Aloha mai kākou,
I recently traveled with OHA Lead Compliance Specialist Kamakana Ferreira and Director of ʻŌiwi Wellbeing and ʻĀina Momona Kūʻike Kamakea-ʻŌhelo to the Mānā Plain on the west side of Kaua‘i for a site visit to the Pacific Missile Range Facility (PMRF).
Our purpose was to huakaʻi (journey) to one of the most sacred and storied areas of our pae ʻāina, a place on Kauaʻi where the natural and cultural histories of our people are deeply rooted in the land, and where the protection of iwi kūpuna is both a kuleana and a necessity in the face of rising environmental threats.
Welcomed by kānaka leaders that included Kunane Aipoalani of Nā ʻOhana Papa o Mānā, Kaulana Mossman, Jonell Kaohelauliʻi and Thomas Nizo, we were guided through the wahi pana there, visiting sites such as the Nohili Sand Dunes and Keonekani o Nohili.
The Mānā Plain supported fishing camps, taro cultivation, and sandalwood harvesting. The coastal dunes, used as sacred burial grounds, are a testament to the area’s role as a final resting place, a leina a ka ʻuhane, a leaping point for souls returning to the realm of the ancestors.
Sand dunes, lava tubes, caves, and cliffs were seen as natural repositories of mana, sacred places where iwi could return to the earth in peace.
Today, this wahi kūpuna faces unprecedented threats. Climate change is accelerating coastal erosion and sea level rise, disturbing centuries-old burial grounds and exposing iwi kūpuna to the elements. What was once protected by shifting dunes and natural coastal buffers is now increasingly vulnerable.
In the face of these changes, lineal descendants of the Mānā Plain, along with ʻŌiwi leaders at PMRF, are leading protection and preservation efforts of ʻike kūpuna with intention. The restoration of the Nohili Sand Dunes, a process being guided by cultural practices, is helping to preserve iwi in place when possible and ensuring that the coastline remains in balance with the natural surroundings.
When iwi are exposed and preservation in place is not possible, the respectful interring of iwi kūpuna is conducted at the Lua Kupapaʻu o Nohili Crypt at night during the summer solstice. In Hawaiian cosmology, Pō (darkness or night) is not simply the absence of light, it is the ancestral realm, the source of creation, and the domain where the ʻuhane (spirit) dwell. Without the distractions of the daylight world, ʻuhane can travel, transition, and settle with greater peace.
The work at Mānā is a powerful example of how cultural preservation is an essential and urgent response to the impacts of climate change.
Across the pae ʻāina, many coastal areas are experiencing similar challenges. The need for vigilant stewardship, protection of burial sites, and the active engagement of cultural practitioners and lineal descendants is more pressing than ever. As the tides rise, so too must our commitment to protect our past, because in doing so, we preserve our mana.
Me ka haʻahaʻa,
Stacy Kealohalani Ferreira
Ka Pouhana | Chief Executive Officer
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