WAILUA — With the weather and waves “rockin’ and rollin’” in recent days, cultural practitioners seeking to protect Wailua Beach from the proposed multi-use path expressed optimism that now is a time of transition for Kaua‘i. Native Hawaiians were joined
WAILUA — With the weather and waves “rockin’ and rollin’” in recent days, cultural practitioners seeking to protect Wailua Beach from the proposed multi-use path expressed optimism that now is a time of transition for Kaua‘i.
Native Hawaiians were joined by other community members for a 24-hour vigil — called ‘aha ho‘ano — that was scheduled to 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 from noon on Friday until noon on Saturday, with Hawaiian chants, dances and prayers every hour.
Kumu Hula Kehaulani Kekua, one of the event’s organizers, said Friday afternoon following the 4 p.m. ceremony that she had “petitioned the elements to help us send a message,” and that she and other practitioners were “energized” by the lightning show, powerful surf and cool, comfortable temperatures.
“Our main concern are the iwi kupuna,” Kekua said, adding that those in attendance were merely “celebrating and honoring our traditions and cultural, spiritual and religious practices.”
“Even if they don’t understand what we’re doing,” she said, “we want them to see the living culture.”
She said the path should stay off of Wailua Beach because it would be a waste of public resources and energy to put it there only to have it washed away by the ocean, pointing to the waves pounding the sand behind her and adding that her Hawaiian ancestors have never built anything on the beaches.
“I couldn’t help but step forward because my name was on the list of people who wanted it on the beach and nobody talked to me,” Kekua said. She claimed that the comment attributed to her in the environmental assessment was actually referring to her recommendation that Kuhio Highway not run behind Coco Palms resort, and that her words were twisted to apply to the multi-use path.
In recent months, the long-standing plan to have the 14-foot-wide path run along the beach was thrown into doubt when the state Office of Hawaiian Affairs reversed its position on the proposal and recommended that it instead run mauka along the so-called “canal route” due to cultural and burial concerns.
County officials have said that the next step is a series of stakeholder and public meetings to determine which route the path should take. County spokeswoman Mary Daubert said Friday that Mayor Bernard Carvalho Jr. and Parks and Recreation Director Lenny Rapozo had appeared at the vigil at around noon Friday.
Kekua, who said her mother and Carvalho’s mother were close and she and the mayor have enjoyed a lifelong friendship, said she realizes it is a difficult position for him to be and she hopes to help him understand the cultural urgency of preserving Wailua Beach.
“We’re here to reach out to the ancestral powers of this land to bring balance,” she said. “Hawai‘i is a very mana-ful place.”
An attempt to reach Kekua late Saturday afternoon to see if the group had indeed stayed on location for the full 24 hours in spite of — or in light of — the inclement weather was unsuccessful.
• Michael Levine, assistant news editor, can be reached at 245-3681 (ext. 252) or mlevine@kauaipubco.com.
