THE HISTORY OF KA HOU HOE WA`A HA`AHEO

Ha`aheo was an idea, and it should be created with a strong foundation. We wanted to build not only an outrigger canoe club, but a club that offers Hawaiian Culture as its main focus.

Ha`aheo is based on Hawaiian Culture, and not outrigger canoeing. The wa`a (canoe) is a tool for education.

HA`AHEO means PROUD. So we named this club "HA`AHEO", because we wanted everyone that became part of this ohana (family), to be "PROUD". Not only about being in this club, but also to be Ha`aheo about themselves.

After coming up with its name we found our core group and started to build the foundation for Ha`aheo. We also needed to find a wa`a for our club.

We were lucky to meet a Hawaiian by the name of Kevin Olds (from California). After speaking with Kevin and expressing my goal and intent, he offered to give us a wa`a that needed work. A few months later he contacts me and informs me that the wa`a is on the way to my home. One of his good friends (John SanDiego, from Arizona) had it and was dropping it off at my home by the weekend. With the kokua (help) of ohana and hoaloha (friends), John dropped the wa`a at my home.

After receiving this wa`a from Kevin, we where bless by meeting two other Hawaiians. We call them Anakala (uncle) Sam and his lovely wife Anake (aunty) Ku`ulei Medeiros from Petaluma California.

After we shared our mana'o with Anakala Sam, he was interested to kokua in any way he and Anake Ku`ulei could. After a few weeks, Anakala Sam gave me a call and he said that he had found a wa`a for us and it was only a few years old. It didn't have any major damage, and only the paint was starting to peel. He even offered that he and Anake would finance it for us, and we would make monthly payment until it was paid off.

When we went to Northern California to pick up the wa`a from Anakala Sam. John San Diego loaned his trailer to pick up the wa`a.

The trip to Northern California was a trip we all won't forget. The trip is 15 hours one way. So we decide to stay with some hoaloha (Eddie Pacanas), and continue the trip the next morning. The next morning we continued our travel to Petaluma. It was supposed to be another 7 hours of driving but we ended up in San Francisco, down town that is. My navigator gave me the wrong directions, so the 7 hour trip was now extended to 8 hours.

We finally got to Anakala & Anake's house. We went inside the house and talked story for a little bit before Anakala Sam showed us the wa`a. It was a "Bradley" and it looked good. She needed a little work, but she looked good. "HOLOKAI" ko`u inoa which means sea fairer or sea vessel.

We was supposed to spend just the night at Anakala & Anake's home but their "Mana"(Spiritual Power) and their "Mana`o"(Knowledge) was so overwhelming that we had to stay another night to embrace their mana`o.

That’s how Holokai came to us.

After receiving Holokai, we where bless yet again by meeting a very kind, loving, spiritual, giving and caring Hawaiian lady by the name of Anake Ululani, but most know her as Aunty Lillian. She has blessed us with her mana`o and her mana. She introduced us to a very knowledgeable Hawaiian man, and he has bless not only Ha`aheo but also my life. He is now our Kumu and he also sits on the BOD of Ka Hui Hoe Wa`a Ha`aheo. He is Kumu Keawe Menor of Oahu. With his mana`o of the Hawaiian history, culture, hula and language, he has brought to Ha`aheo what the founders where looking for.

With the physical kokua of Kumu, and the entire members of Ha`aheo and the mana'o of another Hawaiian gentle man Patrick Fishell, we where able to sand, prime, sand, prime, sand, prime, sand, paint, sand paint sand and paint Holokai into a beautiful wa`a that we have today.

Our blessing was done by protocol. We had asked a Native American Sharman (Eric) to be part of the blessing of Holokai, along with our own Kumu.

The blessing for many of us was very spiritual. It started out as just for the members of Ha`aheo, but then word got out and other canoe clubs wanted to come and watch our blessing. So we opened it up to those that wanted to come and watch the blessing of our club and wa`a.

On that day March 11, 2006. We thought that there would be about 50 to 100 on lookers. But that day started out cold, cloudy and rainy. When we got to Butcher Jones it was raining and cold. Ka Hui Hoe Wa`a Ha`aheo members where there. Before we started rigging our wa`a the Native American Sharman offered a prayer.  After he gave us his blessing to rig the wa`a it started to hail. After we rigged the wa`a the Sharman and our Kumu offered up the blessing. The rain lightened and the fog over the lake parted. Before we went out into the lake to offer up the Mohai (offering) the members of Ka Hui Hoe Wa`a Ha`aheo took part of the ceremony foods. Then during the eating of the ceremonial foods it started to snow.

After the ceremony food was eaten, the six paddlers got in the wa`a and paddled out into the middle of the bay and offered a pule (prayer) and the mohai to the lake. Then we paddle Holokai back to shore, then the members of Ka Hui Hoe Wa`a Ha`aheo performed two hula dances. The first Liliu E was done by the wahine (women); the E Ku Mau Mau was done by the kane (men). After the dance the blessing was ended with a few words by one of the founders.

After the blessing the Sharman informed us that there were many good omens at this blessing. He said that there was birds that followed us out into the lake and back to shore, and that these where prayer birds, the snow was the white spirit. There was also an eagle on the mountain top at the base of Butcher Jones. 

We feel that this blessing was not meant to be public. That this blessing was for Ka Hui Hoe Wa`a Ha`aheo and Holokai. And it was most definitely spiritual for all of us.

The following weekend is Aloha Festival. March 20^th 2006. Kumu Keawe was asked that Ka Hui Hoe Wa`a Ha`aheo be part of the opening ceremony of Aloha Festival 2006. Kumu Keawe thought that it would be a good idea if we came together with Kumu Kaimi’s Halau, and the other canoe club and perform a couple of hula dances. So we all came together as one Halau. By all of these different hui (club) coming together, we formed what the Hawaiians call “LOKAHI” or “UNITY”. Lokahi is what our ancestors did. They came together to work the ‘aina (land).

In about 6 weeks we came together and learned the hula and performed the opening ceremony for the Aloha festival. We showed everyone that a halau and canoe club can come together in Lokahi and accomplish a positive out come for the good of the community.

Ha`aheo is on it way to perpetuating the Hawaiian Culture the way it should be done, by protocol. And doing it for the keikis and for E Akua, E Kupuna, and E Aumakua (for God, our Elders, and Ancestors).

Come and be apart of our Ohana. Be apart of Ka Hui Hoe Wa`a Ha`aheo