Visitors enjoy culture at Ho’olaulea
Photo by Kainoa Deguilmo
Kristian Gilliland and his team work together during Hukihuki against Crystal Nicole Hipolito and her team at Ho’olaule’a 2015 on the high school campus.
Senior students demonstrated and led visitors through cultural activities at Hoʻolauleʻa on Saturday, April 18. Young children who went to the activities learned about Hawaiian culture, including kalo pounding.
“This is a fun way to introduce kids to Hawaiian culture and to help them remember where they come from,” senior Carly Kiaha said.
Participants this year also got to try makahiki games such as Konane, Ulu Maika, Moa Pahe’e, and Hukihuki.
Konane is like Hawaiian chess using rocks and a wooden board. The strategy is to hop over one another’s pieces.
Ulu Maika is similar to bowling, where you roll a small stone from a distance and try to get it to roll between two sticks in the ground.
Moa Pahe’e is a lot like Ulu Maika, except you slide a large wooden dart, rather than a stone, between the two sticks in the ground.
Hukihuki is tug-of-war.
Kiaha said she had wanted to bring these Makahiki games to Hoʻolauleʻa since she and others in her Hawaiian class visited Molokaʻi to participate in that islandʻs annual Makahiki games. The group had a good experience there, and they wanted to bring that feeling back to Maui.
Kiaha said it was good to see the young children learning about their heritage and getting all their friends involved in the activities. She said it’s important for people to remember their Hawaiian heritage.
“When these kids learn their culture, they remember who they are as Hawaiians,” Kiaha said.
