My first introduction to Makahiki happened when I was 10 years old.
Like all other Native Hawaiian families of that era, my parents sent me to the Kamehameha Schools’ Explorations ʻ76. I know, I know – old lady status noting the year – but that’s how you told other people you went to the Explorations program. Stating the year that you went was sort of verifying your participation.
There were 300 or more Native Hawaiian kids all exploring our Hawaiian identity through songs, stories, arts, and experiences. For most of us, this was the first realization that other kids from Hawaiʻi were not Hawaiian by blood – even though everyone loved listing off their various percentages of blood quantum when someone inquired about one’s ethnicity. That’s just how it was back then.
At Explorations ʻ76, one of the activities we enthusiastically learned about was the “Makahiki games.” We dutifully lined up at each game station and got to try iheihe (spear throwing), hākoko (wrestling), moa pāheʻe (javelin sliding), ʻulumaika (stone rolling/bowling) and pāʻumeʻume/Hukihuki (tug-of-war), totally a fun day of activities.
I don’t remember being given too much information about the Makahiki itself, or maybe there had been more, however my 10-year-old mind only retained that the Makahiki Games were ancient Hawaiian.
Did you know that there was only one game that was dedicated to the Makahiki ceremony? ʻAe, it was called “mokomoko.”
In published Makahiki chants, the mokomoko is dedicated to closing the principal Makahiki ceremonies. Descriptions in moʻolelo portray mokomoko as a form of mixed martial arts, with boxing, free for all hand-to-hand combat, wrestling, and fancy acrobatic leaping worthy of any professional MMA sport.
Stories in the Hawaiian newspapers describe the loud din of huge crowds’ ooh-ing and aah-ing over mokomoko tournaments.
Men, women, and children challenged one another to show off their prowess and honed skills. Typically, opponents squared off, the haʻa, or lively poetic banter between rivals, usually provoked the crowd into laughter, jeering, gambling, and fun comradery. The taunting between the opponents was to try to get the opposition to throw the first blow.
Mokomoko was fun, rather irreverent, and painful. Blood was spilled and occasionally a death occurred. However, in the chant called Pule A Lono, mokomoko is noted as the sport that released everyone from the kapu associated with the Makahiki ceremonies allowing everyone to continue enjoying other sports, re-establishing relationships, and having free time to play.
I cannot help but wonder if the translation in the dictionary for mokomoko (meaning water flooding a taro patch) and mokomoko tournaments, which were flooded by spectators have similar imagery. Perhaps there is some sort of connectivity to abundance and wealth. Or simply, mokomoko was an activity that everyone enjoyed and there’s really no kaona to be unpacked.
What is the Makahiki?
Joseph M Poepoe states, “O ia mea he Makahiki, he wa ano nui loa ia i na kanaka o ka wa kahiko.” To paraphrase: this matter called Makahiki, it was an extremely important time to Hawaiians of the past.
George Kanahele said that “for the Hawaiians of old, the Makahiki was a time of instructive ritual, marking the year’s most important season.”
E.S.C. Handy and E.G. Handy described the annual Makahiki festival as a time to celebrate the arrival of the rainy season. V. Valeri explains that the Makahiki was a New Year’s festival that recognized “the return of the Pleiades, the return of the god Lono, the return of the southwest winds, and the renewal of nature that marks the beginning of the New Year.”
Generally, Lono represents the natural processes expected during the wet season. Storms that bring rain, thunder, lightning, strong winds, huge surf, flooding, and winter migrating animals are all attributed to Lono.
To Hawaiians, water is wealth, and Lono brings wealth through rain. Households were dedicated to Lono, which meant that everyone contributed to the community’s wellbeing. In a practical sense, kānaka must take a break from daily mundane activities to allow the environment to do its thing during the rainy season. The Makahiki was one of the most celebrated annual events where everyone participated.
The Makahiki can be divided into four segments of ceremonies. The first segment is the closing of the Kū season followed by the kuapola that opens the Lono season with forecasts of expected trends for the following year. This segment was only conducted by the aliʻi nui and kahuna nui with their collective retinue. The second segment is the hiʻuwai (ritual bathing), kaʻi akua (procession of the akua) and ʻauhau (tribute). This is where the health assessment of the aliʻi’s communities occurred. Everyone participated. The third segment is the mokomoko (mixed martial arts) which is dedicated to amusement, relationship building, and networking. Everyone divided themselves into spectators or skilled challengers. The fourth segment concludes with rites of passage for youth followed by the closing of the Makahiki.
The whole process takes about four months, but the main prescribed ceremony where everyone participated transpired within four days.
One question I am often asked regarding my Makahiki research is, “was Makahiki performed on all the Hawaiian Islands?” I can say with certainty, pre-Kamehameha, no. Post-Kamehameha, yes. However, mokomoko competitions happened on all the islands. Mokomoko is currently not practiced with the Makahiki, but maybe someday it will be revitalized again.
Wishing you all a meaningful Makahiki filled with environmental kinship and joyful communal comradeship that includes Hawaiian games. Lonoikamakahiki!
