About Mālama Honua
Mālama Honua, the action to care for the island Earth. Mālama Honua is an important concept throughout all kanaka maoli within Hawaiʻi, expanding to even further destinations around not only the Pacific, but the world. It is also said throughout moʻolelo that if one takes care of the land, the land takes care of one. This has a clear meaning to it. It means that to recieve a positive outcome from the ʻāina, one must give and care for it first. For example, if one were to carefully and thoroughly interact with the ʻāina in the form of cleaning and harvesting the loʻi at great ability, the ʻāina will give back healthy, strong, and plentiful ʻai in return. What one puts in, is what is recieve back. With this concept previously learned, I strongly believe that it ties in perfectly with the term of “Mālama Honua”.
To be a haumana of Mālama Honua provides me with an important role and even more important expectations in a certain field. I am truly grateful to be a learning pupil in the class of Mālama Honua, especially because it will better my understanding of what needs to be done to keep the ways of ancient Hawaiʻi thriving. Within this class, I believe it will not only expand my knowledge, but also involve me in taking action to better support and work on the survival, as well as the revival of Hawaiʻi and its original ways.
The values in which I contain in relation to Mālama Honua vary. As a fellow Hawaiian, born and raised in a lifestyle heavily enriched and intertwined in the Hawaiian culture of my ancestors, I value many things. One value in which I contain relating to this course and its purpose/goals, is that I strongly value the life of the land. The land is sacred, and for it to thrive and continue to flourish, the role on the humans behalf is not only large, but the most important to partake in. I strongly express this value within my hometown of Waimānalo, Oʻahu too. However, I also value family in which acts as an anchor. A healthy family creates a backbone and gives one their most pure and strongest love they will ever experience throughout their life. With a thriving family, the care for one another is like no other, and it gives stability to all involved. Because of this, it exerts positivity and a healthy outlook on things, which then leads to good mana being put out into the universe. This results in many positive things in all ways. As I have many more values, the third yet most important value of mine is to always value my culture and those who have come before me. This is because as they are kūpuna to me, they paved the way for my course of life. They shaped our culture into being rich with an unbelievably sustainable future. As those who came before us lived their life, they did everything in their power to simply “Mālama Honua”. They gave our culture a great meaning, and I value that because as the culture fades and thigns change, I believe it is a necessity to take part in saving my ancestors old ways. The Hawaiian culture is a huge value to me, not only because it is amazing as to how they thrived, but because it is a part of me, a part of my blood.
As beliefs and values were spoken about in relation to Mālama Honua, I also consist of goals for myself within the course of this class, as well as continuing them even after the finishing of it. One of the many goals I have is to expand my knowledge on the care for the land. Not only this, but also how my ancestors came to be and why. I also set a goal for myself to hopefully be able to change or alter my mindset and understanding of things, from the role in which I should take, to why we need to do what we do in order to keep thriving and more. My main goal to achieve within this course however, is to take away things in which I could pass on to others so that the life of the land is able to “perpetuate only in righteousness” (-Israel Kamakawiwoʻole).
To be a haumana of Mālama Honua provides me with an important role and even more important expectations in a certain field. I am truly grateful to be a learning pupil in the class of Mālama Honua, especially because it will better my understanding of what needs to be done to keep the ways of ancient Hawaiʻi thriving. Within this class, I believe it will not only expand my knowledge, but also involve me in taking action to better support and work on the survival, as well as the revival of Hawaiʻi and its original ways.
The values in which I contain in relation to Mālama Honua vary. As a fellow Hawaiian, born and raised in a lifestyle heavily enriched and intertwined in the Hawaiian culture of my ancestors, I value many things. One value in which I contain relating to this course and its purpose/goals, is that I strongly value the life of the land. The land is sacred, and for it to thrive and continue to flourish, the role on the humans behalf is not only large, but the most important to partake in. I strongly express this value within my hometown of Waimānalo, Oʻahu too. However, I also value family in which acts as an anchor. A healthy family creates a backbone and gives one their most pure and strongest love they will ever experience throughout their life. With a thriving family, the care for one another is like no other, and it gives stability to all involved. Because of this, it exerts positivity and a healthy outlook on things, which then leads to good mana being put out into the universe. This results in many positive things in all ways. As I have many more values, the third yet most important value of mine is to always value my culture and those who have come before me. This is because as they are kūpuna to me, they paved the way for my course of life. They shaped our culture into being rich with an unbelievably sustainable future. As those who came before us lived their life, they did everything in their power to simply “Mālama Honua”. They gave our culture a great meaning, and I value that because as the culture fades and thigns change, I believe it is a necessity to take part in saving my ancestors old ways. The Hawaiian culture is a huge value to me, not only because it is amazing as to how they thrived, but because it is a part of me, a part of my blood.
As beliefs and values were spoken about in relation to Mālama Honua, I also consist of goals for myself within the course of this class, as well as continuing them even after the finishing of it. One of the many goals I have is to expand my knowledge on the care for the land. Not only this, but also how my ancestors came to be and why. I also set a goal for myself to hopefully be able to change or alter my mindset and understanding of things, from the role in which I should take, to why we need to do what we do in order to keep thriving and more. My main goal to achieve within this course however, is to take away things in which I could pass on to others so that the life of the land is able to “perpetuate only in righteousness” (-Israel Kamakawiwoʻole).
All of this leads to the topic of “Aloha ʻĀina”. Aloha ʻĀina means to love the land. Loving the land will provide one with many great things, because as stated above, the land will love and give back. To appreciate where we come from is a huge key, and it is something I truly believe. To me, the land is my base. It gives me love, and I love it too. The land not only provides natural beauty, but food, tools, supplies, and even the enrichment of my mind and more. Aloha ʻĀina is important for the obvious fact that without it, one would not be able to live, and all of the work our ancestors put in as well as the culture will fade and eventually vanish. This also relates to the concept of “Mālama Honua”, because as one cares for the land, one also loves the land and will do everything to disallow it from anything going downhill. If one loves the land, one will care for it deeply. To love the land is everything, and it does not only benefit the land itself, but the kanaka it holds as well.
In all, the need for change and to fill the heads of kanaka with knowledge of the land and how to care for it and why is a great necessity, in which could also be very impacting and helpful. As I have experienced changed with my own eyes, such as literring, global warming, building taking up the land, filth expanding, crime growing, the endangerment of species and plants, etc, it is clear there is need for a change if we want our land to survive and continue to thrive, even for those who come after us. Mālama Honua means a lot to me, and it truly already has shaped a special mindset for me. I look forward to this course and the influence it will have on me, my outlook on things, my life, and most importantly, my future and the future of our ʻāina.
In all, the need for change and to fill the heads of kanaka with knowledge of the land and how to care for it and why is a great necessity, in which could also be very impacting and helpful. As I have experienced changed with my own eyes, such as literring, global warming, building taking up the land, filth expanding, crime growing, the endangerment of species and plants, etc, it is clear there is need for a change if we want our land to survive and continue to thrive, even for those who come after us. Mālama Honua means a lot to me, and it truly already has shaped a special mindset for me. I look forward to this course and the influence it will have on me, my outlook on things, my life, and most importantly, my future and the future of our ʻāina.
ABOUT ME
To get to know me briefly, my full name is Mākena Mackenzie Kāne. I get my name, Mākena, from my parents who named me after their favorite beach on my other home island of Maui, Mākena (Big) Beach. My middle name, Mackenzie, was given to me also by my parents for the reasoning of them simply just liking the name, and because it sounds like my first name, giving it a ring to it. I have been born and raised in Waimānalo, on the island of Oʻahu. Waimānaloʻs mauka is the Koʻolaus, but in specifics, my mauna is Olomana, because it is my favorite hike in which over looks the beautiful east side of Oʻahu. The kai belonging to me as an individual is Kaiona Beach Park in Waimanalo, because it is my front yard and my original stomping ground from the day I was born til now. Lastly, he rain is Ua ʻApuakea, and the wind belonging to Waimānalo is Limulipuʻupuʻu. Waimānalo is and forever will be home.