Letters | 9-4-15

Mauna Kea linked to many in Waimea

Mauna Kea linked to many in Waimea

I apologize to the Hawaiian people for writing this and for any inaccuracies. I am not the one to do it. I am not Hawaiian although a keiki o ka aina (child of the land.)

I have learned from kupuna in Waimea that the correct name for Mauna Kea is Mauna A Wakea, the mountain of Wakea. Wakea is the Sky Father and Papa the Earth Mother. It is said that Wakea and Papa are the first parents of human life on Earth as they are of the plant life that springs living from earth under the influence of the sun and rain from heaven and of animal life that feeds upon it. Wakea and Papa are referred to as the “primordial parents.” “supreme beings,” the “progenitors” or “first ancestors” of the Hawaiian people, according to kupuna in Waimea; Abraham Fornander’s “Polynesian Race,” David Malo’s “Hawaiian Antiquities” and “Kumulipo,” the Hawaiian creation chant.

The Mauna Kea Comprehensive Management Plan (2009) states, in part: “In Native Hawaiian culture, Mauna Kea is a focal point of spiritual and cultural significance, a home of deities, a place of spiritual connection with one’s ancestors, history, and the heavens.”

Mauna A Wakea is associated with or the dwelling place of deities Poliahu, Lilinoe and Waiau. Mauna A Wakea is the piko which connects Hawaiians to their origins, to their ancestors. Forever the piko (umbical cord) of new born Hawaiian children of Waimea have been taken to Lake Waiau on Mauna A Wakea for this reason and to ensure long life, safety, strength and good fortune for the children. A substantial number of Hawaiians in Waimea do this today. Waimea’s Hawaiian families’ ahu (shrines, altars) are also prevalent on the Mauna. No doubt the Waimea Hawaiian community has more of a relationship with Mauna A Wakea than any other Hawaiian community.

A kupuna in Waimea told me more than 25 years ago: “You do not have to believe but you must respect.”

Kit Roehrig

Waimea