The annual Mauiki‘iki‘i O Ke Kauwela, Summer time Solstice, ceremony, at Pacific Missile Vary Facility, PMRF, honors the previous ancestors of western Kaua‘i, and locations in ‘everlasting relaxation’ the iwi kūpuna, or historical stays, found on the set up over the previous 12 months.
“We’ve the connections to the land and the ancestors,” PMRF Cultural Sources Supervisor and Archaeologist Tara del Fierro stated on the annual Mauiki‘iki‘i O Ke Kauwela ceremony, on the Lua Kupapa‘u O Nohili Crypt at PMRF. “The iwi is now resting right here for his or her everlasting relaxation.”
Lineal descendants of western Kaua‘i gathered for the ceremony on June 21 that included track, hula, prayers, blessings, and an providing of leis and flowers that had been gently positioned on the crypt, in tribute to the ancestors whose stays had been found over the previous 12 months at PMRF.
PMRF Commanding Officer Capt. Brett Stevenson offered a ho‘okupu, or providing of respect, inserting on the crypt a local naupaka plant from Kuaki‘i, or Divers Touchdown, the place main storm surge had revealed iwi kūpuna. The intent of this providing was to create lasting connections to the location, and for the plant to be integrated into the design of a brand new crypt to be constructed there.
“PMRF has a sacred responsibility to look at over the sanctuary and make sure the care of the iwi kūpuna,” Stevenson stated. “PMRF is honored to be included within the broader ‘ohana, or household, of the descendants.
“Our duty in creating this sanctuary will all the time endure. It’s one in all my most vital obligations,” he stated.
The earlier night, the descendants gathered for a sundown ceremony during which the iwi kūpuna was interred within the crypt, entombed into their moe loa, or everlasting relaxation, del Fierro stated. The crypt was resealed, for the final time, since a brand new crypt is to be added to the location, she stated.
The descendants characterize Na Ohana Papa O Mana, or the households of Mana, whose ancestors had been interred in western Kaua‘i. Iwi kūpuna relaxation all through the seven miles of shoreline and different places at PMRF. Shifting sands, wind, storm, tidal surge and local weather change lead to a altering pure panorama that reveals the normal burial websites from untold years in the past.
When iwi kūpuna are found, meticulous care is taken to make sure the stays are processed in accordance with Native Hawaiian traditions and customs, in session with the lineal descendants, del Fierro stated. The choices, she stated, are to rebury the stays, or conduct an archeological course of to inter the stays on the crypt in the course of the Summer time Solstice ceremony.
“This course of is a sacred responsibility that honors the iwi kūpuna and preserves the connections to the previous,” she stated.
“The Summer time Solstice ceremony is a time to reaffirm the dedication to mālama, or to look after and shield, the iwi kūpuna,” del Fierro stated. “It is a chance to focus on the kuleana, or duty, to take care of lasting connections with the lineal descendants, burial council and others for the care and safety of ancestral stays.”
