The Puana Ka ‘Ike and Eia Hawaii lecture series are presented in partnership with the education group, The Kohala Center, the Kipuka Native Hawaiian Student Center at UH-Hilo and Keauhou Beach Resort.
Mahealani Pai and Keone Kalawe of the Kamehameha Schools’ Keauhou-Kahaluu Education Group will discuss the historical significance of Kaneaka slide and Heeia Bay in Keauhou, North Kona, in an upcoming Puana Ka ‘Ike lecture in Kona and an Eia Hawaii presentation in Hilo.
The free presentations are scheduled from noon to 1:30 p.m. on Thursday, Jan. 26, at the University of Hawaii at Hilo, Campus Center Room 301, and from 5:30 to 7 p.m. on Friday, Jan. 27, in Ballroom III at the Keauhou Beach Resort in Kona.
Kaneaka is the famous royal kahua holua (slide) in Keauhou, North Kona, whose current footprint is being captured through a plane table mapping project with island students.
Cultural specialist Pai and lead mapping teacher Kalawe will share their ongoing research about the famous slide, its construction and sporting aspects, and Heeia, the bay into which Kaneaka’s pathway once touched.
Ancient competitors reached treacherous speeds on narrow sleds on this downward journey to Heeia Bay.
The holua slide was a monumental stone ramp, nearly one mile in length, made slippery with thatching and mats.
When the waves were large, crowds would gather at Heeia Bay to watch as holua contestants raced against surfers to a shoreline finish.
For lecture attendees wishing to have an onsite experience, Pai and Kalawe will lead a field study to Kaneaka and Heeia Bay from 8:30 a.m. to noon on Saturday, Jan. 28.
This field study will help participants understand the direct link between Kaneaka and Heeia Bay as well as the magnitude of the ancient sport of sledding.
Space is limited; for reservations, contact Joy Cunefare at (808) 534-8528 or e-mail info@kohalacenter.org by Tuesday.
Since 2005, Pai has served as the cultural specialist of the Keauhou-Kahaluu Education Group, which is responsible for the cultural learning and restoration of sites within these two ahupua’a.
He is the founder of the cultural education programs Kia’i’aina Kualoloa (Guardians of the Long back of the Land).
Pai’s mo’oku’auhau, or genealogy, connects him with the ocean, and as a cultural practitioner and teacher, his work has touched several generations of learners.
He is currently completing his associate’s degrees in applied science and arts at Hawaii Community College campuses in Hilo and Kona.
Kalawe resides in Kahuwai, Puna, where his family has lived for more than 20 generations.
Since 2007, Kalawe has traveled to Kahaluu, where he serves as the onsite archaeologist and lead kumu, or teacher, in Hui Kaha Pohaku, a project-based education program created by the Keauhou-Kahaluu Education Group.
Under Kalawe’s tutelage, students in Hui Kaha Pohaku produce professional quality plane table maps.
These maps capture the current footprint of selected sites and are required by state agencies as part of the restoration process.
Along with Leina’ala Wilcox, Kalawe co-founded Keala o ka Holua, a foundation dedicated to the revitalization of he’e holua, or sledding.
For more information on these presentations, or to reserve a space in the Saturday field study, contact Cunefare.
For lecture schedules and webcasts of previous lectures, visit http://kohalacenter.org/puanakaike/about.html and www.keauhouresort.com/learn-puanakaike.html.
The Puana Ka ‘Ike and Eia Hawaii lecture series are presented in partnership with the education group, The Kohala Center, the Kipuka Native Hawaiian Student Center at UH-Hilo and Keauhou Beach Resort.