Hanohano Nā ʻĀina Kūpuna: Honoring Papahānaumokuākea Kūpuna (Ancestral) Islands
Mai ka puka ʻana o ka lā i Haʻehaʻe a hiki loa i ka welo ʻana o ka lā i Hōlanikū, kāhiko hoʻowewehi ʻia kākou a pau i ka lei aloha o ka pae moku o Kanaloa. Hanohano nō ʻo Papahānaumokuākea, he ʻāina akua nō hoʻi ia o ko Hawaiʻi Pae ʻĀina. ʻO Wākea ke kāne, a ʻo Papahānaumoku ka wahine. Noho pū lāua a hānau ʻia maila ia mau ʻāina kūpuna mai loko aʻe o ka moana nui kūlipolipo i puka aʻe ai, a e hiki mai ana nō i kekahi wā e hoʻi hou ana ia mau moku lēʻia i loko o ka ʻōpū moana kai hohonu. Mau loa nō ka pilina paʻa o nā Kānaka ʻŌiwi i loko o ke kaʻā o ka moʻokūʻauhau i ke au o Kanaloa, nā mokupuni, nā moku ʻāina, me nā moku pāpapa, a me nā akua me nā ʻaumākua ma nā ʻano kino mea ola like ʻole i Moananuiākea. Kahu a mālama kākou o ke au nei i ia pilina koʻikoʻi ma luna hoʻi o ka ʻike kūpuna ma o ka hana kūpono ʻana, ke mele ʻana, ke aʻo ʻana, ka noiʻi ʻana, a me ka hoʻōla ʻana i ia mau moku kūpuna. Mai iō kikilo mai nō, hāʻenaʻena ka lamakū o ka ʻike kūliʻu o ka poʻe hulu kūpuna i ahi koli ai iā kākou, he ahi pio ʻole ia e ʻā noʻao wenawena loa nei. Alu like nō hoʻi kākou ma lalo o ia ahi pio ʻole, a na ia poʻe kūpuna nō e hoʻokele alakaʻi mau nei iā kākou a pau i ke alahula o ka ʻimi naʻauao i kēia ao mālamalama. I ka wā ma mua, ka wā ma hope. I ko kākou mālama ʻana i nā moku kūpuna o ka Pō, mālama pū ʻia nō nā mokupuni o ke Ao, pēlā nō e ola mau ai ʻo Papahānaumokuākea a ma ka pae moku holoʻokoʻa i nā makamaka ola o ko mua me ko hope, a mau loa aku nō.
English Translation
From the rising of the sun at Haʻehaʻe on Hawaiʻi Island to the setting of the sun at Hōlanikū (Kure Atoll) at the northwestern extent of Hawaiʻi, the love of the land is abundant, greetings to you all. Papahānaumokuākea is honored as a sacred realm of the gods to Kānaka ʻŌiwi (Native Hawaiians). Papahānaumoku birthed these ancestral islands from the ocean through a union with Wākea. Papahānaumokuākea represents deep cosmological and spiritual relationships connected to pō (primordial darkness), a realm where ancestral spirits return to islands that were once birthed from the deep ocean. There are living genealogies and relationships between Kānaka ʻŌiwi and the realm of Kanaloa (ocean deity), the many islands of Papahānaumokuākea, and the akua (ancestral gods) and ʻaumākua (ancestral guardians) represented by the diverse forms of life residing within this vast ocean area, Moananuiākea. These relationships are tended to and perpetuated in a variety of ways as part of a collective journey to care for these kūpuna (ancestral) islands. Since the beginning, the torch of expansive ancestral knowledge and connection has been passed down over generations by hulu kūpuna (esteemed elders) and it continues to burn intensely, lighting the path forward. The kūpuna will continue to lead and navigate the path well-traveled, continuing to seek knowledge as an ancestral practice. The past will guide the future. The undying flame guides us on the path towards the ancestral islands in Pō as an extension of the way we mālama (take care of) the places in Ao (realm of the living).
Hulu kūpuna have strongly advocated for the long-term lasting protection of Papahānaumokuākea, and navigated us towards a shared vision and a collective journey of caring for this sacred place: "I ka wā ma mua, ka wā ma hope," meaning looking to the past to guide the future (Kameʻeleihiwa 1992). In moving forward with a sanctuary designation, we seek to honor their legacy and build upon their foundation, so that Papahānaumokuākea will continue to thrive in perpetuity for many more generations to come.
