UH Mānoa kumu: Spread aloha not germs

University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa
Contact:
Moanikeʻala Nabarro, (808) 600-4084
Spokesperson, UH Communications
Posted: Mar 13, 2020

Students asked to show aloha from afar
Students asked to show aloha from afar

LINK TO VIDEO AND SOUND (details below): https://bit.ly/2TNi6Iz

CLICK HERE FOR FULL STORY: http://go.hawaii.edu/f8A

WHO- University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa Hawaiʻinuiākea Faculty (Kumu) 

WHAT- UH Mānoa Professor Lilikalā Kameʻeleihiwa generated the term, Kapu Ola Aloha (a loving restriction that preserves life), asking everyone to continue to show aloha but with no physical contact in the face of the pandemic. She is asking students and the public to avoid the Hawaiian custom of honi or greeting each other with kisses and hugs as a precautionary measure to prevent contracting COVID-19. 

WHY- The kapu or restriction is being suggested as another line of defense in the fight to prevent the spread of the virus.

HOW- Kameʻeleihiwa suggests that people greet one another from a distance. Faculty and staff at Hawaiʻinuiākea are teaching students to practice Kapu Ola Aloha as a way to protect themselves, ʻohana and the community.  

OTHER FACTS:

  • Honi is a customary Hawaiian practice that can range from greeting someone with a kiss to pressing noses and inhaling. 

  • Kumu at UH Mānoa say the kapu will be lifted after the COVID-19 outbreak is contained. 

VIDEO BROLL (53 seconds)

  • Wide of Kameʻeleihiwa teaching class

  • Students practicing Kapu Ola Aloha in class (blowing kisses)

  • People greeting each other without physical contact 

  • Wide of students on campus at UH Mānoa 

SOUNDBITES: 

Lilikalā Kameʻeleihiwa, Professor, UH Mānoa Hawaiʻinuiākea 

(9 seconds)

It’s really difficult not to hug and kiss. And yet the ones that we love the most are the ones that we might be endangering if we do so.

(15 seconds)

We don’t want to change who we are as Hawaiians. We want to have aloha especially for our family, but right now even for my grandchildren, I can’t hug them because we all may be infected without knowing it yet.