Strategy...

This ancient pohaku is a papamu, a game board for the ancient chiefly game of konane. Depressions carved into their massive surfaces hold alternating 'ele'ele, black, and ke'oke'o, white, pebbles of rock or coral. It is kind of like checkers. You move either a kanaka 'ele, or kanaka kea, up and over your opponent and eat them. Lele and then 'ai kanaka. A kapu existed during the game of silence. Kamehameha the Great was a reknown strategist who mastered this game. His strategies worked wonders on the battlefield as well where he fought successive battles to ultimately unite all the Hawaiian Islands into a single Kingdom. He may have played on this particular pohaku papamu at some time in the past. It was massive. Due to this possibility, I didn't touch it. It wasn't my place to touch it. At least not today. It did, however, serve as a contemplative reminder of how critical strategy is when fighting battles to save the Hawaiian culture from continued destruction. It gave me my strategy for the day before I entered the courtroom minutes later. The brutal honesty of truth. The pure aloha of humility. And the light and love of Ke Akua...