Ku makou e hele nei me kuʻu mau pokiʻi

Ku makou e hele nei me kuʻu mau pokiʻi aloha,
Ka ʻaina a makou e ʻike ʻole ai ma lalo aku nei,
ʻAʻe makou me kuʻu pokiʻi, kau i ka waʻa,
Noʻiau ka hoe a Kamohoaliʻi....
These are the first lines of a traditional chant for the epic journey that Pele and her clan embark upon to foreign lands.
The first line states, Here my beloved siblings and I stand in preparation for travel.
The second line states, To lands beyond unknown and unseen to us.
The third line states, We and my siblings embark aboard the canoe.
The fourth line states, The paddle of Kamohoaliʻi is adept.

These lines were chosen to illustrate the traditional preparation, embarkment and experiences of a Hawaiian clan to lands beyond their own. Allegorically, this chant also illustrates the journey that three Hawaiian women have also begun. So, let us look at the lines of the chant as it applies to our new expedition.

Ku makou e hele nei me kuʻu mau pokiʻi aloha,
Here I stand with my two admirable siblings. My siblings are Kuʻulei Birnie and Alohalani Brown. My name is Kalei Nuʻuhiwa. We have joined together for many reasons that Iʻm sure this blog will share. These two women and I are friends and sisters, passionate about our children, our mana wahine and our involvement with the revivication & continuum of things Hawaiian. We are preparing to go to Italy & Greece.

Ka ʻaina a makou e ʻike ʻole ai ma lalo aku nei,
To lands that we have not yet experienced beyond our borders. Both Kuʻulei & Alohalani have been to Italy. Kuʻulei is a world traveler & Alohalani lived in Italy for many years. Iʻve never been to Italy and collectively, we have not been to Greece. I go to seek the different waters of Kane & fires of Pele within these countries. Water to flow... Fire to glow...

ʻAʻe makou me kuʻu pokiʻi, kau i ka waʻa,
My siblings and I dare to launch upon this venture together aboard this canoe of self discovery and reconnection. Self discovery of our own personal journeys of the past, present and future and the reconnection to family, to history, to water, & to fire.

Noʻiau ka hoe a Kamohoaliʻi
Kamohoaliʻiʻs ancestral knowledge of foreign lands will guide us througout our trip in Europa. We will tap into our ancestral knowlege, our DNA, to find that which feeds our fire and that which ebbs and flows the tides of our waters.. The Ahi within us- that spark that may change oneʻs path or that spark that feeds our passion in what ever matters to us. The Wai within us- Wai as water, wai as the repository, wai as mana, wai as who our water source is or who our family is, wai as our kino wailua or spiritual essence. We go to see the canonization of Father Damien, with other Hawaiians as Maʻi Hoʻokaʻawale or Maʻi Aliʻi has affected every single Hawaiian in one shape or form. We go to acknowledge the sacrifice our Hawaiian families endured through this disease and the sacrifice Father Damien made to help those inflicted with the disease. We also go to honor our family members who were torn from their existence and left at Kalawao. We go to reconnect with family members.

Hawaiians have been to Europe before and I will try to post stories from the Hawaiian language newspapers that prove this statement.

It is with great pleasure that I invite you to come with us on our adventure called: Naleialoha i Italia. Kuʻulei & Kalei are Nalei and aloha is Alohalani. We are Naleialoha.....

ʻAʻeʻaʻe kau i ka nalu, Embarking upon the waves,
He nalu haki kakala, These are breaking waves,
He nalu e ʻimi ana i ka ʻaina e hiki aku ai.... These are waves seeking land to arrive upon.

~Kalei Nuʻuhiwa
(c) 2009 Kalei Nuʻuhiwa