‘Ie holo ē ‘O wāhi mai e Lono!

Lonoikamakahiki
Ceremonies for Lono Season

Yesterday we began the journey at sunrise in Hāmākua then made the journey to Hilo, The Lua Pele, Ka‘ū, and ended the day at sunset in Miloli‘i. While we were chanting to Halema‘uma‘u, tears filled my eyes as I thought about how long Lanakila and I have been doing ceremony together. We have been dancing, chanting, and singing alongside one another since we were kids.

It makes me so proud to know that we are still here and still holding this space. I said to him, “we are going to be doing this for the rest of our lives.” And he responded, “yes, we have to.” I know the mana of that truth in the very core of who I am. We ceremony for our Gods and Goddesses in honor of every single one of our ancestors who passed these rituals down to us throughout time and for every single ancestor that did not get to. We ceremony in honor of our teachers who dedicated their lives to reclaiming the ways of our people so we would know who we are.

The older we get the deeper and more refined our practice and our intentions become. For as long as I am here on this earth and in this body, I will be chanting to Lonoikamakahiki when the winter comes.