Lessons from Kūpuna
When cultural practitioner Kekai Kapu speaks of mea kaua – Hawaiian weaponry – he reminds us that every tool carries more than function.
“When you enter into the lua pā (a school that trains in the Hawaiian martial art of lua), you need to know your identity, who you are, where you come from because you’re carrying the mana of your ancestors with you,” Kapu said. His reflections in “Weapons of Old Hawaiʻi” call us to remember what our kūpuna know: that true strength lies not in force, but in balance, respect and purpose.
In Kapu’s hands, a weapon becomes a living archive. The leiomano shark-tooth club is not just a blade but a reminder of ocean kinship. A newa stone club speaks to patience and endurance, carved smooth by a warrior’s hand – knowledge carried forward through generations. Even making these tools is protocol, requiring prayer, skill and restraint.
That same spirit echoes nightly at Pu‘u Keka‘a, or Black Rock, on Kā‘anapali Beach. For more than 60 years, the Sheraton Maui has honored lele kawa, a traditional Hawaiian cliff diving ceremony rooted in the deeds of King Kahekili. One diver, TC, shares the weight of that responsibility in “Where Legends Leap.” “We’re carrying our culture on our shoulders by preserving the connection between the past and now.”
Continuity of lessons from our kūpuna is also at the heart of kumu hula Kaponoʻai Molitau’s work, as told in “In Their Own Words.” Founder of Native Intelligence and director of Maui County’s Department of ʻŌiwi Resources, Molitau reminds us: “We are beneficiaries of the Hawaiian Renaissance. The kūpuna (elders) and kumu (teachers) … laid the groundwork for the cultural resurgence we experience today.”
That kuleana extends to the land itself. Through farming and stewardship, John Carty and his family restore what development once threatened in Honolua, ensuring the land continues to feed both body and spirit in “Honolua.” Even in our homes, lessons of pono find form. In Ha‘ikū’s “Living Pono,” the Ponohouse project demonstrates what living harmoniously with the land can look like.
This issue also marks the debut of our newest staff member, Savannah Dagupion. A Maui native who returned home after college, Savannah brings fresh energy and a deep love of place to our pages. She wrote both the cover feature on mea kaua and the “In Their Own Words” profile of Kaponoʻai Molitau. Her voice is rooted in the island’s past yet open to its future – exactly the perspective our kūpuna would ask us to carry forward.
Angela and I try to keep those values at the heart of our family life – and of this magazine. May these stories inspire you, as they do us, to walk with balance, respect and aloha. And if you’re not already a subscriber, we invite you to join our community and help us continue sharing Maui’s stories.
With Aloha,
Chris Amundson
Publisher & Editor
chris@mauimagazine.net
