One of my favorite Wahine Toa (Woman Warrior) Kalei Nuuhiwa continues to spread her mana'o about ethno-science and the inseparable nature of the elementals from that of our kino our bodies. Yesterday as I allow for the period of process that comes after birth, the new stuff percolated and Kalei's name came. What is she up to? The voice queried. I went searching and was rewarded!
Kalei has a new (seems to be new, and working) website "created for those looking for those seeking information and curricula for Hawaiian science, philosophies, art and interpretive research." On her sidebar some wonderfully informative and affirming bits to satisfy my curiosity." Especially satisfying to me were these observations and hooks:
- "Kolea (the Golden Plover) have arrived on the Islands, and according to her observations and probably the observations of others in her researching teams, Kolea arrived two months early. (I am always so happy to know the Long Flyers have made it safely from Alaska, for we were at one time, part of those returnees.)
- Let's also begin looking for Makali'i (The Pleiades) rising in the east." (The Season of Makahiki, when the dry season turns to wet when traditional practices went from War-Time to Peace-Time begins once the kahuna, or kilo practitioner(s) see Makali'i rise in the east. The first New Moon after Makali'i rises signals the start of the season of Makahiki.)
Nuuhiwa a kilo practitioner a stargazer, reader of omens, seer, astrologer was the wahine toa who introduced me and my husband Pete to the layers of knowledge contained in the Hawaiian Moon Calendar Kaulana Mahina. (Unfortunately, that original video presentation is no longer accessible. The old posts on this blog will not get you there. 'Aue.) But. The original seed ideas have spread, and the kilo practitioner has grown in her responsibilities as well. When I arrived at Kalei Nuuhiwa's website yesterday I had put out the call E HO MAI E HO MAI E HO MAI. Once again I needed to know what could be done next, now. As I rest from the birth of the wonderful sharing and receiving of blessings through chant and storytelling, the ancestors are glad. "Ah, well, yes, she is the one. She is the one who brings the good, true and beautiful forward." I laugh and giggle to myself, and them, and reply, "Wow, if not at 66, then when?!"
As a Hawaiian woman living across the Pacific from the original piko the challenge to maintain connection replicates the journey(s) of Hi'iaka as she went through her initiation into her kuleana her life's path. Who is Hi'iaka? Hi'iaka is the younger sister of Pelehonuamea, Pele maker of land through fire. Kauluwela na moku. Both sisters, Pele and Hi'iaka I embrace as guardians: one the fire-maker and the younger the first on the scene when the scorched earth cools. The rewards I received by arriving at Kalei's site were multiple, and for each of them I mahalo my ancestors. They truly rock! What navigators, what skillful paddlers with keen sight. What I needed was to sit in my little Quonset Hut in the woods of Whidbey Island and click. The presentation given at Aha Na Wahine (The Gathering of Women) 2012 was a conference I had hoped to be at. I asked for the potential to climb aboard a plane, find safe housing, and be there. But. The answer was 'not yet.' Instead, Kalei was there and she shared HAUMEA: Establishing Sacred Space. In that 45 minute Oiwi Production I found the next chants, the next processes, and the next steps to take as my kuleana as Makua O'o unfolds. The journey is at once chaotic and magically plotted, as I continue to be initiated and practice what I learn; knowledge transforms a stagnant phase, practice leads to more knowing. Wisdom comes.
We, my husband Pete and I, are watching for the rise of Makali'i over our Whidbey Island home. It is more difficult to see those Seven Sisters as the weather shifts from clear skies to rain-rich clouds. But, they will be coming. We look forward to seeing her in the night sky and Akua willing just about that time Pete and I will pitch The Safety Pin Café tents for a Makali'i Season Sunday of Story. This time, the weather may, or may not be a sunflower sort. It may be a Sunday only a duck could love. We will pray and look for the signs and ask permission. I have chants to study, and at least one re-freshed story to prepare before the October 19th performance.
A little at a time, we move forward. We age and black strands turn to gray. Aches collect at the joints. Like hipu'u in a net, the points of connection are points of potentiality reminds Kalei Nuuhiwa. We age, collecting and observing the potential for something to come. Too bad, too sad, no can go back in 2012 for the gathering of women warriors. Too bad, too sad. And yet, in the knots of the hei my network connects bits and pieces of precious dew drops.
I sequentially grow my net and care for my aging kino (body) with love and appreciation for the making knots that have become unexpected constellations. With the approach of the new season of peace I see the kolea freshly arrived, early this year. Time is not something I can control. But the knots? The knots I can learn to appreciate, malama, and know I am caring for everyone who came before me, and everyone yet to come.
That is big, string theory. E Nuuhiwa, you are the one! Mahalo nui loa.
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