Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 4, Number 9, 1 September 1987 — Native Hawaiian Legal Corporation [ARTICLE]

Native Hawaiian Legal Corporation

X H L C Report

By Eddie Halealoha Ayau NHLC Summer Law Clerk

Hurting Tutu Pele

In this Ho'olako, we have again seen the failure of this State's highest court to adequately protect the traditional beliefs and practices of it's native people. The Hawai'i Supreme Court last July 14 issued a decision that scars the lives of those raised and taught in the Pele tradition by upholding the decision of the Board of Land and Natural Resources to allow Campbell Estate to develop geothermal power on Hawai'i.

Appellants Ralph Palikapu O Kamohoali'i Dedman and Dr. Noa Emmet 'Auwae 'Aluli asserted that geothermal development desecrates Pele by digging into her body and will destroy tutu by robbing her ha, her life breath, since geothermal development involves the extraction of steam by drilling. Dedman and 'Aluli thus sought to invoke first amendment constitutional protections to freely exercise their religion, but to no avail. The Court held that Dedman and 'Aluli had not shown that geothermal development would significantly interfere with the freedom to exercise their native religion. Yet at the very least, the uniqueness of the case merited the use of a unique analysis. For here, tradition dictates not just, practice, but more importantly the values and standards that apply to such practice. The issue is who ean best determine how mueh it takes to hurt Tutu Pele — those who through tradition are kama'aina to her ways or those trying to interpret them without a basis in tradition?

The Pele Tradition As passed down in oral traditions, Kamohoali'i was Pele's favorite brother who at times took the form of a mano and whose back she rode from Kahiki when her 'ohana eame to Hawai'i. Kamohoali'i was given the duty of protecting his beloved sister Pele. Palikapu O Kamohoali'i refers to the sacred cliff of Kamohoali'i at Hale Ma'uma'u, across whose face it is said the steam of Pele never blows. Long ago after migrating to Hawai'i, families established themselves and their genealogy with Pele because she was visible and readily available. Through dreams these people were told what names their children should be given. Female children who were given Pele names would pass on other Pele names

to their children as well. Kupuna Kalanikauleleiwiku'aimoku named her daughter Pele and she named her son Palikapu O Kamohoali'i. A carrier of Pele's name must honor the name and has a responsibility to protect the namesake. The name ean carry mana, spiritual force, the energy that the god imparts to the person. Henee, the person has to protect that energy, the spiritualness that the deity has given them. They are honor bound to enhanee the strength of the deity through ritual, prayer and ultimately protection. Many Hawaiians have Pele names, are imparted with her spiritual force, and share the same responsibility to honor and protect her. Palikapu O Kamohoali'i sought to do just that, protect Pele as his namesake did. The Court's Analysis The Court applied an erroneous standard of review in its analysis of this case. The analysis centered around a test adopted from lVisconsin u. Yoder, whieh separates belief from practice and only finds an unconstitutional infringement if the State's action burdens practice. Yet the Court's very use of the Yoder test undermined the essential merits of this particular case. A more relevant test, one immersed in genealogy and oral tradition, should have been applied here to determine whether Pele would be hurt by geothermal development, whether her people will suffer when their sacred values and beliefs go unrespected. The State has accommodated the development of geothermal energy by exchanging the Puna Forest Reserve and Wao Kele O Puna Natural Area Reserve for Kahauale'a whieh had been overrun with lava. This time the drilling area is mueh farther from Kilauea. Pele's Body and Home Expert witness Pualani Kanaka'ole Kanahele in testifying before the BLNR on behalf of Pele practitioners presented a mele ma'i for Pele. She said: "[M]ele ma'i tells about the different parts of her body. It especially describes hale ma'u ma'u and in that song, E komo mai o loko o ka hale ma'u ma'u, eome into hale ma'u ma'u, eome into hale ma'u ma'u, you're weleome. Come to see my display, to see the movements that I do. To view my inner parts and how I dance and how I move. But you are n'ot weleome to take what is mine. Whatever is hot here is mine. Whatever is hot here is sacred. Her back is hot and so her back is sacred. But it's not only her back, it's that whole part of the land that is hot, that is sacred." Pele's body then is the general area of volcanic activ-

ity on the island of Hawai'i, extending from Mauna Loa through the Ka'u and Puna districts to the oeean. Pele's presence is seen in kino lau, or alternate body forms whieh include ferns, shrubs, and rain forests, and voleanie land forms like pu'u. All kino lau are sacred. Pele is the magma, the heat, the vapor, the steam and the cosmie creation whieh occur in volcanic eruptions. She is seen in the lava, images of her standing erect, dancing, and extending her arms with her hair flowing into the steam and clouds. Therefore, the taking of what is sacred to one group significantly infringes on that group's ability to adequately practice their beliefs. Such action threatens the values, standards, and spiritual beliefs of those who malama Tutu Pele.

The Kilauea volcanic area is the source of spiritual power for Pele people. This power is essential for all Pele ceremonial activities. There are no heiau to Pele, no man-made structures to her. She was the area and her people went to where she lived. Pele influences their daily spiritual and physical activities making it essential that she exist in pure form and environment. Pele is akua, and 'aumakua of Hawaiians today. Her blood relationships continue as shared traditions, genealogy and aloha for particular 'aina and places in Hawai'i. Pele is kupuna and tutu to many.

Impact on Pele Accordingly, certain activities are considered impermissible by Pele people within the area of her home, her body. Geothermal development is a desecration of Pele because it involves drilling into and removing her very energy. The steam is Pele and what is Pele is sacred. Pele people believe that desecrations of her sacred body will cause Pele to retaliate violently in the form of volcanic eruptions and earthquakes and consequently, they fear for the loss of their lives and the lives of their children. They believe that rather than allow geothermal development, Pele will destroy surrounding areas. In 1983, the first year of actual development, Pele exploded and destroyed the first test wells at Kahauale'a. Forty-seven eruptions have followed. Geothermal development is an actual, physical degradation and violation of Pele's body. It threatens and prevents the continuation of essential ritual practices with respect to Pele. If geothermal activity eontinues, Pele, a native Hawaiian religion will die and more traditional Hawaiian culture and values will again be lost.

As eloquently stated by Edward Kanahele: "If it's something like you're going to have an analogy, it's like the Holy Ghost, and Christ already gone. And all you've got left is God, the Father. And so if you take away Pele, that's it, pau. You know, we don't have very mueh left. We don't have anything left as far as that very essential beliefs and practices and traditions and the spiritual side of it that comes through our Hawaiian traditions. So Pele is the last grasp."

Geothermal exploration and development will diminish and finally destroy Pele's creative force. This destruction will cause spiritual, cultural and psychological injury to those who worship and respect Tutu. Appellants were represented by Steve Moore of the Native American Rights Fund; Alan Murakami and Melody Mackenzie of the Native Hawaiian Legal Corporation and Yuklin Aluli, an attorney in private practice. They were supported through funds donated to the Pele Defense Fund, P.O. Box 404, Volcano, HI 96785. Dedman and Aluli intend to seek review by the U.S. Supreme Court.