Beauty and the Beasts: The Art and Craft of Hawai‘i’s Big Game Lures
By Jim Harrold If you ever venture on a Kona sportfishing charter, you’ll likely note that the fanciful handcrafted lures trolled behind the boat don’t look anything like common bait for ono, mahimahi, ahi, and marlin. The colorful lure heads,…
Talking Story With Jerry Benson, Master Canoe Builder
By Mary L. Moody When I first met Jerry and Leina‘ala Benson in October 2011, I was unaware that their neighbor and good friend, Herb Kāne, had died earlier that year, in March. Having recently moved to the island from…
Kawaihae Canoe Club Celebrates 50 Years
By Jan Wizinowich It’s early morning at Kawaihae and outrigger canoes dot the horizon carrying the kūpuna paddlers. Soon, the men’s master crew will be gliding into the boat ramp after an early morning run heading north. A Matson barge…
On Hawai‘i Island You Can Pick The Weather You Want
By Walter Dudley One reason Hawaiʽi is known around the world as paradise is that the climate across our island chain is about as perfect as any place on Earth. But what many people don’t realize is that Hawaiʽi Island…
FreediveSafe! Hawai‘i: Lifesaving Training for the Next Generation of Spearfishers
By Sara Stover On a breezy Saturday morning at the beginning of the summer, 25 of Hawai‘i Island’s youth willingly gather in a classroom at Hawai‘i Preparatory Academy (HPA). Dylan Currier and Sandy Hammel of Freediving Instructors International are demonstrating…
Journey from the Land of Hibiscus to Hawai‘i Island
By Jan Wizinowich Although not native to Korea, the hibiscus has long been its national symbol. Probably originating in India, the hibiscus is easily transplanted, and endowed with adaptability. It most likely made its way north through China into Korea,…
Ipu Stories—From Seed to Stage
By Nancy S. Kahalewai There are few things as unique as the feel, shape, sound, texture, decoration, source, and even lineage of a Hawaiian ipu drum. Pahu (drums) are part of the bedrock of traditional Hawaiian hula traditions, dancing, and…
Birthplace of the Boogie Board: Wai‘aha Beach, Kona
By Fern Gavelek A small beach located just on the outskirts of Historic Kailua Village is officially the birthplace of the boogie board. Known by the local water sports community for decades, the designation was recently declared by state and…
Hank Fergerstrom’s Indomitable Spirit
By Ana Kahoopii and Tanya Yamanaka Unko Hank sits at an empty picnic table near the King Kamehameha statue on Hilo’s bayfront, the sun shining on this Valentine’s Day morn. The gold bodice of Kamehameha glitters behind him; the King’s…
Waipi‘o Valley: A Cultural Kipuka
By Jan Wizinowich It’s December 22, 2021 and Kūlia Kauhi Tolentino Potter greets volunteers from Sam Houston State University (SHSU) at the Waipi‘o Valley lookout. It’s pouring rain and a work day is looking doubtful, but they are full of…
Lost Bones of Kamehameha: Tyrone Young’s 1983 Discovery
By Melisse Malone Native Hawaiian Tyrone Young, age 82, was born in the wild isolation of Waipi‘o Valley. Now, he is coming forward to disclose details of his mana‘o (truth) about the most haunting event of his life that has remained unsettled…
Ikaika no Kohala: A Community Connects through Story and Art
By Jan Wizinowich When the historic Kohala Village HUB’s (KVH) main building was lost to fire in March 2019, a heart center of the community vanished. A year later Covid hit, disrupting community connections. These dual tragedies inspired folks at…
Ka Lei Aloha with Kumu Hula Lori Lei
By Nancy S. Kahalewai “I’m going to dance with them!” Lori Lei Shirakawa Katahara announced to her mom when she was only four years old. They were watching their family friends at a hula recital, and she started to get…
Traditional Hawaiian Lomilomi Is Alive and Well
By Nancy S. Kahalewai, LMT It wasn’t too long after the return of the inaugural Hōkūle‘a voyage, and wave of cultural pride in its aftermath, that Hawaiian lomilomi massage also experienced its own resurgence. Hōkūle‘a navigated the Polynesian triangle, sailing…
Makahiki at Mālamalama
By Stefan Verbano Students at Mālamalama Waldorf School in Kea‘au will ring in the Makahiki season a little differently this year. Gone will be the crowds of spectators, the buffet tables groaning under the weight of steaming pots of taro…
A Wa‘a Named La‘i‘ōpua
By Gayle Kaleilehua Greco Being birthed on the ‘āina of Hawaiian homelands at the Villages of La‘i‘ōpua in Kailua-Kona is a wa‘a (canoe) by the same name, La‘i‘ōpua. Not since the Makali‘i was constructed in 1993, has there been an…
One Hawaiian Voice: Kimo Pihana
By Karen Valentine It is truly rare to know a pure-blood kanaka ma‘oli (native) today, as most Hawaiian koko (blood) is mixed with that of many other heritages. Kimo Keli‘i Ka‘aha‘aina Pihana is a 100-percent Hawaiian man. Much of Kimo’s…
The Fate of Ahu‘ailā‘au ~ Shrine of the Forest Eater
By Stefan Verbano Every footstep crunches on the way to the summit. A strange, brittle ash coats the land, heaped in golden hills in some places; in others cut away by rivulets of erosion from three years of tropical rainstorms.…
Photos, Recycling, and the Blues: Paul Buklarewicz’s Sustainable Combination
By Catherine Tarleton What do a professional photographer, blues harmonica player, and recycling educator have in common? In the case of Paul J. Buklarewicz of Volcano, they’re all the same guy. A modern-day Renaissance man, Paul is a career educator,…
Ikaika Dombrigues: Perpetuating Sacred Hawaiian Wisdom
By Mālielani Larish Wearing a black hat brimmed by a brilliant red feather hakupapa (hat band), Kahuna Nui O Pali Tu Po Paki O Lono Ikaika Dombrigues is as calm as Hiloʻs Mokuola (Coconut Island) on which he sits. Ikaika…
M. Kalani Souza: Storyteller, Scientist, and Spirit of the World
By Brittany P. Anderson The cobalt blue ocean moves gently across the horizon while an azure sky is dotted with wisps of cotton candy clouds—it is an idyllic day on the Hāmākua Coast. A grounding voice breaks the silence, like…
Talking Hula with Kumu Aloha Victor
By Karen Valentine The conversation begins with a hug, even in the time of COVID-19. This serious kumu hula (hula teacher) tests himself regularly, not only for the health of himself and his students, but in life itself. After entering…
Aunty Aloha Shares the Gifts of Ho‘oponopono
By Catherine Tarleton It’s all experience. Have you ever thought you were doing something for somebody, and it turns out they’re actually doing something for you? That’s what happened with this writer and Allysyn “Aunty Aloha” Ahuna Bezilla, grandmother, devout…
Stories in the Stars: Constellations Hawaiian Style
By Leilehua Yuen In January, four of Leilehua Yuen’s paintings of Hawaiian constellations were put on display in the Visitor Information Station of the Ellison Onizuka Center for International Astronomy. She began research for the illustrations more than 20 years…
Sharing Aloha Spirit Worldwide
By Catherine Tarleton What does Aloha Spirit look like in places outside of Hawai‘i? To find out, we asked an ipu (gourd) artist who grows them in both Kona and California, a kumu hula who teaches in Asia and Europe,…
Kākau: The Nearly Lost Art of Hand-tapped Polynesian Tattoos
By Star Bolton The Polynesians were a seafaring people who navigated the seas and settled in several of the islands of the Polynesian triangle (the Hawaiian Islands being at the top most northern point). The further south you travel, you…
Hawaiian Naming Traditions: A Cultural Legacy
By Jan Wizinowich According to Ka Haka ‘Ula O Ke‘elikōlani College of Hawaiian Language professor Dr. Larry Kimura, Hawaiian language was and still is a “treasure house embedded with the whole way of seeing the world. It adds to the…
The Bray ‘Ohana—A Talented Family’s Deep Connection
By Catherine Tarleton The story of the Bray ‘ohana reaches back through generations—from Hawai‘i, back to Tahiti, back to ancient knowledge, history, culture, and wisdom. “I have a book written by my great-grandfather,” says Lelehua Bray, hula teacher, travel professional,…
Tūtū Lanakila Manini: A Hula Gem and Hawaiian Music Renaissance Torchbearer
By Lara Hughes Hose Lanakila Manini, known to many affectionately as Tūtū (grandpa) “Kila” Manini, has been singing and playing Hawaiian music for more than 50 years. Kila, who turns 89 in 2020, got his musical start in 1966 in…
Kai ‘Ehitu: An Outrigger Team Remembers Its Roots and Its Papa
By Sara Stover “Never forget your roots,” Puamaile Kimitete insists. Her mother Augustine, sister Healani, and brother Richard all nod their heads in agreement. “Even though he lived in Hawai‘i for over three decades, Papa never forgot his Tahitian roots.”…
