He Hulumamo

My Legacy

By Sheila Mae Uluwehi Roback

Growing up in Hāna, I am surrounded by the incredible beauty that is my home. From beneath the shade and protection of the rising Ka‘uiki hill, in the warm healing salty waters of Kapueokahi and the caressing cool misty rain… Noenoeuakea. A sense of place; knowing where you come from, is buried deep in the sands of my birth…Kauakealaniha‘aha‘aohāna.

I’ve often pondered on what makes Hāna so rare and unique. The answer is on the winds that sweep across the land, sea, and sky bearing the stories of our ancestors. It is in the families who have lived here for generations; their connection to the ‘āina, each other and Akua. A sense of purpose; knowing who you are comes from the families who continue to grow where they are planted and bloom where they grow.

Families, who continue to work, play, pray, live and die on their ancestral lands…Families who hold fast to the traditions, values and skills which have been passed down from generation to generation… Families who continue to struggle and rise above the tides of change… Families who kept the essence and fullness of life claiming each day a blessing and making a difference in the lives of others.

E holomua kākou…Let us continue the journey…The knowledge and example that has been imparted to us is now our duty to share. The path has been laid down by those who walked before us, the trail has been cleared for us to follow. We must carry on the traditions and values for the next generation. It is now our turn to take the lead.

Sadly for the next generation, the path for them is filled with many holes and part of the trail is being covered. Like us, some will fall in the holes and some will provide the means by which to fill them. Like us some will use tools to cut through the trail and open the way. Hope for the Hāna that was, and is, and will endure.

It is our kuleana… responsibility… to pass on to the next generation what we have learned from the generation before us. The course has been set by our Kūpuna before us; we must continue in their legacy of love for the next generation.

Will we be able to walk in their footsteps? Will we pass on what we have learned or what we did not try to learn? We are so blessed to know where we come from and who we are. We are the shade, protection, healing and caressing life force of the past, the present, and the future of Hāna.

To the families who were pillars in our life who left a legacy of love, touched the deepest part of our spirit, whose stories live on in the pages of our thoughts; words from their lips to our ears are engraved on our heart. They are families of faith, warriors with a passion to preserve the traditions, values and stories instilled in them from birth.

Mahalo ke Akua for blessing us with them in our life. They have stirred a fire burning in the core of our being to holomua! So here I write, with a kuleana to ‘My Legacy’ of Kānaka Maoli who have walked before me.