Julie Kanealii didn’t know much about makahiki until 1991 when she saw a video of a Molokai event that revived that Hawaiian observance (see sidebar). "Everyone was having fun playing the ancient games of the ancestors, and it was obvious the community spirit was strong," said the co-owner of Makamae Weddings in Wainiha, Kauai. "The camaraderie was very powerful and infectious, and I thought it would be great to bring makahiki to Hanalei."

At the time, Kanealii was the coordinator for the Parent-Community Networking Center at Hanalei School. She enlisted the help of Pohaku Nishimitsu, coordinator for the state Department of Education’s Hawaiian studies program on Kauai at the time, and together they started an annual makahiki competition between fourth-graders at Hanalei and Kilauea schools (it’s still held every December).

Kanealii’s dream was to put on a makahiki event for the community as a whole, but when she left her position at Hanalei School in 1993, that idea was put on the back burner.

Fast-forward 20 years. In 2013, Kanealii became one of the charter members of a Hawaiian civic club called Ahahui Kiwila Hawaii o Moikeha. Thanks to a grant from Kauai County and the Hawaii Tourism Authority, the club spearheaded the inaugural Ka Moku o Mano­ka­lanipo Paani Makahiki in January 2014 at Waioli Beach Park in Hanalei.

"The name is a mouthful, but it communicates exactly what our event is about," said Kanealii, the event’s coordinator. "The word ‘makahiki’ by itself is very general; the makahiki season is four months long, and the games are just one part of it. The name of our event specifies ‘the makahiki games of Kauai island.’"

In olden days a formal procession made a complete circuit around each island to collect taxes during makahiki. Similarly, Ka Moku o Manokalanipo Paani Makahiki will be held in all major areas of Kauai over the next few years.

"We started it last year in Hanalei on the north side of the island," Kanealii said. "This year it will be in Kapaa in the east. Next year it will be in Koloa in the south, and in 2017 it will be in Waimea in the west. We’re excited to take our makahiki to different districts. There are makahiki events on other islands, but ours is the only one that we know of that will be held in different venues, and the response has been positive."

In addition to traditional games, attendees can look forward to ono food, displays on fitness and nutrition, a fair featuring items made on Kauai and demonstrations of lei making, stone carving and lau hala and coconut frond weaving.

"All proceeds will be used to perpetuate the event," Kanealii said. "Our goals are to instill a sense of pride in the Hawaiian culture and to help build healthy families and communities through exercise, fellowship and good food — the foundation for a strong body, mind and spirit."

Cheryl Chee Tsutsumi is a Honolulu-based freelance writer whose travel features for the Star-Advertiser have won several Society of American Travel Writers awards.

About makahiki

For four months in olden times, roughly from October through February, Hawaiians halted fishing, farming and warfare and instead spent their days feasting, dancing, playing competitive games and participating in religious ceremonies honoring Lono, the god of fertility, rain and agriculture.

This season, called makahiki, was also when taxes in the form of fish, feathers, taro, pigs, sweet potatoes, kapa (tapa) and finely woven mats were paid. Villagers made their offerings at ahu (stone altars) at the boundaries of each ahupuaa (land division extending from mountains to the sea).

Chiefs and priests led a clockwise procession around each island to gather the gifts. Carried in this procession, which took several days, was a tall staff representing the god Lono, which was embellished with a small carved figure and two white sheets of tapa attached to a crossbar.

The festivities began when all the offerings had been collected. Chiefs and commoners, men and women, competed in the sporting events, which included boxing, bowling, surfing, wrestling, foot races, spear throwing, canoe races and sliding down hills on sleds.

At the end of the makahiki period, chiefs lifted the kapu (taboos), and normal life resumed.

Let the games begin

Haka moa (chicken fighting): Contestants stand on one leg while holding their other by their ankle behind them. The object is to knock over your opponent or push him/her out of the circle.

Hukihuki (tug of war): Two six-person teams holding opposite ends of a rope try to pull the other team across a line.

Konane (Hawaiian checkers)

Kukini (run swiftly): 50-yard dash

Moa pahee (dart slide): A short, javelinlike wooden instrument must be slid on the ground between two pins.

Oo ihe (hurling spears): In old Hawaii, contestants threw spears at their opponents; at this event, spears will be thrown at banana stumps instead.

Pa uma (standing wrist wrestling): Contestants stand facing each other, with their hands clasped behind their backs and their right feet against each other. The object is to force your opponent off balance and to the ground without moving your right foot.

Ulu maika (bowling): A stone disc must be rolled between two pins.

Uma (hand wrestling): Contestants lie on the ground and clasp their right hands. The object is to force your opponent’s hand to the ground.

ADULTS ONLY (AGE 18 AND OLDER)

Kukini (run swiftly): 100-yard dash

Pohaku hooikaika (stone lifting): Similar to shot put, contestants throw a stone as far as they can. The winner is the one who throws the stone the farthest.

Ano koa kiekie: (decathlon): All 10 events