Voyaging proverbs will be the themes of the annual Lei Day celebrations for the next four years in recognition of the Hokule‘a’s Moananuiakea Voyage, Honolulu’s Department of Parks and Recreation announced.
The four proverbs were selected from Mary Kawena Pukui’s “Olelo No‘eau,” and each depicts different aspects of a canoe voyage, a new release said.
“We’ve done things like colors or islands,” said Parks and Recreation culture and arts coordinator Arlene Lardizabal, who helped select the themes. “But I believe this is the first where we wanted to pay respect to other cultural things that are happening.”
The Moananuiakea Voyage is a four-year, 43,000- nautical-mile journey to circumnavigate the Pacific, and it launched June 19. Its goal is to develop young leaders and engage communities around the world to take part in navigating the earth toward a healthy and thriving future.
Ideas for the next Lei Day celebrations were being considered while the Hokule‘a was in transit to the Moananuiakea launch site in Alaska, Lardizabal said. The plan was to decide the themes for the next four years, which is also the expected duration of the Moananuiakea Voyage.
“The Hokule‘a stands for so much, and that’s something that lei makers have as well,” she said. “They want to perpetuate culture, they want to educate people and they want to share their knowledge.”
The proverb chosen for 2024 was “Komo mai kau mapuna hoe,” meaning “dip your paddle in,” the news release said. The theme material selected was ti leaf, and the year’s lei court will be between the ages of 18 and 30. 2024 will also mark the 50th anniversary since the Hokule‘a was built, said Hokule‘a crew member Kaiwi Hamakua-Makue.
2025 will mark the 50th anniversary of the Hokule‘a’s first launch from Kualoa. The year’s theme will be “Ho‘okahi ka ‘ilau like ‘ana,” meaning to “wield the paddles together.” The theme material will be hau, and the lei court will be between the ages of 31 and 45.
The 2026 theme will be “Mai ka ho‘oku‘i i ka halawai,” meaning “from zenith to horizon,” while the theme material will be sweet potato, and the lei court will be between the ages of 46 and 60.
The 2027 theme will be “Pae mai la ka wa‘a i ka ‘aina,” meaning “the canoe has come ashore.” The theme material will be kou, and the lei court will be of ages 61 and up.
Hamakua-Makue last week returned to Oahu from Canada, where he spent about four weeks voyaging as a crew member on the Hokule‘a. Seeing the Hokule’a and the Moananuiakea Voyage recognized by the parks department in this way is something he said he’s grateful for.
“That way, conversations and connections (about the Hokule‘a) can happen organically,” Hamakua-Makue said. “Especially as a Pacific Islander and as a Hawaiian, stories are how we continue to cultivate conversations around that.”
For Lardizabal, sparking conversations about the Hokule‘a and its current voyage is precisely the intention.
“Hokule‘a is just so inspirational … and this is just what I thought would really, really help bring to light all the things they do,” she said.
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Linsey Dower covers ethnic and cultural affairs and is a corps member of Report for America, a national service organization that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on undercovered issues and communities.
