Hawai'i, and I hope people don't mind too much. But the struggle there is common to struggles in so many other places. I am posting this article that contains some good news about the fight to save Mauna Kea, the sacred mountain on Hawai'i island. It was FWD'd to me by Ku, a kanaka maoli cultural practioner who is one of the contesting parties in the court case against further development and degradation of Mauna Kea.
When I left O'ahu last weekend, I saw a wonderful sight from the plane. We flew past the crater of Haleakala on Maui and then beyond it, I could see the snow on Mauna Kea. Truly, these places are precious! I was blessed by this sight!!! A couple years ago I was privileged to be at the summit of Mauna Kea, for a ceremony, and was able to chant above the cloud line.
I hope others will post about their sacred places and the struggles to preserve and care for them, so that we can send good energy to those involved in such struggles. These are living places where spirit speaks to us. Without the 'aina and our sacred places, we are nothing.
Malama pono,
Amy
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FWD Subject: Goodby Outrigger Telescopes! I hope.
Budget ax looms over telescopes
A NASA proposal cutting funds for a project on Mauna Kea has isle
astronomers concerned
By Rod Thompson
rthompson@starbulletin.com
HILO » Funding for the Keck Outrigger Telescope project on Mauna Kea has
been eliminated from NASA's draft 2007 budget, possibly killing the $50 million,
four-telescope project, University of Hawaii astronomy head Rolf Kudritzki
confirmed.
The proposed cut is part of $2 billion in funding for numerous projects
which would be shifted in the National Aeronautics and Space Administration's
budget to support the space shuttle program, Kudritzki said. He called the
proposal "catastrophic."
Keck Observatory head Fred Chaffee called the $2 billion cut "alarming,"
saying some programs being cut are much farther along than the Outriggers. "It is
a sad and disappointing year for NASA science," he said.
The two existing Keck telescopes, each with a main mirror 33 feet across,
are the largest on Earth.
The Outrigger project would initially place four much smaller telescopes
with 6-foot mirrors around the giant main telescopes. Two others, for a total of
six, might be added later.
The small telescopes are named in comparison to small balancing outriggers
attached to fishing canoes.
Light from all of the telescopes would be combined in a process called
interferometry.
Because the greatest distance from one telescope to the other would be 275
feet, interferometry would create the equivalent of a single telescope with a
mirror that large.
Observers held varying degrees of hope that the project is not dead.
Kudritzki said the likelihood is high, but scientists across the country are
protesting.
Mark McGuffie, head of the Hawaii Island Economic Development Board, which
has supported the Outriggers, said alternative funding sources might be found.
An information source recommended by Kudritzki, www.newscientistspace.com,
suggested funding might come from other nations or from private industry.
Chaffee said the California Association for Research in Astronomy, which
runs Keck, has not decided how to respond.
"This is 2-day-old news, and we've been working on this project for eight
years," he said. He predicted "months of hearings" by Congress before a final
NASA budget is adopted.
Kudritzki explained that he received a phone call about the proposed cut
Monday.
NewScientistSpace says that was the day NASA revealed a $16.8 billion 2007
budget with the $2 billion cuts spread over five years.
Word was slow to reach Hawaii, with some of the strongest opponents of the
Outriggers unaware of it.
Debbie Ward, co-chairwoman of a Sierra Club committee dealing with Mauna
Kea, was part of a group of people who unsuccessfully fought a state Department
of Land and Natural Resources permit for the Outriggers. The project still
needs approval from university regents.
Ward said opposition to other Mauna Kea projects will continue because of
environmental issues.
"It's highly unlikely that opposition (to other astronomy projects) will
stop because the Outriggers have been killed," she said.
Another opponent, Kealoha Pisciotta of Mauna Kea Anaina Hou, said a Circuit
Court appeal against the permit for the Outriggers is still pending. The
appeal deals not only with the telescopes, but also the alleged lack of a proper
management plan for the summit, she said.
She said the project might be complete now if the proponents had built it in
an alternate site in Spain's Canary Islands.
© Honolulu Star-Bulletin -- http://starbu
Obviously, I've been posting a lot about the situation in Hawai'i, and I hope people don't mind too much. But the struggle there is common to struggles in so many other places. I am posting this article that contains some good news about the fight to save Mauna Kea, the sacred mountain on Hawai'i island. It was FWD'd to me by Ku, a kanaka maoli cultural practioner who is one of the contesting parties in the court case against further development and degradation of Mauna Kea.
When I left O'ahu last weekend, I saw a wonderful sight from the plane. We flew past the crater of Haleakala on Maui and then beyond it, I could see the snow on Mauna Kea. Truly, these places are precious! I was blessed by this sight!!! A couple years ago I was privileged to be at the summit of Mauna Kea, for a ceremony, and was able to chant above the cloud line.
I hope others will post about their sacred places and the struggles to preserve and care for them, so that we can send good energy to those involved in such struggles. These are living places where spirit speaks to us. Without the 'aina and our sacred places, we are nothing.
Malama pono,
Amy
------------
FWD Subject: Goodby Outrigger Telescopes! I hope.
Budget ax looms over telescopes
A NASA proposal cutting funds for a project on Mauna Kea has isle
astronomers concerned
By Rod Thompson
rthompson@starbulletin.com
HILO » Funding for the Keck Outrigger Telescope project on Mauna Kea has
been eliminated from NASA's draft 2007 budget, possibly killing the $50 million,
four-telescope project, University of Hawaii astronomy head Rolf Kudritzki
confirmed.
The proposed cut is part of $2 billion in funding for numerous projects
which would be shifted in the National Aeronautics and Space Administration's
budget to support the space shuttle program, Kudritzki said. He called the
proposal "catastrophic."
Keck Observatory head Fred Chaffee called the $2 billion cut "alarming,"
saying some programs being cut are much farther along than the Outriggers. "It is
a sad and disappointing year for NASA science," he said.
The two existing Keck telescopes, each with a main mirror 33 feet across,
are the largest on Earth.
The Outrigger project would initially place four much smaller telescopes
with 6-foot mirrors around the giant main telescopes. Two others, for a total of
six, might be added later.
The small telescopes are named in comparison to small balancing outriggers
attached to fishing canoes.
Light from all of the telescopes would be combined in a process called
interferometry.
Because the greatest distance from one telescope to the other would be 275
feet, interferometry would create the equivalent of a single telescope with a
mirror that large.
Observers held varying degrees of hope that the project is not dead.
Kudritzki said the likelihood is high, but scientists across the country are
protesting.
Mark McGuffie, head of the Hawaii Island Economic Development Board, which
has supported the Outriggers, said alternative funding sources might be found.
An information source recommended by Kudritzki, www.newscientistspace.com,
suggested funding might come from other nations or from private industry.
Chaffee said the California Association for Research in Astronomy, which
runs Keck, has not decided how to respond.
"This is 2-day-old news, and we've been working on this project for eight
years," he said. He predicted "months of hearings" by Congress before a final
NASA budget is adopted.
Kudritzki explained that he received a phone call about the proposed cut
Monday.
NewScientistSpace says that was the day NASA revealed a $16.8 billion 2007
budget with the $2 billion cuts spread over five years.
Word was slow to reach Hawaii, with some of the strongest opponents of the
Outriggers unaware of it.
Debbie Ward, co-chairwoman of a Sierra Club committee dealing with Mauna
Kea, was part of a group of people who unsuccessfully fought a state Department
of Land and Natural Resources permit for the Outriggers. The project still
needs approval from university regents.
Ward said opposition to other Mauna Kea projects will continue because of
environmental issues.
"It's highly unlikely that opposition (to other astronomy projects) will
stop because the Outriggers have been killed," she said.
Another opponent, Kealoha Pisciotta of Mauna Kea Anaina Hou, said a Circuit
Court appeal against the permit for the Outriggers is still pending. The
appeal deals not only with the telescopes, but also the alleged lack of a proper
management plan for the summit, she said.
She said the project might be complete now if the proponents had built it in
an alternate site in Spain's Canary Islands.
© Honolulu Star-Bulletin -- http://starbu
posted by:
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Re: Saving Sacred Places--In Solidarity
Fri, February 10, 2006 - 12:15 PMMahalo Amy,
Some of us are in Hawai'i, like me, and appreciate your posts! -
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Judge Okays Desecration of San Francisco Peaks
Wed, February 15, 2006 - 4:50 AMPosted: January 20, 2006
Religious Freedom and Restoration Act tested
Indian Country Today
by: Tanya Lee <www.indiancountry.com/author.cfm
FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. - In a stunning Jan. 11 opinion, U.S. District Court Judge
Paul Rosenblatt rejected every argument American Indians presented to
prevent further desecration of the San Francisco Peaks in northern Arizona.
The Peaks, sacred to 13 tribes, are federal lands managed by the U.S. Forest
Service. Despite decades of protests, a ski resort has operated there since
1938.
''This is another slap in the face,'' said Rex Tilousi, tribal council
member and former chairman of the Havasupai Tribe, who testified during the
trial on religious freedom issues raised by the lawsuit.
The suit, brought against the Forest Service by six tribes and three
environmental groups, was filed in June 2005 after the Forest Service
approved Arizona Snowbowl owners' 2002 application to make changes at the
ski resort. The most controversial is a plan to use recycled wastewater to
make snow.
The application triggered an Environmental Impact Statement under provisions
of the National Environmental Policy Act. In February 2005, Coconino
National Forest Supervisor Nora Rasure approved snowmaking and the
construction of related infrastructure. Tribes filed an appeal, and
Southwestern Regional Officer Harv Forsgren affirmed Rasure's decision.
Nine days later, the tribes filed suit.
The judge consolidated the lawsuits and ordered an October bench trial to
hear arguments on the matters related to the Religious Freedom and
Restoration Act of 1993.
The six tribal plaintiffs - Navajo, White Mountain Apache, Yavapai-Apache,
Havasupai, Hualapai, and Hopi - were joined by plaintiffs Norris Nez,
Navajo, Bill ''Bucky'' Preston, Hopi, Rex Tilousi, Havasupai, Dianna
Uqualla, Havasupai, and three environmental groups.
Defendents were the Forest Service, Rasure and Forsgren. Rosenblatt allowed
Snowbowl's current owner and operator to intervene. Attorney and former
Secretary of the Interior Bruce Babbitt represented the owners.
The case is one of the first legal challenges to RFRA and as such has set an
important precedent.
Yavapai-Apache Nation Tribal Chairman Jamie Fullmer and Apache Historian
Vincent Randall said in a Jan. 12 statement: ''Recent history has shown the
federal courts are not supportive of Native American sensibilities and
traditions when it comes to issues concerning the landscape and spiritual
health of our People.''
The plaintiffs argued that the EIS was based on an ''impermissibly narrow''
premise - ''to ensure a consistent and reliable operating season, thereby
maintaining the economic viability of the Snowbowl.''
Rosenblatt disagreed: ''The Court concludes that the Forest Service's
statement of purpose ... is not unreasonable ... [T]he goal of providing a
reliable ski season is consistent with the Forest Service's multiple-use
mandate.''
Once this premise was accepted, other arguments fell by the wayside.
Phoenix attorney Howard Shanker, who represented the Navajo, Yavapai-Apache
and White Mountain Apache tribes and the environmental groups, said in a
statement Jan. 12: ''[T]he federal government felt, and the court affirmed,
that the economic viability of the Arizona Snowbowl Resorts Limited
Partnership was more of a priority than the beliefs of hundreds of thousands
of Native Americans.''
NEPA requires that federal agencies consult with tribes on projects that
could impact them. According to the judge, the Forest Service fulfilled that
obligation:
''[T]he Forest Service made over 200 phone calls, held 41 meetings, and
exchanged 245 letters with tribal representatives. Although the consultation
process did not end with a decision the tribal leaders supported, this does
not mean that the Forest Service's consultation process was substantively
and procedurally inadequate.''
This conclusion jives with what Heather Cooper (now Heather Provencio) said
in 2002: that there was no provision in NEPA by which a tribe could state an
adverse effect serious enough so that the Forest Service supervisor would be
required to deny an application.
The most far-reaching element of this case is the challenge to RFRA. At
issue is whether RFRA protects American Indians' religious rights as they
themselves define those rights and the necessary circumstances for
practicing their religions, or whether it simply extends to American Indians
the right to practice their religion in a way and to an extent that the
federal government deems appropriate and adequate.
Rosenblatt's opinion strongly favored the federal government, though tribal
leaders and religious practitioners testified at length about how the use of
reclaimed wastewater to make snow would negatively impact the very
foundations of their religious beliefs.
Hopi Cultural Preservation Office Director Leigh Kuwanwisiwma testified for
seven hours on Oct. 17, 2005. ''[The proposal] violates the basic principle
of what the mountain stands for in the spiritual life of the Hopi people. To
make snow on the mountain does not just desecrate the mountain; it defiles
it.''
Under RFRA, the government may not impose a ''substantial burden'' on the
practice of religion without a compelling reason to do so. So two issues
must be decided - whether a substantial burden exists and, if it does,
whether the government has an interest sufficient to allow imposition of
such a burden.
After the Native witnesses testified, two Forest Service archaeologists,
Judith Propper and Heather Provencio, were asked to evaluate whether tribes
would suffer a substantial burden.
Read the opinion, ''Propper testified that although practitioners sincerely
felt that the Forest Service decision would impact their beliefs and
exercise of religion, the impacts did not amount to a substantial burden.''
Speaker of the Navajo Nation Council Lawrence T. Morgan said in a statement,
''The sanctity of our cultural and spiritual relevance has been violated.
The U.S. District Court has now seemingly underscored this without
hesitation.''
''This is a devastating tragedy for all those who value environmental
health, culture and religious freedom.'' said Save the Peaks Coalition's
Klee Benally in a press release.
''The tribe is devastated,'' said Alicia LaCounte, an attorney for the
Havasupai Tribe, on Jan. 13. ''The San Francisco Peaks are part of every
religious ceremony the Havasupai perform. Every aspect of my clients'
religion is related to that mountain. It is the equivalent of the Garden of
Eden in the Judeo-Christian tradition.''
Shanker said in a statement, ''This decision further eviscerates the rights
of Native Americans to protect sacred lands that are essential to their
belief systems.''
He continued, ''It seems to me that requiring 'objective' proof that
something is sacred makes no sense. Short of producing God at the trial, it
is not clear how this could be accomplished ... Based on the reasoning by
the court, no substantial burden can ever be demonstrated by Native American
practitioners under similar circumstances.''
According to Shanker, Navajo Nation President Joe Shirley Jr. has said,
''[The] Navajo Nation will do whatever it takes to try to stop the use of
reclaimed sewer water to make artificial snow on the sacred San Francisco
Peaks.''
Kuwanwisiwma said on Jan. 16 that he had been assured the Hopi Tribe would
appeal.
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No Pule at Pohakuloa
Thu, February 16, 2006 - 12:57 PMSubject: No Pule at Pohakuloa Ahu on Sunday
Press Release 10:30PM Feb. 12, 2006
Re: Military at Pohakuloa erect concrete baracade to block Pule `Aina access
to the ahu at Pu`u Ka Pele
further contact: Jim Albertini 966-7622
"The military at Pohakuloa erected a concrete baracade across a road entrance
to block access for a Pule `Aina (Land Prayer) gathering today planned for an
ahu (stone altar) at Pu`u Ka Pele," said Jim Albertini of Malu Aina, sponsor
of the event. Albertini said, "about 35 people gathered to take ho`okupu
(offerings) and to pray at the ahu at Pu`u Ka Pele but the military chose to
conduct live fire/bombing instead of respecting the religious rights of the people.
The military asserted its power to desecrate and destroy the land over people
praying for a healing of the land." Albertini said, "the group decided that
since the military blocked access to the Pu`u Kapele ahu, we would not attempt
to go to that ahu today. Instead the group built an ahu adjacent to the
baracade, and offered prayers and ho`okupu for a healing of the land there. (photos
attached).
Following the ceremony, many of the people went to the main gate at PTA to
hold signs protesting the war in Iraq and the military's attempt to acquire an
additional 23,000 acres of land to add to the existing 109,000-acre Pohakuloa
Training Area. The military says it needs more land for Stryker training,
involving hundreds of Strykers --20 ton 8 wheeled tanks. Albertini said, "Malu
`Aina and all the people participating in the Pule `Aina gathering want the
military desecration and destruction of the land, the cultural sites, natural
resources, and iwi kupuna to cease. The continued bombing at PTA and the planned
Stryker expansion is hewa (a crime, wrong, sinful)."
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Vandals Strike Hawaiian Altar at Mauna Kea
Sat, February 18, 2006 - 6:12 PMtoday's Star-Bulletin - 2/17/06
Vandals strike Hawaiian altar at Mauna Kea summit
The memorial held items of 2 soldiers from Hawaii who were killed in Iraq
By Rod Thompson
rthompson@starbulletin.com
HILO » A Hawaiian altar at the summit of Mauna Kea used for spiritual
purposes since 1997 was knocked down Tuesday by unknown vandals, according to a Big
Island activist.
The altar also had been used as a resting place for personal items of two
soldiers from Hawaii killed in Iraq.
"It's customary practice to place things of the deceased in high places,"
said Kealoha Pisciotta, who has criticized observatory expansion on Mauna Kea.
Breaking into tears, she added, "They lost their sons. It's obviously
hurtful and disrespectful."
Honolulu attorney Allen Hoe, whose son Nainoa was killed by a sniper in
Mosul, Iraq, last year, said he felt "blown away" by the desecration. "Talk about
hateful acts," he said.
Amid the rocks of the altar, Hoe had placed a written version of his son's
genealogy, his son's Army "Ranger tab," a kind of badge, and other items.
The family of the second man with items in the altar did not want to be
identified.
Pisciotta said people should try to avoid anger at the desecration. "We have
to remember that Mauna Kea is for peace," she said.
The altar was erected in 1997 by the Royal Order of Kamehameha "to help
provide a focus of reverence," Pisciotta said.
It was a time when old plans for astronomy on Mauna Kea were ending, new
plans were being proposed and some people were angered by feelings that the
biological and cultural resources of the summit were mismanaged.
The Royal Order built a "lele," a wooden skeleton of an altar 6 feet high
with posts in four corners, Pisciotta said. To anchor it, rocks were placed at
the base, beginning an "ahu," or stone altar. More stones were added by
visitors over time.
The lele stands barely a yard from a U.S. Geological Survey marker showing
the true summit of the mountain, which is a few hundred feet from the closest
observatories.
The day after it was built, 115-mph winds raked the summit, but the lele was
undamaged, Pisciotta said.
On Tuesday a patrolling Mauna Kea ranger saw the lele still standing in the
morning but knocked down in the afternoon, said Bill Stormont, director of the
Office of Mauna Kea Management of the University of Hawaii at Hilo.
A machete might have been used, Pisciotta said. "It looks like it was hacked
down," she said.
Stormont said he has five rangers under his command, but only two at a time
are on duty and they have no enforcement powers. A bill to give them that
power failed in the Legislature last year and is pending this year, he said.
There might be no law to enforce, since the lele is not a historic
structure, and there might be no law protecting a new religious structure, Stormont
suggested.
Rangers count cars going to the summit area but do not take license plate
numbers, he said.
The Mauna Kea management structure calls for Stormont to be guided by a
group of Hawaiians called the Kahu Ku Mauna Advisory Council.
Some members feel that a lele is traditionally built to serve for a specific
purpose and time and then should be removed, he said. After more than eight
years, some felt that the time to remove it had come, he said. But there is no
information on who knocked it down.
Hoe said the nature of the structure has changed with time from a temporary
lele to a permanent ahu. It "absolutely" has a right to remain, he said.
"A lot of other Hawaiians have adopted that as a kind of special place for
tributes to their ancestors," he said. "It is the highest point of our cultural
being."
[Note: The article contains a picture of the lele/ahu.]
starbulletin.com/2006/02/1...ory03.html
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FWD: Vandals Strike Hawaiian Altar at 'Iolani Palace
Mon, February 20, 2006 - 4:51 PMAloha kakou,
This is a message from "the front," written and sent by Lynette Cruz to the various Hawai'i lists. It is wonderful that the 'ahu was rebuilt so quickly and so lovingly, but it is sickening that someone is now going around vandalizing and violating these sacred places. This looks to me like deliberately provocative behavior, designed to provoke a hot headed response so that the authorities can come down hard on na kanaka maoli (Native Hawaiians).
Aloha is really put to the test this week, and I send pule (prayers) to the people who are acting with such strength and graciousness in the face of these profound insults and hate crimes.
Amy
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Photos from Ahu today
aloha all,
here's the story about today at the ahu. on the tv news for tonight (on every channel), there's one story. but after the media left, another story unfolded. the star bulletin guy, who got there late, just after the ahu was rebuilt, has the updated version, so maybe in tomorrow's pm paper.
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Around 1 pm I got a call from Baron Ching, who regularly waters the burial mound on Sundays, about the ahu being desecrated, with rocks strewn everywhere. Baron called Mel Kalahiki, I called James. Then I drove to the palace and met them all there. James came down with the Olelo video camera and videotaped everything. Mel had called State Law Enforcement and had asked his granddaughter, Kapukini, to notify the media. All the media showed up (two newspapers, four tv stations), and an officer from State Law Enforcement came down to take photos and write up a report. There was a rock found up in a tree, one inside the burial mound (also broken ti plants), and many others spread throughout the palace grounds. It was surprising that those rocks, some of which are really heavy, could have been taken so far from the site!
So I called Evern Williams, from Palolo Access Studio, and she showed up with her grandchildren. Then she called Henry Noa, Peter Jensen, Bumpy, Kealoha Kaliko, Hina Wong and countless others. Most folks showed up after the media left. Those few of us at the palace, James, Mel, Nalani and George Gersaba, and a woman named Midge, who was passing by, then proceeded to gather all the rocks and bring them back to the ahu, but we didn't attempt to rebuild, as this is a particular art, and we didn't know how to do it.
As soon as we gathered the wayward stones, along came Henry Noa and proceeded to rebuild the ahu, with Peter Jensen helping him. Henry was there at the first building of the ahu. Then Hina Wong and about two dozen or so Halau Lokahi students, and some parents and their principal, Laara Albrecht, showed up. They gathered everyone around the ahu and offered oli and pule (which was so beautiful and made me cry!) to our ancestors, acknowledging them and asking permission and their kokua to rebuild the ahu. Then Henry gave the haumana a quick lesson in ahu-building and they proceeded to help. Mahealani Pai's brother was on the bus and saw us at the ahu, so jumped off the bus and joined us. Within an hour, the whole thing was rebuilt, and looking fantastic! Hina, of course, just happened to have in the school bus, inside a cooler, what appeared to be some 50 or so ti leaf lei, so these were brought out and all of us present gathered in a circle and connected all of the ti lei end-to-end. Then the long lei was placed on the ahu, on the outside top edge, wound round and round until all of it was in place. The single lei that were left were placed on the top. Other lei, that had been on the ahu before, but which had been thrown on the ground, were then re-placed on the ahu. Halau Lokahi students offered a haka, surrounding the ahu but facing out. Then everyone joined hands (including the State Law Enforcement officer) and did closing pule.
An interesting note, as you can see from the photos, is that a rock with white paint on it, and the words aloha aina, was found in the pile of stones as the ahu was being reconstructed. This rock is now sitting on the top of the ahu, along with the big round stone and a couple of others. It looks beautiful. The ahu looks nice and sharp at the corners and on the sides. We all went to Zippys afterward, for dinner, then drove back to the palace grounds to check on the ahu. It still looks fabulous. So something really good happened, after the damage. As Hina noted to her students (and Im paraphrasing here), "this is major hoailona. There will always be people who want to tear down what we value and who we are, but we must always be prepared to rebuild. And the outcome, as well as the process, will be beautiful, perhaps even more beautiful than it was before." By Lynette Cruz
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FWD from Ku: Uncrushed. Returning the lele to the mountain
Wed, February 22, 2006 - 6:33 PMMahalo nui loa to Ku for this update, and to all who were on the mountain in very harsh weather conditions, rebuilding the lele at the summit!
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Today, Tuesday, February 21, we stopped at the kuahu at Pu'uHuluhulu - just off Saddle Road, Hawai'i island - on the way to Mauna Kea, our sacred mountain. We were led by Paul Neves of the 'real' Royal Order of Kamehameha I.
Things kept on going well as we arrived at HalePohaku - close to the elevation of Hupou O Kane - The Breast of Kane (with godlike characteristics) on the other side of the mountain - where a little stream springs from the mountain and makes its meandering way daintily down the otherwise dry mountain - like nourishing milk gushing from a nipple - a study in contrasts. HalePohaku - where the Visitor's Center is - where we asked the gods of the mountain to permit us to ascend further - and to do what we were there for. There were 17 of us - a core of Kanaka Maoli - accompanied by friends.
The word was that (the snow goddess) Poliahu was manifesting herself on the summit - but the fact did not daunt those who were focussed to ascend to do their sacred work.
And, as we left the HalePohaku area - Lilinoe (another goddess), in all her glory, was starting to envelope us with her foggy mists. Waiau (yet another goddess) was quiet - perched in her "lake" manifestation on the other side of the pu'u at 13,000 feet.
It was like getting ready to enter the gates of heaven. But steel yourselves - better be prepared for all possibilities.
We arrived at the summit - Kukahau'ula - in excellent spirits. Little did we know that each of us was to be tested before our work - not to be completed - was interrupted.
Going down to the saddle from where the vehicles were parked - on the way to the summit - was fairly easy going. The sandy, cindery earth was quite damp - and not frozen. Then, on the bottom, we got onto the snow - Yep - the white stuff - that we would have to negotiate all the way to the top. It was slick enough so that everyone was required to take careful, measured steps, with an occasional rest to gain one's breath - sometimes a step back with every two steps forward and upward - before we finally got to the top.
And, seemingly following us, was the wind. It was reported that the chill factor was minus 5 degrees. It was all of that. So as we worked our way up the hill - we were buffeted by strong and regular gusts of wind - and snow. We were in a Mauna Kea winter blizzard.
And, oh, the wind was blowing. Occasionally, groups of 4 and 5 of us would stop - putting our arms around each other to catch our collective breaths and trying to conserve the little bit of warmth that we could - from each other. Gusts of an estimated 50 miles per hour peppered us with snow and bb-shot sized particles of ice - ice that had melted on the snow's surface - then frozen. It all added up to a test - a test of concentrated pono-ness - despite the numbness of almost frost-bitten body parts - driving to successfully ascend the summit to carry up the new materials for our new lele - to replace the one that desecrators - at least two of them by my reckoning - had disappeared just a week ago.
We decided to place the legs of the new lele in the same positions as those of the old one - maintaining the alignments of the original legs that were so carefully placed.
And Isaac Harp, who discovered the dastardly deed the week before, ended up on his hands and knees digging out the places for those new legs to stand.
Little did the desecrators realize that these sacred symbols of our culture, among other things, commemmorate the sacred land on which they are placed - this time at the top of a very special mountain - and, in this case, also to act as a transitional connection between the earth and the sky - us and our gods.
They (the desecrators) just don't realize that as they destroy these symbols - we will rise up at each challenge - undo their evil work - strengthening each time and resolving en mass to maintain who we are - the builders of lele and kuahu - a special and unique people.
But - the wind kept on being a challenge - that we weren't able to overcome.
In a short period of time - others - maybe even some of those who were there with us, will be retracing our steps, in increasing numbers the next time, whereby the collective ownership of this great undertaking - will be spread across the community - and the lele will be completed.
So - each of us, experiencing the tears and feelings welled up inside - retreated back down the mountain - returning to our homes and the sometimes mundane regularity of our daily lives - a Job Well Done.
ku
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