Research Associate & Writer for Māpuna Lab
Come back to the blog to read along while you listen
Pili kau, pili hoʻoilo
Together in the dry season, together in the wet season
Said of loving companionship
On the other side of yesterday, there swam five ‘o‘opu¹ in a secluded pond nestled within the academy of the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa. The pond was home to an assortment of creatures. Some were new to the area, struggling to find their role in this foreign ecosystem. Others had been there for some time and went with the flow of things that were and that were not. Others had been there so long they remembered when the pond was first dug out, a product of redirected streams flowing together. Along the edges of the pond, there roamed a mo‘o² who tended to those streams, ensuring the dams that were set in place remain. The pond’s gatekeeper tended to its creatures, giving them responsibilities and making sure every rock and piece of algae was where it should be.
One day, a great conflict arose and the ‘o‘opu became caught in its swirls. Many creatures were lost in battle including the gatekeeper. The ‘o‘opu and the mo‘o survived but not unscathed. The pond’s gatekeeper now gone, the ‘o‘opu seized their chance to thrive beyond the pond. Their new companion, the mo‘o, removed the stones from one of the dams, clearing a path.
At first the ‘o‘opu were not sure what direction to take. Amongst themselves, they began to contemplate their past, present and future. Where would they go? Why would they go? Who can they go to?
Aramas chok angang
There is much work for the people, the work is the people,
Much is done by many hands working together
The ‘ōhi‘a lehua continued to call from upstream. As the path cleared and the sweet scents of lehua grew stronger, embracing them in her fragrant water swept tendrils, the ʻo‘opu began to chant
Hū ka wai māpuna
Māpuna kapu ka hāhā
Ha‘a inu ha‘a ola
Ha‘a kapu ha‘a noa e
E nā kupukupu o nā kūpuna
E mālama ka māpuna
Mālama ka māpuna
Mālama ka māpuna e
I ola loa e
I mauli ola e
The spring water swells
Sacred Spring
Bend and drink bend and live
Sacred bend common bend
Sword fern of the ancestors
Care for the spring water
Nourish the spring water
Protect the spring water
For long life,
for optimal health
Accompanied by their companions mo‘o and Mama, the ‘o‘opu continue to swim upstream to this day, now clear in their direction. Gathering more and more cousins as they go. Creating new relationships and maintaining old ones. In unity, they forge onward towards their life source, the ‘ōhi‘a lehua. The ʻai. The sustenance that is a constant reminder of where they once came as they cultivate safe passage for the next seven generations.
Ho‘i ka ‘o‘opu ‘ai lehua i ka māpunapuna
The lehua-eating ‘o‘opu has gone back to the spring.
Said of one who has gone back to the source
1Endemic Hawaiian freshwater goby, Lentipes concolor
2n. Lizard, reptile of any kind, dragon, serpent; water spirit (source: Nā Puke Wehewehe ʻŌlelo Hawaiʻi)
3Metrosideros polymorpha endemic to the Hawai‘i
4nvs. Water other than sea water
The MĀPUNA LAB is a place of respite for those experiencing colonial trauma. Our work is naʻau centered and focused on health and healing. Guided by ʻōhiʻa lehua as our teacher, an endemic Hawaiian tree, we work in reciprocity and partnership in healing the chronic and existential pain of historical and intergenerational trauma with our Pacific Islander brothers and sisters.
Kākuhihewa is the 15th aliʻi ‘aimoku (ruling chief) of O‘ahu famously named in the mele “Kaulana Nā Pua.” Kākuhihewa was a kind and friendly chief who was born in Kūkaniloko and raised in the ‘Ewa moku. His primary endeavor was farming, and it is said that his abundant harvests on O‘ahu could be smelled from Kaua‘i.
Today, there is a state office building named after him in Kapolei.