Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 40, Number 10, 1 October 2023 — Remembering Mo'olele o Lahaina [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

Remembering Mo'olele o Lahaina

By Puanani Fernandez-Akamine ~M W~ o'olele, the sailing eanoe famously /1 /Ē celebratedinthejoyfull984 song / M/ Ē by the Makaha Sons of Ni'iV -M- hau, was lost to the flames that engulfed Lahaina on August 8.

She was in drydock in Lahaina for repairs. Sister eanoe, Mo'okiha oPi'ilani, moored offshore of Lahaina at the time, was spared. She has since been relocated to Pūko'o, Moloka'i, by Hui o Wa'a Kaulua, the Lahaina nonprofit that owns the canoes. "Mo'olele was the first eanoe that was built, the one that is considered the mama eanoe of all these sailing canoes," said Kumu Hula Hōkūlani Holt. Mo'olele launched for the first time on Sept. 20, 1975, just six months after the voyaging eanoe, Hōkūle'a, first launched earlier that year on March 8. Mo'olele and younger sister eanoe Mo'okiha o Pi'ilani were both the work of the late Master Carver Keola Sequeria of Lahaina, who passed away in 2022. Sequeira was trained and mentored by Master Carver Wright Bowman, Sr., who was his woodshop teacher at Kamehameha Schools when he was a student there. When Bowman was overseeing the construction of Hōkūle'a, Sequeira joined in the effort. Renowned artist and Hōkūle'a designer Herb Kāne asked Sequeira to carve Hōkūle'a's masts. Two koa trees from the forest above Makawao, Maui, were cut for that purpose. Sequeira fashioned the masts in the workshop behind his home in Lahaina. Six months after work began on Hōkūle'a, Sequeira and several friends who helped him

carve Hōkūle'a's masts, decided to build their own eanoe; that eanoe was Mo'olele. The 42-foot long double-hulled Mo'olele (whieh means flying lizard) was built in his Lahaina workshop. Sequeira sailed her between the islands for 25 years. Hui o Wa'a Kaulua has been using both Mo'olele and Mo'okiha o Pi'ilani as floating classrooms to cultivate and support future generations of voyagers for years now. The loss of Mo'olele is felt keenly by the voyaging community on Maui and across the entire pae aina. For nearly 50 years she inspired and brought joy to her community.

"Her memory lives in the stories and the songs that we sing," said Holt. "That is what I feel about Lahaina and the other places affected by the fire - we will remember them moving forward, because of the stories and because of the songs." ■

Excerpt from the 1984 song, Mo'olele, recorded by the Makaha Sons of Ni'ihau E holoholo kākou ma ka wa'a kaulua Mo'olele o Lahaina E lele i ka moana, ke hō'eu'eu mai nei Ka pe'a i ka makani Moa'e puni kākou Hawai'i Punahele mōkou o ka wa'a kaulua Mo'olele Mo'olele, ha'aheo kou hele ana Ka pe'a kiakahi, piha i ka makani Mo'olele, ha'aheo kou hele ana Mahalo nui iō 'oe, me kou haku ('o) Keola Let's voyage on the eanoe Mo'olele ofLahaina Sailing over the oeean so exciting Sail in the tradewinds that surround Hawai'i VJe are thefavored ones on the double-hulled eanoe Mo'olele Mo'olele,journey with pride Your single-mast sailfilled with wind Mo'olele,journey with pride Cratitude to you and your master Keola

Mo'olele. - Photo: Hui o Wa Kaulua