.png)
Mauloa
Reawakening
The maiden voyage of Hokule`a in 1976 sparked the reawakening of older canoe traditions and practices in Hawai`i, and in the late 1980's the Polynesian Voyaging Society began a search for Koa trees to build a sister voyaging canoe, using traditional materials. After years of searching in Keauhou on the slopes of Mauna Loa, it was determined that there were no Koa trees large enough to support the construction of that type of vessel. Leaders of the Tlingit and Haida tribes offered two Sitka spruce logs from their Alaskan forest, and these logs were shaped to build the hulls of Hawai`i Loa, Hokule`a's sister voyaging canoe.
Papa Mau
Pius "Mau" Piailug, the Satawalese navigator who guided Hokule`a to Tahiti in 1976, and re-taught Hawaiians the Art of Way-Finding and the skills of Celestial Navigation, was the mentor to the search team. The search team would go out in the morning, and return to the base camp for lunch under a Koa tree, and continue their search in the afternoon. Although they could not find trees big enough for a voyaging canoe, the crew still wanted to learn how to build a canoe with traditional materials, traditional tools, and traditional protocols and chants.
Koa Tree
One day while having lunch under the same Koa tree, Papa Mau told the crew, " You guys not paying attention" , because the crew had not noticed the Koa tree they were sitting under and the signs of visiting birds and the structure of the tree. He told the crew, " This tree wants to go. with you and become a canoe". The crew looked to Papa Mau for assistance because there was no master canoe builder in Hawai`i experienced in carving a canoe using a stone adze or Ko`i. Mau agreed to teach them, and in 1991 the process of taking a child of the forrest to become a child of the sea began.
Nā Kālai Waʻa
On the slopes of Mauna Loa at Keauhou, the crew began the process by learning the traditional protocols and chants of the wa`a, and ceremonies were held to ask the tree permission to be cut down. Stone adzes made of Basalt were gathered at Keanakako`i quarry located at the 12,400 foot elevation of Mauna Kea. The Ko`i were blessed on the shores of Punalu`u beach in Ka`u. The falling of the tree was blessed with the "magic" of our ancestors, and a ceremony was held for the crew to be named Na Kalai Wa`a, the canoe carvers. The log was taken to where the carving would be done at Honaunau, and the crew would spend their first night with a new child of the sea.
Hālau Wa'a Pu'uhonua
'o Honaunau & Nā Kāla'i Wa'a
The Mauloa log was transported from the Keauhou forest in Kaʻū to the hālau waʻa (canoe shed) at Puʻuhonua o Hōnaunau National Park in Hōnaunau, South Kona. The kapu space was maintained in the hale, where only men were allowed to enter to work on Mauloa, and traditional clothing was highly encouraged.
Nā Ao Koa ʻo Puʻukohola served as kiaʻi and the keepers of the ceremony. Hālau Kealaonamaupua was called in by kupuna to document and record the stories that were unfolding in real time.
Mauloa was built to ensure that another generation of Hawaiian men would know the skill of searching for and finding the appropriate tree in the forest that would allow for the art of traditional canoe carving to continue. This intention of NHCAP meant that skills of various intelligences would be introduced to these men and that they would collectively learn as a whole, the multiple layers of canoe skill and building. This meant that the training for Nā Kālai Waʻa was essential. They came together twice month from throughout Hawaiʻi to Hawaiʻi moku to make their own tools, to learn the natural resources needed to aid in the the pratice, and to “become pili” with the the kanaka they were learning from.
The spirit of Mauloa became as familiar to them as the backs of their hands. Papa Mau taught them the value of both the stone and metal adze blades, the timing of when to use them, and the effects that would come through when used for the necessary purpose. Both stone and metal blades were used to carve Mauloa into existence, with each stroke.
Native Materials
Mau guided the kalai wa`a on creating the tools needed, and the process of carving a canoe from a log. He taught them how to pick the right coconuts, how to soak the husk in the ocean, how to dry and clean the husk, how to make strands from the fibers, and how to make cordage for the wa`a. The crew learned how to harvest, soak, and shape Hau to make the Iako's and Ama. The kalai wa`a learned how to gather sap from the Ulu trees to make a traditional form of caulking and water proof sealant. They learned the process of gathering Hala leaves to be woven into the sail. The kalai wa`a learned how to make the traditional coating, with Mai`a and Kukui Nut oil, for the outer layer of the canoe to protect it from the ocean, from Aunty Marie and Uncle Sonny Solomon of Kohala.
Preparations
In the Nā Kālai Waʻa tradition, every canoe is born. The birth of a canoe is no different from the birth of a child. The whole village comes together to prepare.
While the process of Kālai Waʻa (canoe carving) was predominantly a male activity, all genders were very much involved in the preparation for the birth of a canoe. As the launch date came into view, families of the kālai waʻa would gather at Honaunau over the weekends from all islands. They watched the men in their work, observed Papa Mauʻs mastery, assisted where needed, spent time in the kai, and provided sustenance as they worked. Na Ao Koa, Halau Kealalonamaupua along with members of the DOE kupuna program would also gather to prepare for future ceremony and document the becoming of Mauloa through oli and hula that would commemorate the canoe’s emergence into this world, and seal the kālai waʻa into a bond of family.
The men prepared the ceremonial foods and ʻawa dedicating each item to a specific function in the ceremony. Finally, all the preparations had been made for Mauloa. The individuals had been cleansed, the tools had been consecrated.
On a warm quiet morning in May 1993, the men, who had walked the path of their ancestors, gathered to celebrate their learnings. The prepared ʻawa was offered one cup at a time to each man. Their testimonies were shared in that intimate circle with singular intent. Men took on the mantle of Kālai Waʻa, canoe carver, in the traditional fashion, at that ceremony with the birth of Mauloa.
E Ola Mauloa
On May 15 of 1993, the single hull coastal sailing canoe was completed and entered the bay of Honaunau in front of the canoe hale where she was built. She was named Mauloa, in honor of Mau and all the ancestral knowledge he had passed down to the kalai wa`a. Mauloa became the Mama wa`a for Na Kalai Wa`a Moku O Keawe, which went on to build the voyaging canoe of Hawai`i island named Makali`i , led by Clay Bertelmann and Shorty Bertelmann, birthed on February 4th, 1995 in Kawaihae. Mauloa, Makali`i , and Na Kalai Wa`a Moku O Keawe continue to preserve, promote and perpetuate the art of traditional canoe building, modern canoe building, and the skill of Celestial navigation by passing this knowledge on to the next generation, with the goal of never losing this knowledge again. We honor the knowledge and traditions of our ancestors and kupuna, practice and share the lessons gained in the present, so that future generations of Hawaiians remember the genius, tenacity and skills of our ancestors.
