Hōkūle‘a Stops in Hāna for 9th Annual Limu Festival

Hōkūle‘a and her crew joined Nā Mamo O Mū‘olea and East Maui communities in celebrating the 9th Annual Limu Festival, held Nov. 17-18, 2017., in Hāna.

The community event is organized by Hāna residents and celebrates the many aspects of a healthy shoreline ecosystem, from limu (seaweed), to seabirds, to fish and more.

Hōkūle‘a crew members arrive at Hāna Bay for the 9th annual Limu Festival. PC: © 2017 Kaipo Kiaha

Hōkūle‘a approaching Hāna Bay for the 9th annual Limu Festival. PC: © 2017 Kaipo Kiaha

Hōkūle‘a approaching Hāna Bay for the 9th annual Limu Festival. PC: © 2017 Kaipo Kiaha

Hōkūle‘a crew members arrive at Hāna Bay for the 9th annual Limu Festival. PC: © 2017 Kaipo Kiaha

Hōkūle‘a crew members arrive at Hāna Bay for the 9th annual Limu Festival. PC: © 2017 Kaipo Kiaha

Hōkūle‘a crew members arrive at Hāna Bay for the 9th annual Limu Festival. PC: © 2017 Kaipo Kiaha

Local students and keiki greeted Hōkūle‘a as she entered Hāna Bay Harbor early Friday morning.

At the E Walaʻau Kākou Talk Story on Friday night, communities shared about how they are keeping their Promise to PaeʻĀina. The ‘Opihi Partnership also reported how community-led monitoring and voluntary rest areas are improving ‘opihi populations.

Also on Friday night, members from Maui Nui Makai Network talked about their journeys on creating subsistence fishing communities: Uncle Mac Poepoe shared about Hui O Moʻomomi and its journey to becoming a Community-Based Subsistence Fishing Area; and Scott Crawford presented Kīpahulu ʻOhana’s efforts to do the same.

“He waʻa he moku, he moku he waʻa – The canoe is the land, the land is a canoe. And like the waʻa and the crew which we care for, we must care for the land and its people. This is why we are at the Hana Limu Festival – to give back to the people and community who supported Hōkūleʻa’s voyage,” said Hāna’s own Nakua Konohia-Lind, who was elevated to captain for Hōkūleʻa’s sail into Hāna.

Kalaionamoku Luka Mossman of the Kanakaʻole Foundation and the Hale O Lono Fishpond hosted manaʻo on the theme of this year’s Limu Festival: Makawalu, which means to move forward as the he’e does, feeling in all directions to make pono choices for the future.

The Hōkūle‘a crew–including Captains Russell Amimoto and Nakua Konohia-Lind, Eric Co/Castle Foundation, Manuel Mejia/The Nature Conservancy, and LorMona Meredith/PVS Promise to PaeʻĀina–were on-hand to share about the Worldwide Voyage, Mālama Honua, and how the Promise to PaeʻĀina is manifesting locally and globally.

The crews participation is part of the Polynesian Voyaging Society’s Mahalo, Hawai’i Sail to thank Hawaiʻi’s people, bring Hōkūleʻa and Hikianalia home to all of Hawaiʻi, share lessons learned from the Mālama Honua Worldwide Voyage, and deepen the organization’s connection and understanding of the important work being done here in the islands to care for the earth.

On Saturday, hundreds of people from across Maui and Hawai‘i attended the Hāna event. Participants were able to tour Hōkūle‘a, and outreach activities were held regarding healthy shorelines, marine animals of all kinds, limu, and more. The festival also included local music, food, hula, local crafts, and a silent auction benefiting the Dr. Isabelle Aiona Abbott Scholarship for the ‘ōpio of Hāna.

“Celebrating limu and Hāna is one way we keep the Promise to PaeʻĀina. Going forward, we will seek to be makawalu in our thoughts and actions: like the he’e with his eight tentacles, we will move forward, feeling and searching from many directions to understand our surroundings and make pono choices for our future,” said Claudia Kalaola, Vice President and a director of Nā Mamo O Mū‘olea.

“We will look beyond what is right in front of us to find balance and mālama our future world that our kūpuna will pass on traditions in, we will raise our ‘ohana in, and our keiki will grow old in. We will choose makawalu as the eyes through which we see our ocean resources and the communities that benefit from our oceans. And we’ll have fun doing it at events like our wonderful limu festival,” Kalaola added.

Every year, the Limu Festival promotes a deeper understanding of the inherent connectivity of Hawai‘i’s ocean and freshwater that provide a home for limu, fish, plants, and a vibrant fishing culture rich with traditional knowledge. Native limu is a nutritious part of a traditional Hawaiian diet, but also has vital importance serving as the base of the food chain, providing food and shelter for Hawai‘i’s invertebrates, and ensuring the overall health of Hawai‘i’s nearshore ecosystems.