The Villages of La‘i‘opua last month celebrated the first educational canoe constructed on Hawaii Island in almost three decades.
Community members and cultural practitioners on July 10 gathered on the grounds of La‘i‘opua 2020 where the wa‘a had been constructed under the direction of Iko Balanga.
“It all started one day with a conversation while sitting on the couch,” Balanga said to community members at the celebration. “Wouldn’t it be nice to have a wa‘a? And I said ‘let’s build one.’ This whole thing is not about me and my family, it’s about us. All of us.”
Chadd Paishon, Pwo/Master Navigator and Cultural Advisor of the project, gifted a genealogy chant to the wa‘a, named La‘i‘opua.
The chant, “Au e Ua Hiti E” written in 1995 by Pua Case and Halau Hula Ke‘alaonamapua is one used to welcome sailing canoes. La‘i‘opua was inserted into the chant to honor the new vessel.
Translated, the chant says: “At long last the La‘i‘opua have arrived…Yes it has arrived. Said of a fast traveler. Said of a courageous person. Indeed it has arrived. Pitch in with a will by everyone and the work is quickly done. Hunger is satisfied or one has arrived. Bring forth the canoe in the night, in the light, in the light, in the night. The canoe will journey in the sea and return, La‘i‘opua…Indeed it has arrived.”
“It is an honor anytime we are able to come together as a community,” Paishon said. “Our voyaging canoes are able to connect us. Forty-five years ago Hokule‘a set sail and returned to Tahiti, connecting us again.”
Paishon said there are currently 28 canoes sailing.
“That’s who we are. That’s where we come from,” he continued. “We cannot sail by ourselves. We need the community.”
He said the wa‘a is our mother. “We care for the wa‘a like we care for our mother and the captain is our father.”
“We can only do it because we come from amazing communities,” he said, noting the last voyage of Makali‘i was solely stocked with provisions harvested and prepared by members of the Big Island community.
La‘i‘opua was a collaborative effort between Balanga, his brother Jun, community members and students. The double hull canoe is made of sapele and poplar wood with a fiberglass finish.
On July 10, demonstrations and hands on learning in lashing, weaving, knots and pa‘i ai (undiluted poi), all instrumental in a sailing canoe were passed down to a new generation. Although the hulls are complete, the flooring between the hulls and sail rigging still need to be completed before launching the wa‘a.
Rooting the culture deep in the land and supporting the community for growth and expansion are at the heart of La‘i‘opua 2020, a nonprofit organization serving the residents of Hawaiian homelands, the Villages of La‘i‘opua, the Kealakehe ahupua‘a and surrounding areas. “This canoe belongs to the community, La‘i‘opua, and beyond; passing on the knowledge for generations to come,” said Kawehi Inaba, Board president, L2020.
“We’re excited to keep it going,” Balanga said.