Shoreline Burial...

Once I received a telephone call from a woman who said she saw what looked like human bones on the beach washing around in the surf. It was in the afternoon and the area was on the other side of the island from where I worked. I made it out to the site in time before the Sun went down. I located two areas with our kupuna eroding out from the wave action and slumping sand. It was getting dark quickly. I collected as much remains as I could from the beach and found the two areas where the remains were falling out of their interment sites.

Luckily I had a bucket in the car. I poured sea water onto the sand and it helped expose the remaining iwi in the collapsing sidewalls. It turned out to be two kupuna. One of them, a female, had an infant on her chest. It was so small, it might have been stillborn. She might have died during childbirth and someone buried them both together. The other burial was a single adult. Darkness quickly came and in the fading light, I collected what I could before the tide came in. It was a very sad feeling. I don't know their story. All I know is that someone loved them and probably cried their heart out when the died. And I loved them too. They were reburied further inland. I hope the sea level doesn't rise too much. Or more of their 'ohana will undoubtedly come tumbling out...