ALOHA KE ALA POLOHIWA A KANALOA (The Black Glistening Path of Kanaloa) DECEMBER 21-22, 2014!!!! In honor of this years Polohiwa (solstice) 2014—I wanted to share a little about the origins of Mauna Kea Ceremonies overseen by Unkos Kaliko Kanaele, Kahu O Te Rani and the Royal Order of Kamahemeha and Mauna Kea Anaina Hou in our modern era. I will also share about the Polohiwa in general as many people ask about it. The information towards the bottom of the page comes from a piece I previously posted about the Polohiwa time in general but especially for the big shift of the ages in 2012. THE STORY MAUNA KEA SUMMIT LELE Sometime in 1999, I was approached by members of the the Royal Order of Kamehameha I, Heiau Elua Mamalahoa including then Ali`i Aimoku Paul K. Neves, Unkos Genesis Leeloy, Kaliko Kanaele, Kimo Pihana and Kahu o Te Rani about placing a lele atop the summit for the purpose of protecting our sacred space and also to open the space for the people to give offerings. Kahu had instructed me that we must align it to the star and heavenly lines. I had been working to find the location of where our people had observed the Polohiwa originally but I was unsure of the exact location. I had been working with Aunties Kamakahukilani, Kawena Johnson and Unko Kahu O Te Rani. To make a long story short by a combination of Aka Ku (Mahalo Ke Akua) and then observation of the sun during the Polohiwa we could perhaps interpolate and would be able to realign the position of the lele to the stars and adjust for the leveling of the puu and the newer telescopes that were now in the way of the original place of observation. (NOTE: the current Lele position is adapted but is correctly aligned to the correct stars and heavenly alignments for this Wa and time (with in the 26,000 year cycle). Also the original Lele has since been removed by the University Office Of Mauna Kea Management and while we have had to replace many times they continue to remove it again and again. We now must bring a Lele up with us every time we do the ceremonies). ...but enough about the UH ...back to the story! The Aka Ku explained the positioning to me, but the true test would be to try to predict how sun would fall across the landscape (which puus it would hit) if the vision was correct. So we had to observe it and if correct the sun would hit the puu in the precise moment of the Polohiwa. Mahalo Ke Akua, as we observed on that day at the precise moment it did as was predicted. So everything was ready. So for the next Polohiwa we made ready and brought the Lele to the Summit and placed it in accordance to the star and heavenly alignments. But that afternoon when were were pau placing the Lele a big storm began to move in. That evening the storm hit closing the whole mountain down and that meant no observing and everyone was ordered off the Mauna. The Storm brought extremely high winds, ice and snow that ended up blocking the roads for days. But as soon as the road was opened I was the first person up to check the road for the other telescopes people--but in my heart I was concerned I wasnt sure if the Akua would accepted our Ho`okupu --- where they pleased with the Lele would it be received? I thought surely after such a storm the Lele would have blown away. The wind was so high the wind metres were frozen and they stopped on 100 mph. But when I reached the summit the mist were clearing aways I cold barely make out the tiny outline of the Lele. and what a sight it was to see, the Lele was still there even after 100 mph winds ...the Lele was still standing. A miracle!!! I had to hiked out to see it because I could barely believe it. It was so beautiful as it was completely encrusted ice and snow!!!! Even the Malie Lei was encrusted in ice --- blowing in time and frozen in time. And as the sun rose the sun rays would hit the ice make rainbows everywhere. It was beautiful!!!! I cried tears of amazement and utter joy as I stood there looking at it. I will remember that image forever--beautiful!!!! I called everyone to tell them the prayer was good the Lele was still there!!!! This is the story of the Lele and why it stands (of course when the UH has not taken it down) and why we continue to celebrate the Polohiwa Time. In doing so are transformed because we are in the time of the heavens and we are honoring the Akua and the natural rhythms of our world and nature. In our modern time it can be difficult to remain clear in our hearts and mind because we have been forced to track the time of Empire (the old Roman empire) rather than keeping the Polohiwa time. Lets us return to the right time!!!! And feel the Aloha in the time of the Akua!!! Wishing you all great blessing of Aloha, Peace, Truth, Joy, Happiness, Prosperity and Freedom this Makahiki! May all things righteous be fulfilled. Remember no matter where you are please join us in celebration of Aloha!!!! Aloha Mauna Kea!!!! Lonoikamakahiki!!!!! ORIGINALLY POSTED ON 2012) Aloha, As we approach the sacred time of “Ke Ala Polohiwa a Kanaloa” or “Winter Solstice” (December 21, 2012) there is much to celebrate. This year’s Polohiwa is exciting because this time marks the completion of what is known as the Precession of the Equinoxes. The Precession of the Equinoxes is a measure of the wobble of the earth’s axis, and the time it takes for the wobble to make a complete cycle, a period of about 26,000 years. During this Polohiwa, the sun will cross the plane of the galactic center, making this heavenly event so auspices. In Hawai`i we refer to the summer solstice as Ke Ala Polohiwa a Kane, winter solstice as Ke Ala Polohiwa a Kanaloa, spring equinox as Ke Ala`ula a Kane, and autumnal equinox as Ke Ala Ma`awe`ula a Kanaloa. The winter solstice, Ke Ala Polohiwa a Kanaloa—The Black Glistening Path of Kanaloa, is when the sun hits its farthest point south in the sky, occurring in December. The summer solstice, Ke Ala Polohiwa a Kane—The Black Glistening Path of Kane, is when the sun reaches its most northern point in the sky, occurring in June. The equinoxes occur when the sun crosses the equator (Ka Piko o Wakea). The spring equinox, Ke Ala`ula a Kane—The Dawning of the Path of Kane, occurs in March and the autumnal equinox, Ke Ala Maawe`ula a Kanaloa—The Red Track or Tentacle of Kanaloa, occurs in September. (For more see, The Kumulipo Mind: A Global Heritage In The Polynesian Creation Myth, 2000 A.D., copyright 1999, printed here with the permission of Mrs. Rubellite Kawena Kinney Johnson.) I’m sure many of you have heard several predictions about this particular solstice, from doomsday scenarios to the shift of the ages heralding the great shift in human consciousness. While I support the great shift in consciousness over the doomsday scenario, I am sure many of you might be wondering…really…what does it really matter? Why should we care or celebrate? Who needs to keep track of this time? After all, we have GPS and the `Imiloa Astronomy Center, right? It may sound like I’m picking on the `Imiloa guys. That’s because I am, but only because recently one of their representatives was on NPR attempting to debunk the Polohiwa or Precession of the Equinoxes altogether. While it is true that knowledge of the precession existed thousands of years before modern science and therefore may not be claimed by modern scientists per se, it does mark some of the earliest known science of mankind and should be acknowledged as such. Therefore I really don’t feel so bad if I chide whoever that was on the radio. What the heavens have in store for us during this sacred time only the heavens know for sure, but I would like to speak to the very special aspects of this time, space and science that help open our minds go into the great mysteries of the universe. We celebrate the great mysteries and all that our ancestors handed down for us to cherish, honor and continue. It’s an opportunity to reexamine and challenge ideas that no longer serve us, such as the “myth of progress” or the idea that each generation will have greater understanding than the last generation. Or, put another way, that it is not possible for the ancient peoples to actually have known more than we do today. On the contrary, this Polohiwa will demonstrate that, in fact, what the ancients knew thousands of years ago, we would do well to re-learn again in order to help the earth, the human race and all life in these most troubling of times. We continue our work to protect Mauna Kea from further destruction, seeking to protect the sacred site that links us directly back to the beginning of time or at least back to the last precessional period 26,000 years ago. The Mayan peoples are hands down the best timekeepers that history has ever known. For example, their traditional calendars are able to count out to something on the order of six million years, thus making a mockery of modern calendars. Most of the ancient peoples, including Native Hawaiians, kept track of the movement of the sun, celebrating the annual solstice and equinox periods as well. The Celts, Egyptians, Chinese, Arabs and Middle Eastern shamans, astrologers and holy people all performed the ceremonies and honored these sacred times. According to Hawaiian scholar Mrs. Rubellite Kawena Kinney Johnson, “The Hawaiian Chant of Creation, known as the Kumulipo, is an ancient chant comprised of more than 2000 lines. It is a genealogical chant, containing 2000 names representing 812 generations. The sum of linear time in that history is about 22,300 years, or roughly one precession of the equinoxes dating back to about 21,000 B.C. ” (Printed with the permission of Mrs. Rubellite Kawena Kinney Johnson, The Kumulipo Mind: A Global Heritage In The Polynesian Creation Myth, 2000 A.D., copyright 1999) Despite the fact that we Hawaiians experienced a major interruption of our cultural traditions and that many wisdom keepers died of disease during the time of great death, and considering that in fact the Kumulipo may be proto-Polynesian (meaning that it was actually composed before our ancestors came to Hawai`i), our contemporary understanding is that the stars’ journeys do not lie, the precessional archeological dating system is certain. So long as you can determine which star(s) the ancients were tracking, you can go back and date the shrine or site. These facts are known by many of you who, for over a decade, have participated in Polohiwa ceremonies with the Mauna Kea Hui --We began as soon as we could properly identify the ancient reference points where our ancestors originally stood to mark the solstice and equinox. Because development on the summit has erased these points, we have had to adapt. Nevertheless, we continue to ascend to the summit and other areas atop Mauna Kea so that we can continue our traditional cultural practices. We strive to be in touch with the ancestors, to live in harmony with Papa (Earth Mother) and Wakea (Sky Father) with the hope that we may glean even the slightest understanding of the great mystery of our universe. To return to our question: who cares about how the old people kept track of time? Keeping track of the earth’s wobble, the sun’s extreme positions, the seasons and the motions of other key celestial bodies is important because it is about keeping track of the true time — Nature’s time, not the time created by empire (i.e., Roman Empire). This is the time of Nature and is the time that keeps us in touch with Nature, with the natural cycles of the heavens and earth. Tracking the sun helps guide our growing and harvesting but, more importantly, it is needed to track annual time in the context of the much greater time frame of the Precession. Keeping track of that wobble was important because, relative to earth, the pole stars appear to change over time. If the pole stars change, it drastically impacts our navigation. If the poles are changing, then over time our knowledge must change to reflect these changes or we will get lost and, for us Polynesians especially, that means getting lost at sea. For example, thousands of years ago our navigators and star people developed a system that allowed us to circumnavigate the globe and to people the tiniest islands scattered across the largest ocean on earth, the Pacific. We did this before the birth of Christ and at a time when few on earth were employing a similar method of ocean voyaging. These long-distance voyages are still considered among the greatest feats of mankind. Modern science, on the other hand, would come about thousands of years later. And while it’s true our people did not do what Pythagoras did, or what modern astronomers do today with technology, they did develop a system of advanced mathematics that allowed them to understand and determine that the earth was round and to develop the concept of a celestial equator. If this were not the case they could not have found tiny little islands across a vast ocean with any accuracy at all. If your measurements are off by only a few degrees, you will get lost at sea because even tiny discrepancies in measurement of the sky translate to hundreds of miles on the ocean. The idea that so many ancient peoples understood this concept of Precession (over 30 cultures are known to have measured it) is amazing in and of itself. It would take about 70 years for a single person to realize that such a motion (about one degree every 70 or so years) was actually happening and then another great leap of consciousness to understand it would take about 26,000 years for the Precession cycle to be completed. How the ancient peoples of the world came to this knowledge is truly amazing. The solstice and equinox ceremonies are specifically dependent upon our ability to observe and track the motion of the sun and other celestial bodies in order to find our way in space and time and to determine when and how to perform certain activities for the care of the land and sea. Our traditional resource management models are dependent on these ceremonies. Ancient knowledge relating to our relationship with other Pacific peoples is also a part of these traditions. But still, what about GPS? While it’s true we can find our way with GPS and keep good enough time because we can look at our watches and say it is such and such a date, day and time (in the 24 hour/7 days per week cycle), this information is incomplete if it is not measured against the greater context of the 26,000 year cycle. And what happens when the battery on that GPS goes down while you are out in the middle of the ocean? You are okay if you have been trained in non-instrument navigation, but what if you are not? The purpose of keeping track of the 26,000 year cycle is important because it keeps us in touch with something greater than our selves, keeps us in touch and in harmony with the whole of Nature and the great mystery of the Universe. So while it’s okay to keep those watches ticking and the GPS tracking, let us not forget the amazing knowledge our ancestors left us to pass down to future generations. It is this knowledge that instructs us on how to live in harmony with the world around us and how to have compassion to care for the `Aina and the people so that we may all live on. So no matter if you are on the summit of Mauna Kea, at other sacred sites, or just at a special place that has meaning for you, may this be our prayer for celebrating the ascension of all of mankind, may we join in spirit and together enter into oneness and may all things righteous be fulfilled. May we always remain in Aloha. Aloha Ke Akua, Na Akua, Na `Aumakua. Kealoha Pisciotta President of Mauna Kea Anaina Hou and Founder of Kai Palaoa
Posted on: Sun, 21 Dec 2014 21:52:55 +0000
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