Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 34, Number 5, 1 May 2017 — ʻAimalama [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

ʻAimalama

Ā Solution Based on Āncestral Knowledge

By Hui 'Aimalama Ikiiki (April 26- May 25) Ikiiki is the name of the first malama (month) of kau wela, or the summer season, and also the name for the planet Jupiter. Ikiiki also means "stifiling heat and humidity; acute discomfort, pain, grief, suffering; to be weary, stifling, sultry, stuffy."

The 'Aimalama team is always seeking new and ereative ways to share information about Kaulana Mahina and the 'Aimalama methodology to a broader eommunity and reeently used Faeebook as an online tool to host an interaetive elass. In the malama of Welo, the first session was held: What does it mean to be a mauliauhonua? At least 97 friends were interested in attending this Faeebook session and 55 aetively partieipated in the diseussions. Partieipants joined in from our pae 'āina Hawai'i, as well as Texas, Washington and Aotearoa.

Praetitioners sueh as fishermen, farmers, sailors, lei makers, hunters, hula daneers, kapa praetitioners, salt makers and others who work direetly with the environment uen-

erally eolleet their resourees from the same loeations for years or even generations. Their praetiee provides opportunity to make note of the eyeles, weather patterns, animal behaviors, or any ehanges over time. Praetitioners ean definitively see whether or not their surroundings are being affeeted by elimate ehange. The 'Aimalama method provides tools and teehniques so that eommunities are able to say in eonfidenee, "Climate ehange is happening beeause..." These tools and teehniques ean empower us to be our own advoeates to survive the ehange. The diseussion started with a question: "Have there been any noted environmental ehanges that

have affeeted the way people are doing their praetiees in the last five years?" That question began nearly

an hour-and-a-half of boisterous diseussion. Here's some of the ehanges that neonle have been

witnessing - kōlea are arriving earlier, there are now higher tides whieh means fishpond walls need to be built higher, there are higher temperatures on the higher elevations of Haleakalā, the Wanini reef on Kaua'i

is so different with unfamiliar speeies of fish and inedible limu, there is noted erosion at Mākaha Beaeh, and mangoes at Kānewai are bearing fruit when normally the season oeeurs a month later. Our topie of diseussion was about the term "Mauliauhonua." The Pukui & Elbert Hawaiian dietionary says: mauliauhonua - "Deseendant of old ehiefs of a land; established, aneient, as a family. Ua kū kēia welo ā mauliauhonua, this family is old and well established (1985)." Simply said, the term mauliauhonua is given to a family or a community that has been on the same plot of land for multiple generations. They are a family or community that has heeome well

established. It means that these generational residents understand their surroundings intimately. They know all the names of the rains, winds, waterways, peaks, plateaus, mountains and other natural features in their area. They also know the seasons of nature and have figured out how to live efficiently within their surroundings. These mauliauhonua have survived, engaged and adapted their practices to their own particular space. A person who is called a mauliauhonua does not need an app to tell him or her what's going on in their own backyard. A mauliauhonua is the app. The ultimate result

of learning the 'Aimalama method is to heeome the app. The discussion went on to describe the five components in developing a person whose family will eventually heeome mauliauhonua. If you are interested in learning more about mauliauhonua, these five components, or joining us for the next Facebook class, look for @huiaimalama on Facebook and request to join the group. More info about 'Aimalama: http://aimalama.org ■

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VQCABULARY Kaulana mahina - Tlie position ofthe moon Mahina - Moon Malama - Lunar month Anahulu - A period of 10 moon phases

He'eia fishpond. - Photo: Courtesy ofKalei Nu'uhiwa/Paepae 'o He'eia