Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 24, Number 4, 1 April 2007 — MAKAHIKI BEHIND BARS [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

MAKAHIKI BEHIND BARS

By Derek Ferrar Public lnformation Specialist For several years, cultural practitioners and prisoners' advocates have been negotiating a tangle of bureaucracy to help support pa'ahao (prisoners) incarcerated in correctional facilities on the continent who want to get in touch with Hawaiian culture and spirituality as a way to better themselves and help deal with their surroundings. One of the groups' primary activities has been preparation for and observance of protocols focused on the traditional makahiki season of peaee and renewal. At the close of the makahiki season this past February, the practice continued with commemorations - funded in part by an OHA community grant - at prisons in Oklahoma, Arizona and Mississippi. Here is how the members of the Native Hawaiian Religion and Culture Group at Diamondback Correctional Facility in Watonga, Oklahoma, described their makahiki observances in a release sent to Ka Wai Ola: "It is said that among the hō 'ailona, or signs, by whieh Hawaiian people knew that Lono, the god of peaee, was present amongst them was in the physical manifestation of a sudden downpour of rain that quickly passed or a light misty rain. This was our weleome from the heavens on the early morning of February 12 at

the Diamondback Correctional Facility. We, nā Kānaka Maoli Kūpa'a o Hawai'i, along with seven of our dearly treasured and loved kūpuna, conducted the closing ceremonies of the makahiki season for the fifth time here. "The day began with prayers, chants, a plkai (cleansing ceremony), a procession around the athletic field, offering of ho'okupu (gifts) and speeches of encouragement. The afternoon ceremony indoors included chants of weleome, 'aiha'a (dance) protocols, an 'awa ceremony, prayers, speeches by special guests, feasting and special music. This special day culminated weeks of study, preparation, practice and discussions on what it means to observe the closing of the makahiki." Several days after the event, the members of the group gathered to reflect on the experience. "When we chant our pule (prayers)," one pa'ahao said, "it is like the ancestors are right with us. Lono is right there." "The 'awa ceremony reminds us we are one, of one mind," said another. "It strengthens us Kānaka Maoli to continue what our ancestors began a long, long time ago." One of the prisoners reflected on the Hawaiian food that had been served. "The feast, the food from our homeland, grown by our 'ohana, touched by our 'ohana," he said. "So, so good!" S

MO'OMEHEU • CULĪURE

[?]

[?]

Prisoners at the Diamondback Correctional Facility in Watonga, Oklahoma, participate in makahiki observances. Photos: Courtesv of the Mive Hawaiian Reliaion and Culture Grouo. Diamondback Correctional Facilitv