Wednesday, June 30, 2010

Wordless Wednesday: Hawaiian Ceremony?

When we went to Waimea Canyon and Koke'e State Parks on Kaua'i in Hawai'i on May 27 during our recent cruise, we witnessed a ceremony at the Pu'u O Kila Lookout (the furthest one out, where on a clear day - this was not -you can see the Kalalau Valley of the Na Pali Coast).

The ceremony started a little before noon and involved the young people pictured above. One of them blew on a conch shell to start it. Some were carrying musical instruments, most just a staff. It looks like the woman in the second picture who is separate from the line is sprinkling something. They did a lot of chanting (in Hawaiian I think), facing in one direction and then the other. The ceremony was quite long and we had to leave before they were finished, so we did not get a chance to ask them what they were doing. Anyone have any ideas?

© Amanda Pape - 2010

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