Winter is Coming...

“O ‘Ikuwa ke Kane, O Kapohako’ele’ele ka Wahine, hānau mai ka laua o Welehu he keiki kane no”.

Ikuwa was the male, Kapohakoeleele was the female, and born to them was Welehu, a male child.

 

For some, it may seem laughable that in Hawaiian tradition we have a “winter” season, commonly known as Ho’oilo, that complements our “summer” season of Kau.  Those who are from or have spent time in colder climates think of “winter” and the “wet season” as filled with cold, grey days and nights, snowstorms, blizzards, icicles, and the disappearance of the sun for months at a time.  For many, the idea of a winter means the temperature must drop some ridiculous amount and provide an opportunity to complain about the cold for much too long to be healthy. 

But, to many who are maka’ala (aware), the changes in our environment are vast and many-- and harken to the coming Ho’oilo season of wetter, colder months.  Right now we are in the latter part of the last month of the “dry” season of Kau, named ‘Ikuwa, a month which is known for its unstable atmosphere bringing thunder and lightning in the mountains.  It is also the month when we begin to see the harbingers of Lono, God of peace and agriculture, manifested in dark clouds, rain storms, sudden squalls, and thunder. 

Lono is the deity and the essential energy in power during the wet months of Ho’oilo, which typically lasts from early-to-mid November until late-April or early-May.  Yet, the Gregorian calendar reveals little about the forces at play in these months.  Neither does it help us understand what to expect in these months from the environment like the traditional calendars do. 

Welehu is the first of the Ho’oilo months, and marks the time when those who watch the sky begin to look for the rising of a constellation called Makali’i, known as Pleiades in the Western world, to mark the beginning of the Makahiki season. 

 

As I learned it, the first month of the wet season is also a very cold month.  It is a month when families draw closer together to seek warmth around the fire, hence the name Welehu, to sift the ashes of the fire.  It also speaks to the ancient kapu that during Makahiki no major work projects are to be done and time should be spent rejuvenating the body and the spirit and allowing the land to replenish itself.

What is the purpose of all this information?  The calendars teach us how to behave at certain times.  They are reminders to us of our kuleana and hints on how to make our lives easier.  As we transition into the wet months of Ho’oilo and the first of those months called Welehu we must ask ourselves questions.  Have I spent enough time with family? Have I extended my hospitality to others in need of warmth, food, and aloha?  Have I cleared some big projects out of the way so my body and spirit have time to rejuvenate?  The calendars ask us to look within ourselves to create the life we want surrounded by the people we love. 

The only question is, are you paying attention?

 

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Ka Mo‘olelo ma ka piko Lauhala

The story of our lauhala buttons

As we welcome guests, family, and friends onto our ‘āina and into our ‘ohana many of us are being asked what the button we wear represents.  In fact, many of us too need a reminder of its meaning, not for lack of caring but merely because the rigors of our position call for us to have thousands of thoughts ready for recall at a moment’s notice.  This symbol we pin onto our clothes every time we come to work, we point out to guests to let them know who also works here, has a great story all its own.  If you spend some time with us here at the Andaz Maui at Wailea you will notice that all of these buttons are alike yet different.  All of them hand woven, by the hands of many different weavers.  The mana, the internal spiritual energy, of these people has been imbedded in these buttons.  They were made by us, for us.

As an Andaz brand standard we have no nametags.  Those familiar with the hospitality industry are also familiar with the omnipresent gold or silver nametags, sometimes infused with other tidbits of information—where I’m from, what my passion is, or a slew of other ideas intended to evoke discussion with a guest.  But at the same time something else is happening.  The nametag itself creates a barrier between two people, it separates the guest from the employee.  Worst case scenario, for the associate it enforces the belief that one can “hide” behind the tag, that one is operating not from a personal space, but from a corporate space.  For the guest, it can create the feeling that this is not a real person, just a name and a position.  And rarely do the little tidbits of information below the name lead to lasting relationships between two living beings.

For us, we chose to embody the Andaz value of breaking down barriers in a completely unique and place-based way when it came to our unique associate identifier.  For this we looked to our genesis, our creation story.  This story is an amalgamation of many stories, the Hyatt story, the Andaz story, the ‘Ohana of Red Earth story (our book), and of course, the story of Hawai’i. 

Next to our hearts we wear a symbol of our family, as lauhala is a representation of ‘ohana.  The weaving of many separate strands into a unified whole is a brilliant reminder of the strength of the family to surmount all obstacles.  A moena lauhala, a lauhala mat was the first thing brought into a hale.  The best of these mats are passed down through the years, effectively caring for multiple generations of the same ‘ohana.  The children of the future rest their heads on the same mats that their ancestors dreamed upon.

This button is a reminder.  A reminder of our connection to our past and to our future. A reminder of our strengths and the reason we do what we do.

Our lauhala button is woven in the Piko pattern.  In Hawaiian belief we have 3 piko, meaning navel.  These connect us to our ancestors and all that came before; they connect us to our mother and our living relatives; and they connect us to our future descendants born and yet unborn.  Knowledge of our piko remind us of our kuleana, our obligations and responsibilities, to honor those that came before and to protect this place for those yet to come.  In Hawai’i, as it should be across this beautiful globe, we honor these things. Here at Andaz Maui at Wailea we honor our place in the ‘ohana, looking out for each other, taking care of our kuleana, and hosting all with aloha. 

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Proper Ocean Safety

Aloha kakahiaka e na hoaloha a pau,

As we enter another great weekend on Maui we want everyone to truly enjoy their time outdoors, with family and friends, and without injury or harm.

For many of us, exploring our new home on Maui means getting out and discovering the wonders of our beaches and our uplands. 

A short word of safety:

Our beaches are gorgeous, majestic, and deadly if you aren’t careful.  Locals and visitors alike can succumb to the ocean’s power and care must be taken when enjoying the beach.

Here is a link to some great safety advice regarding the ocean, http://oceansafety.soest.hawaii.edu/safety/ , there is a lot of information in there so let me sum it up for you.

There is one safe place…on the beach out of the reach of the highest waves.  When arriving on a beach take a couple minutes to observe (employe that “L” and “E” from LEAD the way…LOOK and EVALUATE) before deciding where to put your things.  Watch for where the waves crash and how high up the beach they go.

Waves come in sets followed by lulls where the ocean will look calm and pleasant.

  Do not be lulled into a false sense of security, there are more waves coming.

If you want to “hangout” in the water the safest location is PAST the breaking waves in deeper water.  Entering and exiting the ocean should be done calmly, with a sense of urgency, and most importantly…never turn your back on the ocean! 

The MOST dangerous place is where the ocean meets the sand and the waves are breaking.  Waves carry massive force and will hurt you if you aren’t careful.

8-10 people break or fracture their necks or backs at Oneloa (Makena-Big Beach) a month!

Beware of rip currents, places along a shoreline where the wave action creates a current that will drag you away from the shore and out into deep water.

Do not fight a rip current by trying to swing directly in to shore, instead remain calm and let it carry you out while treading water and swimming diagonally or parallel to the shoreline.

Above all, remember the lifeguard favorite saying…When In Doubt, Don’t Go Out! 

And, don’t be afraid to ask a lifeguard or a local for pointers about entering the water.  Each beach is different and has unknown hazards like underwater rocks, ledges and shelfs, undercurrents, rips, and reef.

A note on bodysurfing: bodysurfers (and surfers) travel parallel to the wave, turning either left or right to slide along the face of the wave, and do not face directly in towards the shore.  Be aware of people bodysurfing near you and follow common etiquette.  If there is someone “behind” you on the wave, meaning closer to the “peak” of the wave where it first begins to break they have the “right of way”.  If you take off in front of them, they will run you over.  This is akin to cutting someone off in traffic who is travelling at a higher rate of speed by cutting into their lane.  Many people can be on the same wave if spaced appropriately and bodysurfing can be one of the most enjoyable and accessible ocean sports when done correctly..but you don’t learn in a day.

Next episode, I’ll talk about accessing our uplands and general safety tips for hiking, waterfalls, and things like that.

My love and aloha to each and every one of you.  Our Hawaiian proverb, Aloha Aku, Aloha Mai—Aloha given, aloha returned applies not only to people but to our ocean and mountains as well.  Show the ocean respect and she in turn will give you many beautiful and exhilarating days.

Me ke aloha,

Kainoa Horcajo

Hawaiian Cultural Director

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A morsel for you

In Hawai’i, the people made many advancements in life that aided an easy lifestyle and prosperous and healthy families.  Traditionally, native Hawaiians were a decidedly agricultural society, having an innate understanding of the natural processes and life cycles of the plants and animals they used for sustenance.  Traditional “kapu”--edicts passed from the gods through the Kahuna (priestly class) and Ali’i (chiefly class)--managed the behavior of the people and the times and ways in which they harvested their foodstuffs.

Hawaiians not only farmed the land (producing food crops like kalo (taro), ‘uala (sweet potato), mai’a (banana), ulu (breadfruit), and ko (sugarcane)), they also “farmed” the ocean.  One way in which they did this was by paying careful observation to where animals prospered the most and often moving animals closer to the source of this abundance—like moving ha’uke’uke (a type of sea urchin) closer to stream mouths. 

But, the most famous and ingenious way of farming the ocean was the construction of loko i’a, fishponds, something done nowhere else in all of Polynesia.  This passage from “Na Mea Makamae” succinctly explains the use of fishponds and their importance to our people,

“On all islands, fishponds are still visible today, where Hawaiians raised fish by providing a safe habitat for the young fish to grow, separate from predators.  Creating such ponds was hard work, as it involved enclosing a portion of the coast to prevent larger fish from entering the ponds.  The ponds were stocked by means of a gate system that would allow smaller fish to enter.  In addition, people would catch the small fry and put them in the ponds to grow.  Patrick Kirch lists the total of recorded fishponds for each island….Maui, 16.  This fish farming was done nowhere else in the Pacific”.

There are two fishponds within proximity to our property, one of them being worked on and revitalized to one day provide food for our community once again.  Ko’ie’ie fishpond, in the ahupua’a of Kaonoulu, is actively being restored by daily workers and the help of the community on volunteer workdays. 

This fishpond rests approximately 6 miles `Akau of our property and is about 3 acres large in its current state.  Many different ali’i have participated in the construction and re-construction of this fishpond since the 16^th century and should you have the chance to help rebuild this important part of our past, you will have the chance to carry the same pohaku carried by high chiefs and commoners alike from hundreds and thousands of years ago.  Most recently, upon his conquest of the island of Maui, Kamehameha enlisted people from around the island to help rebuild the pond and participated in the work himself. 

For a further point of connection, one of our Valet Captains, Vene Chun, is the Konohiki or the manager of the fishpond and can be found there many a weekend passing stones hand over hand and slowly rebuilding this amazing connection to our past…and hope for our future.  Last year Vene spoke about the fishpond and the work being done in a short web video segment called Making Over Maui, http://youtu.be/HKN9sn824YM .  Volunteer workdays are usually on the 2^nd and Last Saturday of  the month,  additional information can be found at  their website, www.mauifishpond.com.

E hopu keia la!

Kainoa Horcajo

Hawaiian Cultural Director

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