Raised in Ceremony
Raised with the foundation of culture, ceremony, and tradition
I was raised with the foundation of aloha ‘āina: a love, respect, and connection to the land that is incomparable to anything else. Pictured above are my parents, the ones who raised me in ceremony and activism, showing me how important a sacred connection to the land is. In my household, things such as ceremony, culture, and traditions are as normal as breathing. As I have grown older, I have realized that being raised with such a foundation of culture is a deep honor and not something that everyone gets to experience within their household. It is because of this that I have found an immense importance and profound responsibility in being raised in traditions and culture. Not only has it given me a deeper connection to my culture, it has provided me with skills and knowledge that I use in my everyday life and can pass on to others.
Kani ka pū - The Awakening of the Sacred
Growing up in a family that is based in traditions and culture has helped shape my foundation and perspective of the world, while keeping me open minded. In Hawaiʻi, conducting ceremonies within your family and community is not uncommon because our connection to our culture is stronger with every generation, yet it’s not as normalized as it should be. Due to the revitalization of the Hawaiian culture, the normalcy of practicing ceremony has been overshadowed by the more common cultural practices such as hunting, fishing, speaking Hawaiian, and hula. I have found that ceremonies have become almost exclusively associated with hula, when in fact it is a part of everything we do daily from the smallest to the biggest things. Being a part of ceremony is being able to open yourself up, release human concepts, and be in touch with the spirit world and energies in whatever way it comes to you. It is a way to connect and honor the spirit world, whether or not you have the ability to see or communicate with the spirit world. It is about feeling, believing, and connecting with our ancestors.
Offerings - A Way to Honor
Knowing how to make offerings is essential in Hawai’i because the skill can be used for so many different events, special occasions, and other cultural reasons. One of the biggest reasons we make offerings is to honor a place or person. Offerings are also used during prayer when we are asking for strength, protection, or guidance. Lei — garland — are not the only offerings that are made in our culture, but it is one of the most common and versatile. These offerings are a way to stay connected to the spirit world, our ancestors, and our land. Pictured above is my mom making a kukui and ti leaf lei to give as an offering to Manaua, the rain rock and water spirit, in Waimea. The kukui leaves are from our tree in our yard and the ti leaves are from our home town. Along with making offerings, there are other processes such as asking the plants permission before picking them and making the lei with good intentions.
The importance of knowing how to make a lei
I have found that knowing how to make at least one type of lei is such an important skill to have because no matter where I go or what is going on, I can always make a lei to help. One of the most common and simple lei styles in Hawaiʻi is the Hilo, ti leaf twist lei, as pictured above. This lei can be used as an adornment, a gift, and an offering. This style of lei is one of the most common in Hawaiʻi, due to the fact that it is fairly simple to create and there is an abundance of ti leaf plants on our island. Knowing how to make this lei can be seen as a foundation of lei making, as well as a foundation of giving offerings and being in ceremony. As you twist and make your lei, you set your intentions into the lei that will then be used as an adornment in hula, as a part of your ceremony, or as an offering to a place or person. Since I was a young child, I have used this style for many different occasions throughout my life and continue to use it in my daily life now.
Why sacred places should be honored
Growing up in my family I was taught to recognize and honor sacred places of our homeland and throughout the world. Honoring a sacred place is acknowledging its importance and its power that it carries in the world, as well as honoring the spirits that reside there. Giving offerings to these places show other people that this is a special place that is still being honored, while also showing the spirits and ancestors of this place that they’re still seen and have not been forgotten. Whether it’s a sacred place you visit often or a place you’re going to for the first time, it is always important to honor that place, the keepers of the place, and the important events that have occurred there. Honoring these places is a way of perpetuating our culture through the act of making lei, acknowledging the spirit world, and practicing the traditions of our ancestors.
Places and People - We are all connected as one
For our family, our land is much more than just nature and beauty. The ʻāina (land) is alive and there is a transcendental interconnectedness that we share. Honoring a place is one thing, but in order to truly honor the place you need to honor the unseen that resides and protects these places. Over the years and throughout the many ceremonies and cultural practices my family takes part in, we have built a strong connection with these places and see them as an extension of ourselves and our family. Just like the beliefs of our ancestors, we see nature and humans as one — energies that connect and coincide with each other. We have a saying in our culture, “i nā mālama ʻoe i ka ʻāina, na ka ʻāina mālama iā ʻoe,”: if you take care of the land, the land will take care of you. We treat the land as family because in our genealogy we come from the land and therefore we are an extension of the land.
Offerings set with Intention
The lei you see in this picture is called a kukui lei, made from the leaves of the Kukui tree woven together with ti leaves. We use the kukui because it is the symbol of light and purity. When you give an offering, all the intentions and energy that goes into that lei is equally as important as the lei itself. All the energy and intentions that were put into the making of the lei will be given as part of the offering as well, so it is important to keep your intentions clear and centered. You can see and feel the intention and connection that my sister, Hāwane, has in this photo while giving this lei to an ahu, alter, on Mauna Kea. She is not only honoring the place, but is showing gratitude and reverence for Mauna Kea and all it does for our people.
Gratitude for the sacred
Not only are lei used to honor a sacred place, but they’re also used to give thanks and show our gratitude and respect to that place, as well as the deities that reside there. In this photo is my mom, Pua Case, at Manaua, the rain rock of Waimea. For years, people have come to Manaua in times of drought to pray and ask for rain, and to help the community and the land. My Papa came here in 1979 during a massive drought in Waimea that caused the rivers to stop flowing. People didn’t have water to drink or use, and neither did animals on the ranch. He had heard about the rain rock growing up and had our family go into the forests to gather flowers and plants to create a lei offering for Manaua, so that they could ask her to bring Waimea rain. After praying and bringing offerings, a rain came to Waimea that ended the drought and brought back the flow of the rivers. After that, he didn’t question Manaua and knew that this was a sacred and special place that needed to be honored for many years to come. He passed this practice onto my mother who has now passed it onto my sister and I.
Last updated 9/6/20
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Aloha, Kapulei is a kanaka maoli, Native Hawaiian photographer. She has been raised as an activist for her culture and land all her life. She has used photography as an outlet to provide insight into the activism of her family and the culture of her people. Kapulei has been a part of the efforts to protect Mauna Kea for 10 years. She has traveled to places around the world to document and capture the stances and movements to protect the sacred. Photography has played a powerful role in spreading the message of the Mauna Kea Movement. She is proud to be a frontline photographer who is able to document and share the rise of her people with the world.
