There are people who are only willing to eat food that was certified by the FDA, or when the label says GMO-free. That's when they feel safe. Others will catch a moa at Salt Pond on Kaua`i, and use it for a delicious dinner. As to me, when I walk in the woods in Koke`e and I find a fruit that I don't yet know and I never heard any bad thing about it, I will eat it, taking a chance. So far, I had only wonderful experiences, because I trusted my ‘ike hānau, given to me by ke akua.
When it comes to wāhine, some men want to make sure that she is from a noble family, or from a good family that they have known for some time. For others all wāhine are the same. For me, if I see a pretty one, who is very pleasant and honest-looking, and whose mana is to my liking, and I have not heard anything bad about her, I am ready to meet or fall in love with without checking her family or background. This is how I found my wife 43 years ago. Again, I trusted and still trust my ‘ike hānau.
This has been working for me throughout my entire life.
It is the same thing with the flag. When I became aware of the kanaka maoli flag or better call it now the flag of Hawaiian solidarity, sovereignty and independence, I asked people what it represented. They said "our dream for freedom", or "our wish for independence" or just "our people the kānaka maoli". There were no uniform answers. But everyone who was displaying it, did it proudly. No bad stories were ever connected to this flag.
There were some kānaka who were telling me that this was the Hawaiian admiralty flag, others said that this was the flag of King Kamehameha I. and it was flown on ships to indicate free trade.
According to Hawai`i State Archive records the flag was allegedly destroyed by British Navy Captain Lord George Paulet when he seized Hawai`i for five months in 1843. The green in the flag represents the maka‘āinana (commoner) caste, the land and goodness; the red represents the landed konohiki, who served the ali`i, genealogy and strength, and the yellow represents the ali`i, spirituality and alertness to danger. At the center of the flag is a green shield bearing the coat of arms of the kānaka maoli made up of the kāhili, and crossed pointed paddles that represent the voyaging history of Hawaiians. The image was reproduced from the Hawai`i State Archive records by Nelson Luis Román. It is a fresh, noncolonial symbol of Hawaiians fighting for their independence.
This story is sufficient for me for background, because I am not a historian. But even if I did not research this story, I would be flying the flag faithfully and proudly, because it is perceived by all good people that I know, as the symbol of something extremely dear - independence from foreign occupation. I know from the history of many nations and countries that flags have different lives. A flag that has not brought any shame or sorrow to a nation, is frequently revived and used years and decades later for another noble purpose.
This is the case now. It is not the flag of any nation and it was not revived by any monarch or ruler. It was revived by the people working towards one common goal. It became the symbol of a heroic movement, ke hae o ka mana o nā kānaka maoli. When we display it, we are showing our commitment for the cause of the kānaka maoli and it will distinguish us from those who are displaying only the flag of the de facto Hawaiian state which is sometimes done only as an official duty prescribed by a state or community flag code. Yes, the official Hawaiian flag is displayed even by the occupiers who are engaged in the exploitation of our brothers and sisters. Those, however would never fly this kanaka maoli flag.
If I travel on a road and get lost, and have to go into a house to ask for directions, I will choose the house that displays the symbol that I believe in, and that is ke hae o ka mana o nā kānaka maoli.
Yes, I met a few people who wanted a historical proof of the flag. I am not a historian, and cannot give more than what I described above. I let them research it further. Some others wanted to fly it only if an order came from a high authority to do so. In life there are leaders and there are followers. Well, we all have our own style, own confidence and own fear. Some people take more risks than others. I think that risk is a meaningful component of life and I am not afraid to take it. And as to the authority, for me the highest authority is the power of the common people. In this case their soul and dream is woven into the fabric of the flag. History has proven that common people were the ones who changed political systems, chased away unjust rulers and revived countries. And they will be the ones in the future tool. They are the authority and they are the power. And I am proud to belong to them.
Do you wonder why some haoles are afraid of or detest this flag? Because they know its power, however the fear that they have is of their own choosing, and not our creation.
I have lived and traveled in occupied countries, and I am living in one now. I was a political prisoner in my ‘āina hānau, so I know the price of freedom and independence. This is the reason I am flying the flag faithfully and displaying the symbol proudly. Me ke aloha.
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He mana'o maita'i teia ia'u...O teia ta manawa mua au i heluhelu ia ka mana'o o ta Hae No Hawai'i. Ua a'o wau i ketahi mea hou i teia la...Mahalo nui ia 'oe...E ola mau e Hawai'i...a ulu a itaita hou i ta katou Lahui...
I appreciate your answer. I am what you would call a "history buff" but by no means an historian. However, sometimes we must trust what we are led to as I believe things don't happen "by chance" but for reasons perhaps unknown to us at the time. We must trust our na'au and listen to our instincts. Many have lost that ability and need to "see with my own eyes". Seeing is believing, so to speak. In life, we are led to certain people, places and events for purposes known only by a greater power than ourselves, to be revealed when the time is right.
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Mahalo nui for your mana'o.