Holoholokū

I can still remember my mother telling me stories when I was younger about the hill named Holoholokū that sits in front of our Mauna. If you’ve ever heard my mom tell a story, you know that she has a gift of taking you into the mo’olelo, her voice bringing the past into the present, as if you are right there watching it unfold around you.

She took me the top of this Pu’u with her voice, calling on the winds that come from all directions to make way for us. I saw the shadows of hundreds of warriors standing tall as if they wore the cliffs of Hāmākua on their backs. The stinging Kīpu’upu‘u rain meeting the chill of the mountain, meeting their skin and yet, they remain still, silent, and ready. One lone voice crosses the plains signaling them to begin to run as if their feet weren’t even touching the ground. Like a school of fish, they run together up this very hill. When they reach top, they stand still again, breathing steadily as the rains continue to fall and winds continue to howl.

This is how Kamehameha’s strongest warriors trained to prepare for battle in every climate. They are famous throughout our stories as some of the most skilled warriors in all of Hawai’i. They were named after the rain they trained in - Nā Kīpu’upu’u. And hill is called Holoholokū meaning to run and then to stop, named in their honor. Our place names hold the stories of our people and that is why we must remember them, reclaim them, and pass them down.

Whenever I am walking through the Kīpu’upu’u rains of my homelands, I can hear my mom saying to me, “stand tall and walk like a Kīpu’upu’u, unshaken and strong like your ancestors.”

And I do.
Because she does.
Because they did.

Eō e Nā Kīpu’upu’u!

📸: @kapzphotography