"What is your Ala Loa?" Based on your experience(s) on Kahoolawe, what have you learned about the island and yourself by working on the Ala Loa and what you see is your own Ala Loa."
Here's my response.
Today, going to Kahoolawe is a pilgrimage: hoi i ka piko—the return home. It is spiritual. It is a give, a take. When I think of “what is your ala loa” the phrases that come to the forefront are: aia i hea? auhea? Ai hea? Mahea? I hea? Hea? In other words, where is the place to go? The alaloa is a network of a single or many pathways that have a direction and a magnitude. The alaloa of Kohemalamalama is being built as we speak, a belt road around the island.
Anoa ai me ke aloha! Warm greetings! I’m Lelemia Irvine of Waianae, Oahu. My first huakai to Kahoolawe was in May, 2014 with my sister, Aliah, and the
Despite the recent use of the island, Kanaloa is a symbol of Hawaiian National resilience. There, I finally understood the phrase “an island of war turned to an island of love”. U.S. military destructive
We are all on a huakai, a journey. The alaloa is the physical and spiritual pathways that our journey takes. On the alaloa of Kohemalamalama, I felt my ancestors in the lepo of my hands lift, place and set the pa pohaku. At that moment, I truly experienced indigenous engineering in action. The heartbeat, our ancestor’s breath are strong, there. They never leave us but their voices are louder, there. For myself, working on the alaloa was a re-awakening, re-connecting and confirmation: to really live in the naau.
I’m the node of many interconnected alaloa. My alaloa is to be a faithful Son, Brother, Cousin, Uncle, and future Father. My alaloa is my commitment to the Lahui. My alaloa is to use our knowledge systems with engineering to achieve Mauli Ola (well-being, pono, balance, maluhia) for our environment and people in sust-AINA-able and harmonious ways.
We are all at different stages of our alaloa. No forget the beginnings and enjoy the scenery as you carve a path for others to follow.