The Oli

Perpetuation of Hawaiian culture is the kuleana (responsibility) of everyone who has the privilege of living in this great state. While some believe that only full-blooded Hawaiians should do so, the fact is that everyone should help, based on the principal that more individuals can do a better job than fewer, as long as it is done in an appropriate way. Another argument to be made is that quite simply due to the fact that there are more and more interracial marriages, there will be fewer and fewer Hawaiians around to perpetuate.

In today’s Hawai`i, there are a number of activities that make the culture come to life in a real and everyday fashion – through hula, through canoe paddling, through music and song, and through chants, amongst others. All of these activities are part of daily life and are completely common and accepted as such. All of them are taught to young keiki (children) and continue to be practiced through adulthood.

One of the more unique activities is the art of chanting. A chant consist of words or verses with deep meanings which are performed in various intonations, not quite as songs, but very melodic. Some of the chants are quiet, while others are performed in a strong voice and full of mana. All chants have deep meanings, some of them hidden, and they are here to educate, to perpetuate, and to hand knowledge from generation to generation. Chants also have specific purposes – there are chants to open a meeting or gathering, there are chants for blessings, and there are chants for all different kinds of activities. Invariably they ask for the universe to be kind and supportive of a particular cause.

I learned my very first chant from Kumu Keli`i Tau`a quite coincidentally (because I was fascinated by chants and wanted to learn a simple one), but since have learned many, for all different occasions. Whenever I undertook a particular adventure (paddling in the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands, walking around Maui – all 183 miles of it, going into the uplands to look for koa trees) I tried to learn one or two chants so that their meaning was tied to a specific achievement and therefore became relevant to my life.

Giving an oli at the North Hawaii Hospice Floating Lantern Ceremony

The chant Ia Wa`a Nui talks about a large canoe that flies through the ocean, and would be very appropriate to be used during a canoe blessing or before entering a canoe. (if you'd like to hear what it sounds like, click here for the link, the oli occurs at the very beginning of the segment).

Ia wa’a nui                             That large canoe
Ia wa’a kioloa                       That long canoe
Ia wa ‘a peleleu                    That broad canoe
A lele māmala                       Let chips fly
A manu a uka                       The bird of the upland
A manu a kai                         The bird of the lowland
'I'iwi pōlena                           The red Hawaiian honeycreeper
A kau ka hōku                       The stars hang above
A kau i ka malama                The daylight arrives
A pae i kula                            Bring the canoe ashore
‘Āmama, ua noa                    ‘Āmama, the kapu is lifted

Every regatta starts with a blessing, and every blessing includes a chant. Often, people bow their heads during chants, and even though chants often make reference to religious symbols, they really can be …..

Training this week was again quite good and very varied.

On Sunday, I did hill runs in Kona. I warmed up from my house and then started at the bottom of Nani Kailua Road, elevation 200 feet. This particular road climbs steadily and very straight up the side of Hualalai mountain to about 2,000 feet altitude – a distance that I am able to cover in about 15 minutes. The key is to start out fast enough to get my heart rate to the anaerobic threshold (the point just below where my body starts to produce too much lactic acid so that it cannot be absorbed anymore, which means you have to stop) and then go for 15 minutes very steady. The last 300 yards or so become really steep, at which point I go into oxygen deficit and just barely get to the end. I then turn around and slowly run back down, to do it all over again. The goal is to do this session once a week, and increase the frequency to three or maybe even for ascents. The purpose is to expand the AT (anaerobic threshold) so that I can perform for a longer period of time at peak performance.

On Monday I did weight training early in the morning, and went out on the one-man canoe in the afternoon. Afternoon runs at Mauna Lani are really fun, particularly when the wind and waves come straight towards shore. I can paddle straight into the sunset and against the waves for 45 minutes (without danger of drifting off), then turn around and surf the waves back, which doesn’t take longer than 15 minutes or so.

Tuesday morning 30 minutes on the stationary bicycle, followed by 30 minutes of weight training for the muscle groups I won’t use in the evening club practice, and then the Kai `Opua practice at night. This Tuesday, we mixed it up again and I ended up in seat one as the stroker. There were a total of 9 canoes (equaling 54 male paddlers), and we went hard for 5 minutes at the time, with 2 minutes rest in between. The purpose of this was simulation of races, with a fast start and then settling into a rhythm for 4 minutes. As we did these drills, we went from the Kailua Pier along Ali`i Drive, past all the hotels there, and then into Keauhou, where we turned west and headed straight out into the ocean, and then eventually turned again and raced back to the pier and Kamakahonu Beach. During the first few session, we didn’t do all the well during the start phase, but improved as the training went on. During the last segment back to the pier, we kept up with the fastest boat and battled it out all the way to the end. When I reviewed my heart rate on my computer at the end of the day, I saw that during the entire training, I was well below the AT, a very good sign considering the effort put forth and the fact that I was in seat one and had to set the pace, which is additional pressure. Subjectively, it did feel as if I could have gone for a whole lot longer.

Wednesday I was again on the indoor bicycle for 45 minutes, with 30 minutes at a comfortable pace and the remaining 15 minutes at 2 minutes hard and 1 minute recovery, going well past the AT and feeling the leg muscles burn. After that, some core exercises, and that concluded that days training.

Thursday morning back in the weight room, but I only worked on a few muscle groups and did quite a bit of stretching to try to get limber for the evening club session. The evening training session promised to be interesting, as coach Eddie was trying to make some final decisions on how to stack certain crews and get some much needed additional points for the club and improve the ranking within those certain races. The top three in every category get to go to the state championships, but you really want to have top seed, which means you get to paddle in the first 6 lanes; the further out you are, the slower your race will be due to currents and winds. Anyway, practice started with a tough prep talk (I think they call that “tough love”), and off we went. I was in seat 1, just like Tuesday, a seat I do not necessarily like – too much pressure. The guys behind me in my crew made fun of me (such as “what, you can deal with 700 employees, but not with 5 of us?”), which didn’t really help. After a few practice turns, we switched around a bit, and eventually I ended up in seat 5. At the end of the practice, coach Spencer took Dane, Jack, Col, Dave and I to the side and explained that from now on, we would be the 50’s crew, saying that for the first four races, we switched around a lot to see who can paddle with whom, but now it was time to create the core crew that would get us through the season. It was obviously great to know that out of 14 strong paddlers, the 6 of us (5 and Spencer steering) would be paddling for the team (and hopefully at the State Championships), but I also knew that if I wouldn’t paddle for the 50’s, I would paddle in another crew. In any case, now it was definitely exciting to go to Hilo on Saturday and see what the Puna crew would do this weekend.

I spent all day Friday on O`ahu on business, so did not train (this is called “active recuperation”), but was eagerly awaiting Saturday.

On Saturday, the trip to Hilo was uneventful, yet beautiful as always, and the weather in Hilo was very cloudy, with intermittent rains all day long. Early in the day, I was on boat holder duty: you put on fins, go as the 7^th and 8^th person on the canoe to the starting line, jump into the water and hold the canoe on the starting line until the flag goes up and the race is on. Then you hover in the water, cheer the crew on while they are turning for the second half-mile of the race, then pull yourself back into the canoe when the race is finished and go back to the beach. We knew we would have to really do something to win the race this time around – Puna is training like madmen and they really don’t like us to be ahead of them. As we went through the afternoon, the weather went from sunny, with flat water, to dark and rainy, with wind and choppy waves. As we climbed into the canoe, a rain cloud was coming over from the Hamakua Coast, but it didn’t reach us until after the race, so the water was fairly flat and promised to allow a fast time. Just a few moments before we climbed into the canoe, our steersperson and coach Spencer made a change and moved me from seat 5 to seat 2, which would require me to pull the canoe around at the turn. A bit of a mental change from my preparations for the race, but I was ready.

The flags went up, we got off the line and almost immediately were side by side with Puna, with the third boat (Keaukaha) falling behind. We continued down the lane, side by side with Puna and I believe had a slight advantage going into the turn. I hesitated for one stroke to lean outside the canoe to allow us to pivot around my paddle, as the last time on this turn, we touched the flag; I wanted to make sure we would not be disqualified and give up valuable points. We continued down the stretch and it was a drag race. I had to concentrate on my paddling, so really did not pay attention to Puna, but knew they were right next to us as I could hear their changes very clearly. I heard Spence yell something like “up, up”, meaning for us to increase our paddling turnover rate, and we pulled ourselves down to the flag. The beach was yelling, both clubs were on their feet, and when we crossed the finish line, nobody knew who had won.

Later that day, it was announced that our time was 3:40.82, with Puna over the line in 3:41.10, which meant that we had beat them by a mere 28/100^th of one second. This was by far the best race so far this season, and once again the fastest half-mile race of the weekend, not only on Hawai`i Island, but in the other associations as well. After 5 of 9 races, we are ahead of Puna by 2 points (18 to 16), so the pressure is on them again to catch up with us or else fall back further. At this point, it is almost guaranteed that both teams will go to State Championships on August 4<sup>th</sup> on O`ahu, but the team with the most points at the end of our regatta season will have first seed, which means that that team will get one of the top 6 lanes at Ke`ehi Lagoon, which typically are faster than the ones further out.

Now back to an intense week of training in anticipation of next Saturday in Hilo.

A hui hou!

Chris