O Kualoa, O Na Kanawai No Ia O Ko Mau Kupuna: Reviving Buried Ideas of ʻĀina Through Moʻolelo, Moʻokūʻauhau, and Aloha ʻĀina

Abstract

The ahupuaʻa of Kualoa of Windward Oʻahu was considered one of the most sacred places on the island traditionally. Understanding that ahupuaʻa is a system of land management that perpetuates natural abundance, recent scholarship proposes their palena (place-boundaries) connect people to spiritual resources as well. This thesis attempts to explore wahi kapu through place-based analysis, and contextualize why this analysis is important in a larger Kānaka Maoli national consciousness. Structured around three key themes: moʻolelo, place, and aloha ʻāina as Hawaiian nationalism, this research uses existing literature to help frame how Kualoa is wahi kapu, and what it means for a place to have spiritual abundance. As a result of loss of language, land, and culture, Kānaka Maoli experience historical trauma that is perpetuated by persisting discrimination and oppression. However, explicit research is sorely needed in trans-generational transmission studies focusing on the strengths that are passed down to descendants. By adopting a strengths-based perspective, the concept of inherited resilience is carried into how aloha ʻāina and nationalism is defined and explored to comprehend a uniquely Hawaiian nationalism. Moʻolelo from Kualoa are used to expand on ways to see ourselves as a Lāhui, and methods of how to see ourselves as a Lāhui. Resulting conclusions drawn in this research are part of a purposeful strategy to combat historical trauma by embracing inherited resilience in order to transform the violence of trauma into strategies of restoration and empowerment.