Kauoha...

I hadn’t planned on going to Kūkaniloko on Thursday morning because I had so much to do at work. I knew a hui was going from our conversations on Tuesday at Mauna ‘Ala. I would have loved to but there was too much going on in the office. However, on Wednesday night, I received text messages and a telephone call from a beautiful friend who has ‘ike papa lua. She asked me if I was free on Thursday to go to Kūkaniloko. I said it depended upon the urgency. She said she had attended a meeting and at some point, a female voice beckoned her out onto the beach. She recognized the woman as Kaomileika’ahumanu. The Chiefess of Kalanikūpule, ½ sister of Queen Ka’ahumanu, and a beautiful consort of Paiea. She is the true mother of Kauikeaouli, Kamehameha the III, and her iwi awaits kanu back at One’ula. Her profound ‘ike envisions a white Heiau built from coral with the love of Ke Akua for World Peace, but that is a whole other profound mo’olelo to save for another time.

Kaomi gave a powerful message and vision to my friend. A hui was to descend upon Kūkaniloko the next day. It was critical to humbly ask Ke Akua to bring the Light and Love down from Heaven and into the ʻāina at Kūkaniloko, the piko of O’ahu. This was to help heal the land and Hoʻopulapula lāhui. Heal our Nation. More astounding was the vision shared by Kaomi of the island of O’ahu. Four conduits of energy underground, most likely lavatubes, with the flowing life giving waters of Kāne, emanated from this piko. There were blockages. Energy and spiritual.

As my friend described it, Kūkaniloko was like the heart and the four arteries throughout O’ahu were blocked. One led to Makua in Wai’anae. One led to One’ula in ‘Ewa. One led to Mapunapuna. One led to sacred Kualoa. The ceremony to take place at Kūkaniloko was described as well as the contents of the pūʻolo of ti leaf for the ho’okupu. In fact, all four corners had to be visited that day and the contents of each ho’okupu were specified, whether mai’a, ʻōlena, pa’akai, ‘uala, i’a and such. We had to honor Ke Akua and our akua. Kū at Makua in the land of Kāne. Kāne at One’ula. Kanaloa at Kualoa. Lono at Mapunapuna.

The energy needed to reopen and flow from Kūkaniloko to help heal O’ahu. Ka Pae ʻĀina o Hawai’i. Lāhui. I knew I had no choice but to go. The Pohaku Wānana o Pai’ea had to go to, as the embodiment of Ke Akua and ‘Io, as one in the same, he helps bring Light down from the Heavens. I went to bed that night with much excitement and gratitude to Ke Akua and our beloved kupuna for an opportunity to directly serve our ancestors for na Mamo o Hawai’i.

In the morning, I grabbed everything I needed, or thought I would need, from the list that played over and over in my head as I drifted off to sleep the night before. On the way to the office to pick up a few items, I received clarification from my friend that we all needed to hiuwai that morning. I was already running late but I knew that the brief thought that crossed my mind, of skipping this cleansing, because nobody would know, in an effort to save precious time, could be the one part which ruined the sanctity of the entire kauoha from Kaomi. I didn’t want that hewa on my conscience so I shot off to Ala Moana beachpark with Mr. Pohaku and headed for the water.

My car was full of things needed for the huaka’i and I asked Ke Akua and na kupuna to please watch over all my belongings as I entered the cold water. The dawn was breaking and I immersed myself and my lithic hoa aloha into the cleansing salt water as I asked Ke Akua for forgiveness and let go so much built up kaumaha. When I dunk Mr. Pohaku and he surfaces, water pours out of his eye sockets in a flood of tears. I know he enjoys it immensely. I didn’t want to leave the water but I had to because time was moving quickly in what would be a full day of ceremony, prayer, offerings, mihi, huikala, and driving to the four corners of the underground conduits of energy.

I picked up another beautiful friend, also called to the journey that day, and we gathered more cultural material from his home. We then proceeded down to Chinatown, to acquire fish, sweet potato, bunches of banana, and then off to another destination for ʻōlena. Fortunately, that morning, he and another participant, gathered ti leaves for the ho’okupu. I kept worrying we would forget some critical component. We finally shot out to Kūkaniloko as our phones were lit up with others who had also received the calling that morning. Some had to get out of work while others had to cancel appointments. It was important.

We arrived at Kūkaniloko and awaited near the roadway. Others were already inside the wahi kapu having arrived several hours earlier. A steady stream of tourists and visitors arrived, parked, and trekked in the long red iron-oxide dirt road. While waiting for others to arrive, we pondered whether we could avoid having such an audience during the ceremonies. Running constantly through our minds was the protocol, pule, oli, mental state, readiness, kuleana and sacredness of what we were tasked with. Finally, the others arrived and we proceeded towards the inner sanctum. We placed a call to a Kahu of Kūkaniloko to let him know that a kauoha had come from the other side of the veil and those of us who were called had began to gather. He gave us his beautiful blessings. From where we were on the road in, walking towards the pohaku la’a, we could hear two pahu resoundingly beating. Wahine were already positioned inside, and reminiscent of Hawea and ‘Opuku, the drums sounded.

We blew the pū as na koa inside responded with their powerful pū kani. Two Japanese women visitors and a young girl in a wheelchair sat on the side having arrived shortly before our entrance. I tried to focus on the ceremony ahead as I wanted to so much to hug that young beautiful disabled child and pray for her healing. They tried to stay still on the side realizing they were witnessing something profoundly real. They ended up leaving before we concluded our ceremonies so I wasn’t able to give my love to that beautiful little girl for healing. There was a lesson in that experience as well for me. About the healing gifts of love and Aloha. Not just for us. For all.

The oli were released into the air and the wind swirled the words around in an ethereal dance above our head seeking permission to enter and fill the space with our love. Embraces ensued. Tears and sobbing flowed. A beautiful kupuna from Rapa Nui joined in the ceremony. The presence of the women was strong. The beautiful pohaku spread before us embedded with the sacred blood and painful cries of both mother and child, of the most profound kapu. The creation of life. The gifts of Ke Akua. We were so humbled.

We moved forward in unison determining protocol, order, prayers, oli and ho’okupu literally on the fly, all emanating from the na’au tapped into the beloved guidance of our kupuna. We humbled ourselves. We expressed our love and appreciation. We asked for forgiveness and healing. We asked Ke Akua to bring the Light and Love down from the Heavens and fill that sacred wahi with all the power He could muster to help save this World. The winds picked up and blew strong in a beautiful affirmation like at Mauna ‘Ala a few days before.

After about an hour, four of us, two wahine and two kane, and Mr. Pohaku, departed to complete the rest of the huaka’i following the kauoha of Kaomileika’ahumanu. We said our goodbyes and expressed our love to everyone present, then set off to Makua.

Arriving at Makua, a few visitors mingled in the shade of the Keawe trees while we put together the pūʻolo for Makua and for Kū. We positioned ourselves on the beach and faced Kūkaniloko. The sound of pū filled the beach and echoed off of the sheer walls above the valley. Just then the wash from a rogue wave came high onto the beach and wiped the beach clean of our footprints in a beautiful show of force. “They are here…” exclaimed one of my gifted companions. Mr. Pohaku took his position on the coral papa and the ceremony began. Oli, ho’okupu, and prayers ensued. Then more oli. As we stood there in the Noon Sun, the energies of Kū and Hina were ever so balanced, as they were with the four of us. A vibrating energy emanated from Makua to be felt beneath our feet. When we finished, we thanked Ke Akua, na akua, na ‘aumakua, na kupuna. We began preparing for our next stop, One’ula. It was then that one of my gifted friends let me know that Kū had appeared during the ceremony and drank awa with the Pohaku Wānana o Paiea. I was so humbled, to tears. I thanked ‘Iesu for the honor and gifts.

We changed clothes and put our mea in the vehicles. My backseat was filled with vessels, ti leaf strewn about, kihei, pa’akai, and dried fish. When we drove off, we had to let the flies out of the car. My companion, a kindred spirit of Pa’ao, shared his ‘ike. I knew the mass of flies in our car was the Hōʻailona for Pa’ao’s canoe, Ka Nalo A Muia, the swarming of the flies.

We arrived at One’ula and took our place in the sacred area we knew about. By this time, we had our ceremony and protocol down better and the process was quicker, but just as powerful. We pulled that light and energy down from Kūkaniloko, underground, to One’ula with all the heart and vision we could muster. We honored Kāne and his life giving waters which flowed underground. I knew Kalo’i Gulch, which emptied near us, originated high up in Palehua at a place known as Wai Wānana. The Prophetic Waters. It seemed so fitting. Kaomi showed up and observed the ceremony. She then decided to stay there and let us continue our journey. I can not begin to express the love I felt for her. As she waved goodbye, I couldn’t bring myself to look in her direction.

We then began the long journey to Kualoa knowing that afternoon traffic would start building up. We arrived at Kualoa close to 5:00 p.m. and gathered our belongings and assembled the ho’okupu for that wahi and for Kanaloa. We positioned ourselves on the beach as a few local people mingled around not too far from us ending their beach day. The ceremony went beautifully and the spirit was profound. The other kane went to place the ho’okupu on a small rock wall twenty-five yards from the shoreline. After he did his prayers and placed the ho’okupu, the two gifted women received direction that he should hiuwai right there as a continuation of an earlier ceremony last year where Pa’ao arrived at the same spot and Kanaloa dunked Pa’ao’s head underwater while Pa’ao sought forgiveness from Kanaloa.

My hoa Aloha dunked his head and dozens of little fish jumped out of the water on the right of him, boiling the water momentarily, then to the left, the same sight. Dozens of small fish hopped out of the water in a little boiling mass. Then the fish swarmed all around him. We all cried at the beauty. Then Kanaloa emerged and approached the kane sitting in the water, and he alo a he alo, gave him a beautiful honi. One of my gifted friends exclaimed, “Kanaloa is going to honi each of us.” I stood there mesmerized by the feelings and sights, as the Sun pierced the grey clouds and dropped beams of light down to the ground above the sacred summit of Kanehoalani. We were so grateful and in awe. We wanted to savor the moment but we were running late to our last destination in Mapunapuna to greet Lono and help Kakuhihewa, the 16^th Century paramount Ali’i of O’ahu who recently emerged in interactions with workers in the area.

We arrived at the Mapunapuna warehouse where Kakuhihewa had been making his presence, and his displeasure known. We had already assembled the pūʻolo for Lono, Kakuhihewa and that wahi while we were in Kualoa to save time as it was already approaching 5:30 and we thought would take 15 minutes took about an hour of work at this location. We went through the protocols and ceremony. Adjusting the oli and pule as we went. The energies were difficult to get flowing. So many blockages. And the many kupuna who appeared from all over the area had difficulty in leaving this World and ascending into the light opened up for them. Many were pa’a and confused. The warehouse was hot, stuffy, suffocating. Oli, pule, and mele reverberated through the building as a few workers who understood why we were there watched from a distance. Tears fell. Emotions flooded the space.

The four of us and Mr. Pohaku worked as hard as we could with genuine pure light and love for our ancestors to help them ascend. I took direction from those with ‘ike papa lua, guided by the unseen. It was the most taxing part of the whole day. When we did as much as we could and were able to help many, not all, ascend, we ended our day. Kakuhihewa never spoke. He just observed. Nor did he ascend. Too much work left in this World. Too much unfinished business. The entire warehouse had a beautiful light airy feeling when we concluded. A far cry from whence we began in the suffocating kaumaha.

We hugged each other, gave our love an appreciation for a profoundly beautiful day, and departed for home and our awaiting patient families who don’t always understand the importance of the callings. Sometimes I even question myself. But I realize that there is much going on now in Hawai’i. There are others doing similar work on O’ahu and other islands based upon callings and kauoha from the kupuna. From the Ali’i. From Ke Akua. Heal the land. In turn, we heal ourselves.

Now I understood the message from Kanalani. Deliver the message. There is no more time to waste. Share the messages without fear of criticism or ridicule. Be honest, genuine and sincere. The shared experiences will resonate with some, not all. But for those who find meaning in the messages, the changes in life will be profound. And it is the profound changes in each of us which will lead to profound changes in our World. Mahalo Ke Akua. Mahalo e na akua. Mahalo e na ‘aumakua. Mahalo e na ‘uhane kia’i. Mahalo e na ‘uhane alaka’i. Mahalo e na ‘uhane kako’o. Mahalo e na kupuna. O Kane. O Lono. O Kanaloa. O Kū. ‘Iesu pū …