I recall a few years back DOE asked me to write up a brief sheet in response to concerns by a few parents that their kids chanting in class was some sort of pagan revival. Here's what I wrote, referring to "protocol" at the time as hana kupono, though that doesn't capture it for deeper discussions:
What is hana kupono (Hawaiian protocol)?
» It is the right behavior,
» conducted at the appropriate time,
» by the proper people,
» presented to the correct recipients,
» toward a positive and significant end.
Protocol almost always involves words, presented usually in the form of oli, or chant. Chant takes the power of words, themselves recognized as highly significant in Hawaiian and in many other cultures, and extends that power of words to a higher level that fulfills several functions:
1. It focuses the attention of all participants to the task at hand.
2. It evokes respect in the form of silence and attention on the part of the recipients.
3. It prepares the participants to engage seriously in what will follow.
4. It initiates a set of responses from those who know the protocol, and therefore sets into action a social process that unifies not only those who conduct the protocol but also all who are involved.
5. It transforms the mood from the mundane and ordinary into something deeper, sacred, and important.
6. It links all participants together and consolidates them into a unit.
7. It links the participants to their surroundings via an enhanced sense of place.
8. It expresses and confirms a living and vital Hawaiian culture, making each person a bit more appreciative of and more connected to these islands that we call home.
Protocol suggests that training and practice is involved, and indeed this is so. The practice is a traditional and oral one, with teachers passing the proper and expected behaviors to their students. Students and teachers in turn practice protocol with each other and develop comfort at conducting themselves in very specific ways that often demand exactly the right words and actions in a prescribed sequence.
Proper behavior and words are highly dependent on the situation, for example, the protocol for greeting a person of significance is different from the protocol of entry to a significant site, and different from the protocol for presentation of an offering or gift.
Whatever the situation, protocol is based on a foundation of values that are important to everyone, regardless of their ancestry and upbringing. These are fundamentals such as respect for others and for the land, an attitude of sharing and responsibility for maintaining a balance between self and society and between human beings and the rest of the universe.
WOW!!! That was absolutely hitting it all right on the nose. I remember one summer while at Na Pua No'eau in Hilo (I was the residential coordinator), I received a distressed call from a kumu. "Get down here NOW...before I kill this guy". She was referring to a visiting "professor" that had been teaching a summer course. He had inturrupted the students morning 'oli komo and proceeded to yell at the kumu about their behavior being too loud and interrupting his class, yadayadayada. Whew....talk about lessons of life.
Do you mind if I use your explaination in my current program? I work w/adult volunteers that are somewhat "local" however require some explaination to the opening "piko" that wew do at the start of our events. Up till now....I really didn't care to indulge and have to explain however, now I see the value of "sharing". It will bring down my "reaction" mode when people don't "get-it".
Yes, better to share expectations and foundations than to be angry with those who haven't learned them. Solution to ignorance is teaching.Well, if this was good enough for DOE curriculum, then I suppose it will serve OK as a base for you. Please feel free to use what is useful.
Mahalo nui...by any chance, are you a Natural Science kumu? You look familiar however, I can't place you with that beautiful papale. I believe I've watched a curriculum video that you may have been on....no??? Lorilani
Yup, I am on quite a few videos, some in my long-hair days, Iʻve done a lot of work with Moanalua Gardens Foundation and their ʻŌhiʻa Project Curriculum, among others. My primary work though is as senior scientist and cultural advisor for The Nature Conservancy of Hawaiʻi.
ʻOhu
Lorilani > ʻOhukaniʻōhiʻaApril 21, 2008 at 11:05am
Sweet...if Amy Bruno is still there, pls. give her my aloha and kala mai for using this site to wala'au...I'll try to keep on the subject next time. Amy used to be my room-mate back in the day. Have a good day aloha, lkt
Aloha mai,
The word "protocol" seems to turn people off sometimes. To me, it means that you are acknowledging something , someplace, or a process and whatever you have to call it gives others a "heads up" that it will be taking place. Sort of like when people say, "E pule kakou", prior to starting a pule. What it seems to me personally is that some people get really aggitated at having to call Hawaiian processes anything.
My husband and I have been teaching our kids pule. It might not be right for everone, but it works for us. It is pule, 'oli, mele, etc. If we go somewhere and we want to acknowledge our arrival and ask for permission we tell our keiki...okay we need to pule first. They know what they have to do. They don't ever question us. Or ask, "Mommy...do we have to do the protocol?" They ask "Mommy, we ready for pule?" Mahalo
Mahalo e Lorilani. Yes, some people don't like to label these things, but I agree with you, they are standard practices that require training, and involve expectations of proper behaviors. Your "E pule kakou" example is right on, similarly when the kahu says "E hoomalu" the prayers will begin. Loina is the word for traditional practice, and I've heard people refer to protocol that way, or hana kupono "proper action." That is what is being asked when someone says "Whats the protocol?" They want to know what is expected, what the proper sequence is, who is to be involved, and in what way, to what end. Aloha.
Aloha mai....I absolutely love this arena for us to "talk story". Sometimes, I complain that we (on Kauai) don't have the access, resources, or the biggy....TIME to get together with likeminded people and have safe discussions. Particularly with being supportive of each other without having the access "baggage" of people tagging us with connections to others ie. inlaws (outlaws) or political/cultural affiliations of other family members. I love my 'ohana but, I do not believe in many of their causes/issues/political stuff. Again, Mahalo for creating this space. Aloha
actually, i was kinda thinking maybe we'd discuss the different "protocol" done today, in an educational way, to get people to think about what's being offered and why...maybe start off with basic, common stuff today...
say....the oli kahea before entering into the wao akua...
Replies
What is hana kupono (Hawaiian protocol)?
» It is the right behavior,
» conducted at the appropriate time,
» by the proper people,
» presented to the correct recipients,
» toward a positive and significant end.
Protocol almost always involves words, presented usually in the form of oli, or chant. Chant takes the power of words, themselves recognized as highly significant in Hawaiian and in many other cultures, and extends that power of words to a higher level that fulfills several functions:
1. It focuses the attention of all participants to the task at hand.
2. It evokes respect in the form of silence and attention on the part of the recipients.
3. It prepares the participants to engage seriously in what will follow.
4. It initiates a set of responses from those who know the protocol, and therefore sets into action a social process that unifies not only those who conduct the protocol but also all who are involved.
5. It transforms the mood from the mundane and ordinary into something deeper, sacred, and important.
6. It links all participants together and consolidates them into a unit.
7. It links the participants to their surroundings via an enhanced sense of place.
8. It expresses and confirms a living and vital Hawaiian culture, making each person a bit more appreciative of and more connected to these islands that we call home.
Protocol suggests that training and practice is involved, and indeed this is so. The practice is a traditional and oral one, with teachers passing the proper and expected behaviors to their students. Students and teachers in turn practice protocol with each other and develop comfort at conducting themselves in very specific ways that often demand exactly the right words and actions in a prescribed sequence.
Proper behavior and words are highly dependent on the situation, for example, the protocol for greeting a person of significance is different from the protocol of entry to a significant site, and different from the protocol for presentation of an offering or gift.
Whatever the situation, protocol is based on a foundation of values that are important to everyone, regardless of their ancestry and upbringing. These are fundamentals such as respect for others and for the land, an attitude of sharing and responsibility for maintaining a balance between self and society and between human beings and the rest of the universe.
Do you mind if I use your explaination in my current program? I work w/adult volunteers that are somewhat "local" however require some explaination to the opening "piko" that wew do at the start of our events. Up till now....I really didn't care to indulge and have to explain however, now I see the value of "sharing". It will bring down my "reaction" mode when people don't "get-it".
Mahalo, Lorilani
ʻOhu
The word "protocol" seems to turn people off sometimes. To me, it means that you are acknowledging something , someplace, or a process and whatever you have to call it gives others a "heads up" that it will be taking place. Sort of like when people say, "E pule kakou", prior to starting a pule. What it seems to me personally is that some people get really aggitated at having to call Hawaiian processes anything.
My husband and I have been teaching our kids pule. It might not be right for everone, but it works for us. It is pule, 'oli, mele, etc. If we go somewhere and we want to acknowledge our arrival and ask for permission we tell our keiki...okay we need to pule first. They know what they have to do. They don't ever question us. Or ask, "Mommy...do we have to do the protocol?" They ask "Mommy, we ready for pule?" Mahalo
say....the oli kahea before entering into the wao akua...
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