A Day in the Life of: A Native Hawaiian Tour Guide
Day 1 in Oahu was filled with a lot of excitement! We started our day bright and early with a nice breakfast at Duke’s. Kona then picked us up and we began our cultural journey. It was evident from the start that Kona had a plethora of knowledge on the Hawaiian culture. From ancient Hawaiian traditions and legends, to recent government laws, Kona knew the ins and outs of everything regarding Hawaiian culture. Driving to Pearl Harbor Kona walked us thru the day of December 7, 1941. When we arrived at the Pearl Harbor site, it really put into perspective the background knowledge that Kona provided on the bus.
After Pearl Harbor, we traveled to the Birthing Stones site, which illustrated the importance of the Hawaiian culture, and how meaningful this site was to Kona. He became very emotional as he described the history and significance of the Birthing Stones, and explained how, for him, it brings back the memories of ancient Hawaii, back when royalty ruled the lands. Kona elaborated on this topic by saying how he thinks that ancient royalty would have not been accepting of what Hawaii has turned into today. Next, he described the importance that this Hawaiian culture serves to natives, since Hawaiian’s only make up 4.5% of the state's ethnicity. In Kona’s words “Hawaiian’s have become the minority in their homeland.” Since their history has such great significance to them, one of Kona’s sons began getting traditional hawaiian tattoos at the age of 11. By the age of 18, his body was covered in Hawaiian ancestry. Each tattoo tells a different story of Kona’s Hawaiian ancestry.
After this emotional and eye opening experience, Kona brought us to the Dole plantation and discussed with us how pineapples are made on the island. He also informed us about the different plantations and how many people used to work in the sugar plantations. This work, as described by Kona, was long and strenuous. The last thing you wanted was for your parents to say you had to go work there. After we explored the Dole plantation, we headed to sunset beach on the North Shore of Oahu and ate lunch. We then traveled to the Byodo-In Temple that was surrounded by the Valley of the Temples Winward Mortuary, where Kona spoke about the significance of the the cemetery plots. Family members lay flowers, food and drinks to honor their loved ones that have passed. After the temple, we headed to the Nu’uanu Pali Lookout where we overlooked the north end of Oahu. This lookout point was the location for the battle of Nu'uanu.
On top of all the historical facts that Kona gave, we learned about some personal Hawaiian traditions. Kona has five children, 21 grandchildren and eight great-grandchildren. Kona and his wife raise their eight great-grandchildren in Hawaii. The great-grandchildren range in ages from six months to eight years. This is an ancient tradition known as Hanai, in which family members other than the parents can raise the children for the parents. In Kona’s case, his grandson did not have a home for his family, so Kona Hanai’d his great-grandchildren until the grandson was ready. Today was a great day because we got to see Hawaii from the perpective of a true Hawaiian.
After Pearl Harbor, we traveled to the Birthing Stones site, which illustrated the importance of the Hawaiian culture, and how meaningful this site was to Kona. He became very emotional as he described the history and significance of the Birthing Stones, and explained how, for him, it brings back the memories of ancient Hawaii, back when royalty ruled the lands. Kona elaborated on this topic by saying how he thinks that ancient royalty would have not been accepting of what Hawaii has turned into today. Next, he described the importance that this Hawaiian culture serves to natives, since Hawaiian’s only make up 4.5% of the state's ethnicity. In Kona’s words “Hawaiian’s have become the minority in their homeland.” Since their history has such great significance to them, one of Kona’s sons began getting traditional hawaiian tattoos at the age of 11. By the age of 18, his body was covered in Hawaiian ancestry. Each tattoo tells a different story of Kona’s Hawaiian ancestry.
After this emotional and eye opening experience, Kona brought us to the Dole plantation and discussed with us how pineapples are made on the island. He also informed us about the different plantations and how many people used to work in the sugar plantations. This work, as described by Kona, was long and strenuous. The last thing you wanted was for your parents to say you had to go work there. After we explored the Dole plantation, we headed to sunset beach on the North Shore of Oahu and ate lunch. We then traveled to the Byodo-In Temple that was surrounded by the Valley of the Temples Winward Mortuary, where Kona spoke about the significance of the the cemetery plots. Family members lay flowers, food and drinks to honor their loved ones that have passed. After the temple, we headed to the Nu’uanu Pali Lookout where we overlooked the north end of Oahu. This lookout point was the location for the battle of Nu'uanu.
On top of all the historical facts that Kona gave, we learned about some personal Hawaiian traditions. Kona has five children, 21 grandchildren and eight great-grandchildren. Kona and his wife raise their eight great-grandchildren in Hawaii. The great-grandchildren range in ages from six months to eight years. This is an ancient tradition known as Hanai, in which family members other than the parents can raise the children for the parents. In Kona’s case, his grandson did not have a home for his family, so Kona Hanai’d his great-grandchildren until the grandson was ready. Today was a great day because we got to see Hawaii from the perpective of a true Hawaiian.
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