LIHU‘E — Cultural practitioners are set to hold a 24-hour vigil from noon Friday until noon Saturday featuring Hawaiian prayer, chants and temple dances to raise public awareness about development in Wailua, one of Hawai‘i’s most sacred places, event organizers said this week.

The vigil, known in Hawaiian as ‘aha ho‘ano, will be held at Pu‘uhonua O Hauola and the Hikinaakala Heiau at the north end of Lydgate Park near the mouth of the Wailua River. It will recognize the traditional importance of Wailuanuiaho‘ano — the “Great Sacred Wailua” — in light of plans for the multi-use coastal path to span the area with a boardwalk across the sand on Wailua Beach.

“We are very concerned about the rapid movement of the development in Wailua,” Kumu Hula Kehaulani Kekua, one of the event’s organizers, said Tuesday. “I was aghast at the studies and reports that came back as part of the final EA  with findings of no significant impact. That is absolutely absurd.” The FONSI was issued in May 2007.

In recent months, the long-standing plan to have the 14-foot-wide path run along Wailua Beach was thrown into limbo when the state Office of Hawaiian Affairs reversed its position on the proposal and recommended that it instead run on the mauka “canal route” behind Coco Palms resort due to cultural and burial concerns.

“I’m not in opposition to improvements and what is good for the community, we just need to be sensitive and aware that there are places that we absolutely have to respect,” Kekua said. “What we hope to do is just raise awareness in the community for people to understand that even if we live in the 21st century, it’s a very special and fragile place.”

Last week, the Wailua-Kapa‘a Neighborhood Association released the results of an opinion poll it conducted on its Web site, www.wkna.org, to allow people to express their preferences on the issue and help determine if WKNA should take a position, and if so, which one.

The poll was conducted between Oct. 13 and Nov. 1, a press release says. Of 457 votes cast, 54 percent favored the bike path on Wailua Beach and 46 percent favored redirecting the path.

“The polling site provided information on both sides of the issue,” the press release states. “Only one vote per Web connection was permitted by the polling software. Based on the close results of the poll, the board will not take a position.”

What to expect

Kekua said at the top of each hour, starting at noon Friday, participants will present traditional chants and dances, and in the time between those hourly presentations they will be able to “talk story” and have “healthy discussion” about issues important to the area.

“We are not inviting, advocating or even tolerating any type of resistance because it’s not meant to be a protest,” she said, referring to those who might come with signs. “It’s meant to hold spiritual focus and to honor and to continue and connect with the ancient practices that many of us have never stopped. As Native Hawaiians, we continue to recognize and apply these practices in our daily lives.”

In that vein, the flyer states that traditional Hawaiian ceremony garments or kihei are requested, though modest clothing — no swimwear or short dresses — will be accepted. No photography or videotaping will be allowed without permission, and children must be closely supervised to avoid disturbance and distraction on or around ceremony grounds.

From 9 a.m. until noon today, organizers are hosting an oli and protocol workshop at the same location for anybody interested in participating in the Friday gathering, a flyer states.

For more information on the vigil, contact Kekua at 346-7574 or halaupalaihiwa@kaieie.org, or Nathan Kalama at 822-2166 or nateilio@live.com.

Wailua Beach path online poll results

•54 percent favor multi-use path on Wailua Beach

•46 percent favor redirecting the path

There were 457 votes registered online from Oct. 13 to Nov. 1.

Source: Wailua-Kapa‘a Neighborhood Association

• Michael Levine, assistant news editor, can be reached at 245-3681 (ext. 252) or mlevine@kauaipubco.com.