A Waÿa Named
Laÿiÿöpua
By Gayle Kaleilehua Greco
KeOlaMagazine.com | September-October 2021
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eing birthed on the ‘āina of Hawaiian homelands at the Villages of La‘i‘ōpua in Kailua-Kona is a wa‘a (canoe) by the same name, La‘i‘ōpua. Not since the Makali‘i was constructed in 1993, has there been an educational canoe on Hawai‘i Island built by the children of the area with the support of wa‘a builders, cultural advisors, kumu (teachers) and kūpuna (elders) overseeing the direction of this treasured vessel. There have been canoes built for canoe clubs and sailing voyages; however, the purpose of this canoe is for learning the tradition of Hawaiian canoe building, voyaging, and community involvement. From ancient to modern times, the canoe has brought people together as ‘ohana (family), for a purpose, to voyage to places seen and unseen, known and unknown, taking with it the mana‘o of the people. Knowledge was transferred between cultures, with stories told and traditions shared. The voyagers brought back these gifts from afar, the experience of the land, sea, and stars, home to where ‘ohana waited with a welcoming embrace, everyone richer for the time spent together and apart. This is voyaging, the way of the canoe, touchpoints of gathering and sharing, growing and evolving. Voyaging has long supported teamwork, togetherness, and planning for a sustainable future based on ancestral knowledge and the use of natural resources. Long before boats and other vessels were brought in, canoes once filled the ocean waters of Hawai‘i as means of coastal traveling, fishing, work, and play. The traditions of the canoe are the essence of Hawaiian culture, the far-reaching arc connecting keiki and kūpuna, community and ‘ohana, no matter whether on land or sea. “A canoe is our mother, we treat it as we would our mother, it takes care of us like our mother, and we have respect for each other,” shares Chadd ‘Ōnohi Paishon, Pwo/master navigator and cultural advisor of the La‘i‘ōpua Wa‘a Project.
The ÿiako (arched crossbeams) on its way to being finished.
Chadd Paishon sharing his ÿike (knowledge) with nä haumäna (students) standing alongside Laÿiÿöpua waÿa (canoe). Chadd explains to the students, “Everyone who stands on the deck of this canoe is your family because this is everybody’s mother—whether blood related or not—you stand as family with this canoe.” Binding together as ‘ohana, the residents of the Villages of La‘i‘ōpua and the surrounding community are working collectively to bring a canoe to life in the Kealakehe ahupua‘a (land division) of North Kona. Experiential Program As part of a USDE Native Hawaiian Education grant which funds educational assistance to Villages of La‘i‘ōpua and the surrounding community, nonprofit organzation La‘i‘ōpua 2020 partnered with Kealakehe High School and Ocean Education Dive Club to create an innovative, accredited social studies program for high school students to not only learn academically, but to truly experience modern Hawaiian history. During the time of Covid restrictions, this experiential program gave students the opportunity to be together in an outdoor setting, learning the traditions of their ancestors. In addition to their school course work, 12 high school students gathered on six Saturdays for cultural hands-on learning. From field trips to historical sites, to proper naming of Hawaiian locations, plus time in the ocean and on land learning about natural resources, this unique program culminated in building a canoe. Each student contributed to the whole, and a bond has formed between them, socially and emotionally, as they lay the foundation of their own wa‘a ‘ohana. Greg Harrs, the social studies/Hawaiian history teacher at
