by Mahealani Lujan and Kamakani Albano
Tahiti Nui
“A Moʻolelo of Remembrance”
Na Kamakani Albano
I wake up this morning
knowing the wombs I come from
Papahānaumoku’s womb connects Tahiti to Kalihi
A familiar taste on my mother tongue
Papa’s breath grows from ʻulu leave
Ia Ora Na, she greets
High tides pulled by mahina
Kānehoalani peeks through the clouds of Papenoʻo
I remember a motherly presence
when each stream meets the kai
Nui ka wai a Kāne i kēia fenua
ʻĀinamoana breaths life of expansiveness and vastness
an oceanic womb of remembrance
fenua rises from the waves of Papa’s womb
like my mother ascended into pō
two years ago / two days in māʻohi nui
re-membering pilina / stories reconnected
Haumea travels from Tahiti to Kalihi
Today, I am a child of Kalihi in Tahiti
This is a moʻolelo of remembrance
facing towards our kūpuna,
we see the future in their eyes.
To be in Māʻohi Nui, at this moment in time, is to re-member a deeply intimate relationship to the ocean that connects us to our Pasifika relatives and also the birthplace of life in the Hawaiian cosmogony. In the Kumulipo, all life was birthed in the ocean, born from the generative darkness of pō. In her piece, “He Pūʻao ke Kai, He Kai ka Pūʻao (Ocean as Womb, Womb as Ocean),” kuʻualoha hoʻomanawanui writes that the “Kumulipo reflects an ‘Ōiwi understanding of mo‘okū‘auhau (genealogy), which demonstrates our intimate, familial pilina (kinship) connections to the flora, fauna, and natural elements of our world that originate through a birthing process starting within our ocean, the womb of Papahānaumoku, our mother earth” (2022)1. As Kānaka ʻŌiwi, we venture on this huakaʻi as an act of aloha to our island earth mother who births all connections between Māʻohi Nui and Hawaiʻi. As I am writing this piece, I am thinking about my makuahine—whose ashes were dispersed into her puʻuhonua: ʻĀinamoana—and whose ʻŌiwi body continues to be cradled by Papa’s womb and remembered by Haumea’s navigation from Tahiti to my ʻāina hānau of Kalihi, I begin to feel a sense of healing knowing that these wombs connect me to fenua, an intimate articulation of ocean feminisms. This also means recognizing the political struggles in violence against the ocean that connects deeply to one another.
In October 2023, a petition was started by the environmental organization, Vai Ara o Teahupoʻo, to save the Teahupoʻo reef from destruction by the construction of an aluminum tower as part of the 2024 Olympics’ hosted by France for its surfing competition. Without an ecological impact study and despite over 257,000 petition signatures in opposition, the aluminum tower was constructed, resulting in the drilling of the reef. 2Cindy Otcenasek, president of Vai Ara o Teahupoʻo recounted that “In Polynesian culture, gods are present everywhere, in the coral, in the ocean…the ocean is considered to be the most sacred temple” (Cole, 2024). The Kumulipo reveals that the first life form born from the womb of Papahānaumoku was a coral polyp. For us to stand here and look out towards Teahupoʻo knowing the violence that the ocean has endured in the name of the olympics, enabled by French colonialism in Tahiti, is a contemporary political issue we as ʻŌiwi must remember and know that our confluences of pilina with Tahiti means that we have a kuleana to stand with our Māʻohi relatives. This comes with today’s Election Day, where the right-wing seeks to take over the French government, resulting in the calling of an emergency election with today being the first of two rounds of parliamentary elections. We see from these political struggles that a free Tahiti, a free Māʻohi means a free Hawaiʻi. Our liberation struggles are deeply connected, just as our stories and kūpuna continue to be.
As we traverse across Tahiti, we plant our wāwae into a place that feels new, but beautifully familiar: Tautira. An hour’s drive from Papeete is Tautira, a village that is the home port of the Hōkūleʻa, Uncle Sam Low writes in his written moʻolelo “Tautira: Hokulea’s Home in Tahiti.” Recounting the ways that Hōkūlea’s members were cared for during their arrival in 1976. Nainoa Thompson said, “I learned from the people of Tautira that there are other ways to measure wealth besides the things that you accumulate. The people of Tautira are extremely happy when they see that we are happy. When they give to you they feel rich themselves. That is what Tautira is all about.” Today, we were greeted by the mayor, elders, and community members of Tautira, including those who care for Hōkūlea’s crew members today. The exchanges between Tautira and Hawaiʻi continue to strengthen our pilina, just as we arrived today, when a vahine greets us by proclaiming, “Welcome home.” As we see the kinolau of Papa everywhere today, I feel we have truly returned home.
Conservation Efforts & Practices in Tahiti: Tautira, Taravao, Teahupoo, Vaimā
In the 1880ʻs King Kalākua created the Hawaiian youth study abroad program. He selected haumana to travel around the world to collect information and obtain skills that were beneficial to bring back to Hawaiʻi. On todayʻs huakaʻi we will be exploring Tautira, Taravao, Teahupoo, and Vaimā in Tahiti. Here I will be able to see firsthand how Tahitians manage their natural resources and acquire vital information that may be helpful to aid in the issues Native Hawaiians are facing.
Tahiti faces the same conservation issues as Hawaiʻi. Issues like climate change, tourism, and degradation of natural resources are of the highest concerns with the locals. The issues has negatively impacted their islands with coral bleaching, wildfires, drought, and loss of native species. Tahitians have an ancient practice for resource conservation called Rāhui. This is almost identical to the Native Hawaiian ahupuaʻa and kapu systems.
Presently, Tautira uses rāhui to protect the natural resources in the area, allowing for natural replenishment and restoration so that the next generations have resources available. On the Tautira coast traditional fishing practices are still prevalent, and the landscape is abundant with coconut palms, breadfruit, and pandanus. There are also mineral resources such as volcanic soils that support agriculture and horticulture3.
In Taravao, the natural vegetation is abundant and includes coconut palms, pandanus, hibiscus, and tropical fruit trees. Also the streams including Papenoʻo are flowing all the way down to the coast and sustaining all the vegetation. Unfortunately there are lingering threats to those natural resources. Due to the economic growth the demands for supply causes more environmental degradation. Unsustainable practices in forests, watersheds, marine environments, and mineral resources result in resource exacerbation.
Teahupoo is home to over one thousand species of fish, making it the most biodiverse aquarium on Earth4. Historically in Hawaiʻi the kapu system was in place for many reasons but one was to allow natural replenishment. In Tahiti they refer to that as rāhui. They currently implement the same rāhui restrictions here in Teahupoo to protect and conserve the fish species5.
Beyond the lush Pacific ocean waves in Vaima flows a freshwater spring. The Vaima spring is said to gain its strength and healing properties from a god named Faaravaianuu, an eel god. It is home to freshwater eels.
How does the Summer 2024 Olympics affect the natural resources of Teahupoo, Tahiti? Locals worry that the destruction caused by the upcoming Olympics such as the judging tower and building new infrastructure will cause irreparable damage to the coral reef6.
In Hawaiʻi it seems we are in constant fight with preserving our cultural heritage, practices and conserving our natural resources. The lāhui can help prevent further environmental degradation by holding ourselves accountable for our kuleana as Kanaka. As the Tahitians use rāhui, Native Hawaiians need to come back to their roots of interconnectedness with ʻāina. We are the protectors and need to accept our kuleana7.
Highlights from Today
- hoʻomanawanui, kuʻualoha. “He Pūʻao ke Kai, He Kai ka Pūʻao (Ocean as Womb, Womb as Ocean): Mana Wahine Aloha ʻĀina Activism as Return, Revival, and Remembrance.” Amerasia Journal 48, no. 2 (2022): 107–123. ↩︎
- Cole, Daniel. “Hundreds are set to descend on Tahiti for Olympic surfing. Can locals protect their way of life?,” The Associated Press. Last modified February 19, 2024. https://apnews.com/article/olympics-surfing-paris-2024-tahiti-teahupoo-c4ceff2ccaaf4cd4e0b9f554093bd54b ↩︎
- UCSB Bren School of Environmental Science & Management. Rāhui: Supporting Traditional Resource Management with Contemporary Conservation in French Polynesia Date: May 18, 2022. UCSB Bren School of Environmental Science & Management.Rāhui: Supporting Traditional Resource Management with Contemporary Conservation in French Polynesia | UCSB Bren School of Environmental Science & Management ↩︎
- Smithsonian Magazine. (2019). Rāhui and the Art of Marine Conservation. How an Ancient Practice Aids Marine Conservation | Smithsonian (smithsonianmag.com) ↩︎
- UNESCO Courier. (n.d.). Tahiti Lagoon Rescued by Tradition.In Tahiti, a lagoon rescued by tradition | The UNESCO Courier ↩︎
- Hawaiʻi Public Radio. (2024, March 20). Scientists anticipate costly damage to reef below Teahupoʻo Olympic tower.Scientists anticipate costly damage to reef below Teahupoʻo Olympic tower | Hawai’i Public Radio (hawaiipublicradio.org) ↩︎
- BBC Travel. (2022, August 19). Hawaii’s ancient land management system.Hawaii’s ancient land management system (bbc.com) ↩︎