Fun and games, Hawaiian style
Patrick Ka‘aihue tossed an oblong wooden bat during a game of moa pahe‘e, which requires a competitor to throw the bat between pegs.
It’s not just about fun and games. It’s about carrying on the centuries-old traditions of the Makahiki, the Hawaiian New Year festival.
Duke Kahanamoku Challege Duke Kahanamoku Beach & Hilton Hawaiian Village Makahiki games » ‘Ulu maika (stone bowling). Player bowls a stone (or wooden disc similar to a hockey puck) between two pegs. Stone must roll completely through the pegs and player cannot cross the throwing line. |
‘Ulu maika (stone bowling) and moa pahe’e (dart sliding) are two of the Makahiki games that will be contested Sunday at the Duke Kahanamoku Challenge. Formerly known as the Ala Wai Challenge, the event’s primary focus has been on canoe races for the past 25 years.
However, inclusion of the Hawaiian games has become a popular and integral part of the annual benefit for the Waikiki Community Center.
"These games are ancient and we do what we can to keep them alive," said Keolu Bento, the head advisor of Liholiho Dormitory at Kamehameha Schools.
Bento and student boarders will run the competition. Because of the move to the sands of Duke Kahanamoku Beach from the grass at Ala Wai Park, Bento is having to adapt to the change in playing surface as well as eliminate some of the events due to safety concerns.
Don't miss out on what's happening!
Stay in touch with top news, as it happens, conveniently in your email inbox. It's FREE!
Gone from the schedule is o’o ihe (spear throwing), a favorite of Patrick Ka’aihue, a freshman boarder from Waimea on the Big Island.
"You throw three wooden spears into a banana tree trunk," he explained. "It only counts if the spear stays in the trunk."
Instead, he and freshman Alika Kaahanui from Molokai will be among the boarders demonstrating techniques for ‘ulu maika and moa pahe’e to participants.
The boarders at Kamehameha Schools had their own Makahiki last fall with seven events. Kaahanui said his favorite was kukini (swift messenger or runner) "because I’m fast and don’t have the size the others have."
Kaahanui, however, more than held his own when competing against the taller Ka’aihue in haka moa (chicken fight). In that competition, a players hold their left legs with their left hands while grabbing the opponent’s right hand, trying to push the opponent out of ring or to the ground.
That particular demonstration ended in a draw, with both falling to the ground after a lengthy "dance."
Participation in the Makahiki Games is open to the public for a nominal charge. Competition is scheduled to begin at 10 a.m. Sunday’s other events include canoe races and an invitational stand-up paddle relay.
This year’s honorees are the late Mau Piailug, the legendary celestial navigator, and the Pi’ilani’a family, an ohana of canoe builders and paddlers.
