Roundtable ʻAuʻa ʻIa: Native Hawaiian Remembering

AHA Session 256
Sunday, January 9, 2011: 8:30 AM-10:30 AM
Room 303 (Hynes Convention Center)
Chair:
Momi Kamahele, University of Hawaiʻi-Leeward Community College
Topics:
Sacred Text: The Power of Oli
Momi Kamahele, University of Hawaiʻi-Leeward Community College
Kamehameha the Great's Spiritual Conquest
Genai Keliʻikuli, University of Hawaiʻi-Leeward Community College
The Kumulipo: Chanting Power and Knowledge
Luukia Archer, University of Hawai'i-Leeward Community College
Comment:
Mansel Blackford, Ohio State University

Session Abstract

This panel analyzes the significance of oral histories in comprehending the various ways in which Native Hawaiians viewed their world and constituted the sacred in governance, religion and daily life.  A mele ʻauʻa is a song/chant/poem that refuses a request.  In the context of the chant ʻAuʻa ʻIa, the request that cannot be granted is the giving away of  ʻāina (land).  It is through the relationship of people to land that we understand the establishment of the sacred and our responsibilities to its maintenance in all domains of life. Oral histories provide the guidance necessary to perpetuate these values and render these embedded lessons accessible to a broad audience thus going beyond remembering to re-imagining the meanings of the sacred today.

See more of: AHA Sessions