Hawaiiana classes online!

A'o Makua classes are offered through Kamehameha Distance Learning Program. Here are the classes I took:

1. Mo‘okū‘auhau (genealogical story) “Ola Nā Iwi” The bones live - said of a respected oldster who is well cared for by his family. (Pūku'i, 2488)
Let us honor and care for our kūpuna (ancestors) by learning about their mo‘olelo (story) and perpetuating their values and beliefs. This course introduces the mo‘olelo of creation by focusing on the Kumulipo (Hawaiian creation belief) and the Story of Hāloa. You and your ‘ohana will be able to make personal connections to these mo‘olelo by researching and documenting your own mo‘okū‘auhau (genealogy).

2. ‘Ōlelo Hawai‘i: “E Ola ka ‘Ohana” – The family lives.
At the core of Hawaiian being is the family. In the first Papa ‘Ōlelo Hawai‘i or Hawaiian Language course vocabulary and sentence patterns will focus around the concept of ‘Ohana (family). Course activities will include practice exercises, a short ha‘i ‘ōlelo or speech in which each participant gives basic information about themselves, and a recitation of mo‘okū‘auhau (genealogy).

3. A‘o Makua: “Mālama ‘Āina” – To care for the land.
He ali‘i ka ‘āina, he kauwā ke kanaka. The land is a chief; the man is its servant. This course will focus on sustainability of our resources. The course explores traditional ways Hawaiians lived to allow for preservation. You will learn the deeper purpose for why the Hawaiians hold the land so important. The knowledge acquired from these concepts will hopefully encourage you and your ‘ohana to apply them in everyday life.

I thought it might be wise to take several A’o Makua (Instruction, teaching, doctrine, learning from our parents) classes offered by Kamehameha Distance Learning Program – Mālama ‘āina (To take care of, tend, attend, care for, preserve + protect the land, earth) the Mo‘okū‘auhau (genealogical story) Ola Nā Iwi Hawaiian Cultures, and ‘Ōlelo Hawai‘i: E Ola ka ‘Ohana (Introduction to Hawaiian Language) classes – at the same time to compound my knowledge. It would be extra work to take all three classes in a six-week time frame, however the sweet payoff of being immersed in “Hawaiian-ness” would be exactly that – immersion – deep learning in a short amount of time, about different facets of my heritage. An analogy would be like participating in a study abroad program where a student not only studies the language, she learns about the food, history and customs of a fascinating culture. I was hoping to build a strong foundation for the long dissertation work ahead.

As luck would have it, all three courses were offered just as I was ready to start my ILA! It wasn’t actually luck; the experienced kumu (teachers, educators) knew exactly what they were doing when they planned the curriculum! Little did I know how profound the synergy would be for my learning. Valuable resources were revealed, like Ulukau (www.ulukau.org), which is the Hawaiian Electronic Dictionary, Baibala Hemolele (www.baibala.org), also known as the Hawaiian Bible, and Huapala (www.huapala.org), a site that houses Hawaiian Music and Archives. I made delightful yet fundamental discoveries about Hawaiian epistemology, like how the concepts of ‘āina (land), ōlelo (language), and culture are derived from the Kumulipo and wili (entwine) together seamlessly. For the Kanaka Maoli (n. Full-blooded Hawaiian person; wehewehe.org), there was no separation between spirituality and their gods, lāhui kanaka (mankind), and the ‘āina (Nā Waiwai Hawai’i part 1, 1987) which belonged to the gods (Dunford, The Hawaiians of Old, p. 40). I found that learning about traditional Hawaiian values was a natural and organic, fluid process; indigenous values are foundational to the Hawaiian way of thinking, and these values will be discussed throughout this essay.