Project Reflection
By Mercury Oandasan
As a young kid I had visited the Outrigger quite a few times to go hang out on the hammock, eat at the all you can eat buffet, or to watch my cousin Eileen dance hula in the main lobby. While growing up I did not really pay that much attention to the Heiau, but I do remember seeing a lot of rubble and large cobblestones in a collapsed shaped mound.
I attended an orientation about a Plane Table Mapping project called Hui Kaha Pohaku in the Kealakehe High school library. While I was in the orientation Uncle Mahealani described what we would be doing on the worksite, and also showed us a slideshow from the last years group showing us how fun it will be while working hard and learning at the same time. I was really interested in this project so I signed up for the field trips.
At the first field trip, students from a Hawaiian Immersion School, who arrived before us, accompanied our students. Uncle Mahealani discussed how he would like us to act on the site, shared with us the history of the Heaiu surrounding the Kahalu’u Ahupua’a, and what we were going to do on the site for the day. On arrival we observed trees that have been cut down all the way around Pao Umi Heaiu, but there were still trees standing inside of the Heaiu. We were instructed to clear all of those trees out by the end of the day. Everyone lined up in a single file line from the Heiau to a pile of debris and we all passed it all down and added our rubbish to the pile. We finished in less than one hour, which was really fast to me. I think teamwork was a typical Hawaiian way of doing things.
After the fieldtrip was over I thought about how hard I had worked, all the information I learned about the heiau and about Hawaiian culture, and laughed to myself. I felt that ever since the beginning of the year I knew a lot about the Hawaiian culture and heiau. After attending the Hui Kaha Pohaku fieldtrips I have learned a tremendous amount of information about the Hawaiian culture, and have gained more respect towards my teacher Mr. Lowery than when the semester began. I used to think that every thing he talked about in class was useless and I would never need to use it. I thought it was boring until I was at the amazingly restored Hapai Ali’i Heiau. Everything he taught us in class helped me answer questions and understand what they were talking about throughout the rest of the fieldtrips.
My thoughts, beliefs, and feelings toward the Ain’a have changed since attending the Hui Kaha Pohaku fieldtrips. I have also changed my perspective and my point of view of how I look at things or talk to people. I try to look at everything with a positive thought in my mind. My belief in keeping the Ain’a clean and maintained has strengthened as I learned more and more about the Hawaiian customs in the old days, how they lived and kept their land clean with respect and love.
As I think back, I am really thankful for the experience I was given and feel that I have benefited from it. I learned a lot about the old Hawaiian culture which will help keep my perspective more spiritually based and my respect towards other peers at a high level. I want to try to treat everyone and everything the way I want to be treated. My knowledge will always be growing. Time will change and I will remember this experience forever. I find myself wondering what this area and the life of the area will be like 200 years from now.
