He lani ko luna, he honua ko lalo nei. 
He kanaka koʻonā, he kanaka ko neʻi. 
He aloha ko neʻi, he hoʻolono koʻonā.

Aloha nui kākou!

This year's Makahiki opening, or kuapola, went very well. We had calm winds and water. Was hot though.  We were 18 strong as a few were unable to be with us unfortunately. Mahalo to all those who sent hoʻokupu. Mahalo to Momi for coordinating the access. Mahalo to Kalei Luʻuwai and his keiki for getting us to Kanaloa safely. Mahalo to D-Mar for driving zodi and cooking super ʻono kind grinds. Mahalo to Kat for all the photos. 
​
Camp looked amazing. Seeing the green plants in Hakiowa is reason to rejoice. Mahalo nui to those who have been making that happen over the course of this year. Doesn't seem long before we'll be harvesting hoʻokupu and meaʻai from Hakioawa. 

​Ceremonies went well. Everyone worked really hard and uniformly toward our goals. All hoʻokupu were prepared by 10am and we were on our way to ceremony. Lonomakua looked majestic and regal while presiding over our ceremonies. The hoʻonuʻunuʻu, or speeches that accompanied the hoʻokupu when presented, were crafted and delivered at the imu and even up at the Mua too. The ʻauamo took double duty given that we were short handed. They were used at the imu and at the Mua. It seemed to enhance the ceremony. 

With heavy hearts after hearing that Uncle Bobby passed the evening prior and our beloved Cami weighing on our thoughts, we departed on our pinana i uka at about 5:30am under a setting Hoku moon. We chased Hoku as she set around day break. E Ala Ē was on the first hard-pan ma uka of "buns of steal" (well, maybe a little earlier ). Ceremony wrapped up around 10am. We made good time. So, we took a siesta at Kauhialono.

Our free day was no different. We were able to reattach a covering to the water tank, inventory and clean up. ​

​No laila e ka ʻOhana, this kupa of the Ua Pōʻaihale is returning to nestle beneath the verdant Koʻolau cliffs. 

Ke aloha nui!

Kaliko. 

Check out this 1982 article from The Maui News. Author Gary Kubota describes the Protect Kahoʻolawe ʻOhana's first Makahiki ceremony on Kahoʻolawe. The resurgence of Makahiki was aimed at petitioning Lono, the deity of fertility, to aid in the ʻOhana's efforts to regreen Kahoʻolawe.