Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 31, Number 7, 1 July 2014 — 4 national parks to host La Hoʻihoʻi Ea events [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

4 national parks to host La Hoʻihoʻi Ea events

On July 31 four national parks on Hawai'i Island will host events jointly commemorating La Ho'iho'i Ea, restoration day, the first national holiday of the Hawaiian Kingdom. Pu'uhonua o Hōnaunau Nahonal Park, Honokōhau National Park, Pu'ukoholā National Park and Kllauea National Park are participating in the simultaneous event, whieh is free of charge. Park admission is waived for the day. The national holiday dates to 1843, when Great Britain restored Hawaiian sovereignty after a five-month occupation initiated by Lord George Paulet. On July 31, Rear Admiral Richard Thomas restored Hawaiian sovereignty, prompting King Kamehameha III to utter the famous words, "Ua mau ke ea o ka 'āina i ka pono," whieh today is the motto of the state of Hawai'i, translated as "The life of the land is perpetuated in righteousness." Kalaniakea Wilson, a Kona resident and educator for more than 20 years, has been

holding La Ho'iho'i commemorations at Pu'uhonua o Hōnaunau Nahonal Park for the past several years. This year, he'U lead the ceremony at Pu'ukoholā National Park. Regardless of whieh park you go to, the ceremonies will follow the same schedule: 9 a.m. pū kani 'ohe workshop to make bamboo

trumpets (so people who don't have a eoneh shell ean participate in the blowing of pū during the ceremony), 10 a.m. educational presentations on the day's history, including the song Hawai'i Pono'ī and the phrase "Ua mau ke ea o ka 'āina i ka pono," followed by a noon ceremony taking down the British

flag and raising the Hawaiian flag, and a 1 p.m. ho'olaule'a with light refreshments and entertainment. Pū will be hlown 21 times during the flagraising ceremony, echoing the 21-cannon salute originally done in 1843, Wilson said. Wilson, who just earned his master's degree in Hawaiian language at the University of Hawai'i-Mānoa, said he learned about this liūle-known part of Hawaiian history when he was searching for a master's project. He researched Hawaiian-language newspapers and eame across La Ho'iho'i Ea as well as Lā Kū'oko'a, Hawaiian independence day, when, on Nov. 28, 1843, the British and French governments signed a joint agreement bringing the Hawaiian Kingdom into the small family of mutually recognized independent nations. Wilson says he wants to share what he has learned from his research of Hawaiian newspapers prior to the overthrow, and take the story of La Ho'iho'i Ea and "share it with the Hawaiian community and anyone else who attends." He said this is the first time where all the national parks on Hawai'i Island will be unified in marking the event. — LisaAsato ■

Kalaniakea Wilson, center, wilh the lale University of Hawai'i Hawaiian Studies professor George Terry Kanalu Young at the first celebration of Lō Kū'oko'a at UH-Mōnoa. - Courtesy: Kalaniakea Wilson