By Mahinalani Cavalieri
It is a pilgrimage to venture into the depths of Moananuiākea. A world of ancestral wisdom that lies under the wake, in the expansive horizon, and observed through the patterns of nature. Thoughts of my kūpuna, their hardships and triumphs, ran through my mind as I prepared to depart. As Kānaka ʻŌiwi, voyaging is our history, our heritage. We enter the realm of Pō receptive to the lessons and hōʻailona (symbols) that will be presented.
Papahānaumokuākea is a powerful and sacred realm considered to be ʻāina akua, a place where our gods, deities, and ancestors dwell. As Kānaka ʻŌiwi, we trace our origin and emergence into this life and consciousness from these ocean depths.
There is a profoundness of knowledge here that should be matched with utmost reverence for seen and unseen phenomenon. Respect and awareness of these genealogical relations and hōʻailona are rooted within Kānaka epistemology. The manifestation of kūpuna and gods are seen and felt through signs in nature. This framework of philosophy and etiquette has transcended generations of Kānaka.
I hadn’t envisioned myself accessing this culturally and spiritually significant space – especially not aboard a Western exploration vessel (E/V). However, a partnership between the Papahānaumokuākea Native Hawaiian Cultural Working Group, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument, and the Ocean Exploration Trust provided me the opportunity to journey into this ʻāina akua aboard the E/V Nautilus.
The 2023 Ala ʻAumoana Kai Uli (Path of the Deep Sea Traveler) Expedition was a profound experience. As a volunteer crew member with the Polynesian Voyaging Society, all my prior sailing experience was on waʻa kaulua (double-hulled canoes).
During my 28-day expedition aboard Nautilus, I reflected on the contrast of seafaring between my voyaging kūpuna and modern maritime researchers. Various forms of academic exclusion and dismissal of Indigenous knowledge systems remain prevalent today, though hope and resolution can be found through multi-agency collaborations that provide opportunities for Kānaka.
It was an unfamiliar space: a foreign ship carrying me into an ancestral domain to inquire and investigate lessons my kūpuna have uncovered and perpetuated through oral histories; to define skills my relatives possessed from an intrinsic relationship and careful observation of the environment; to uphold behaviors of stewardship and reciprocity rather than be educated within the walls of institutions that diminish Indigenous knowledge systems.
This ʻike kūpuna (ancestral knowledge) predates the technology aboard Nautilus and empowered Pacific peoples to traverse the high seas and settle the islands of Moananuiākea.
This reckoning of ideologies was an awakening to the ingenious, brilliant minds of our people; an uplifting sense of pride and empowerment through ʻike kūpuna. And the privilege of these opportunities comes with the kuleana to serve for all who heed the kāhea.
Mahinalani Cavalieri is a haumāna of Indigenous politics at UH Mānoa and a data and research specialist for Papa Ola Lōkahi. She has a deep affinity and reverence for the kai uli (deep blue sea) and the ʻike kūpuna and hōʻailona that can be revealed within these sacred spaces.
