What I love about Hawaiian Culture, and Hawaiian History

What I love about Hawaiian Culture, and Hawaiian History. There are so many things about Hawaii that I love in very intense ways. But I think the best part about being in Hawaii is learning of the 2000+ year history of Hawaii, and the ancient Polynesian explorers. Its easy to remember what I love about Hawaii when I am away from her long enough to realize the things that I love so much.
I have been visiting Hawaii since long before I moved to Hawaii in 2018, always to look at a boat. After moving to Hawaii, and getting deeper into the culture, I have learned so many things about the Hawaiian culture.
I am grateful for all of the knowledge, and the personal stories that have been told to me. I hear a lot of different versions of the same history, even from families who have lived on the islands for centuries. But each version shows where that person or that family put their priorities, or where they were hurt the most and by whom.
I find the spirit of aloha to be beautiful and a vibrant way to express love and care for other human beings. However what aloha is shared in Hawaii now is shared cautiously. I am not sure if this is new, or if this goes back long before Captain Cook came to Hawaii, since it is a sore spot in Hawaiian history, that they had some brutal social practices such as slavery, capital punishment, torture and human sacrifice. The science and the oral history seems to indicate that when the Tahitians came to the Hawaiian Island chain 900 years ago (give or take some), that there was already an established civilization, called the “Mu people” or “Mu”, and when the Tahitians landed, they conquered, captured and enslaved these people of much smaller stature, which according to multiple sciences and peer reviewed works (see notations at the bottom) came from South East Asia. I will notate some sources that document the slave class in the Hawaiian caste system, long before Europeans ever landed in Hawaii, but you can search for yourself the “Kauwa“.
The point here being, that while there are certainly class and racial issues in Hawaii now, that does damper the aloha, or at least suppresses it a bit. People in Hawaii have been burned many times throughout history, and even Hawaii as a state gets a bad end of a law such as the Jones Act, which should have expired long ago, due to it being a war-time measure, not a peace time measure, and it is very costly to the islands that are within the protection/control/occupation of the USA. From Puerto Rico (for instance, when we were there for Hurricane Maria, and seeing how both Federal and most CERTAINLY local government responded to the aftermath), to USVI, to Hawaii, Guam, and American Samoa. All of these areas of the USA has to submit to the costly regulations under the Jones Act. I will put a reference in the bottom of this article for information on the Jones Act incase you are unfamiliar.

So while these are tense issues, and sometimes painful issues. It does make for a deep and rich culture, with many many layers to the depths of the people and the various changes of power throughout millennia.

As a traveler, an explorer, and a navigator (of ships and airplanes), I respect the history of Hawaiian explorers and naked-eye navigators. I know how learning that is a real deep cultural knowledge and it not easy to attain that knowledge. It took Polynesian people thousands of years to perfect their amazing navigation skills. To be close to this is a real cultural benefit that you will not find anywhere else.

As a highly multi-cultural melting pot it gives people an understanding about both how little melanin truly means, underneath it all. But in cases of protests and revivals like what is going on with the Mauna Kea movement, it also sometimes reminds us how much culture and heritage does mean to humanity. Which has given us pause to appreciate the many blessings and the amazing amount of beauty, history, and knowledge that Hawaii has brought to the world.

I learn about new things in Hawaii that I gain a great appreciation for all of the time. From the aina, in such events as the 2018 Kilauea eruption that our home was literally a mile away from the main fisser. How powerful the land is, how powerful the air is, and how powerful the sea is. Hawaiians / Polynesians as of the last 900+ years are by in large a warrior culture. Which in a lot of ways, makes sense if you get to know how raw and powerful the environment is. This gives me a major appreciation for the team work and fierceness of/in this culture.
Growing up in very culturally closed areas of the world, such as Utah which I lived in for most of my childhood, along with California and Arizona, it opens my eyes to so many new human experiences being in Hawaii. I have dedicated myself to learning Japanese, which I practice learning on daily with Duolingo. This is partially inspired by the Japanese friends that I have met in Hawaii, and also from a recent visit to Japan that I was able to take because of my situation in Hawaii.

One thing that I realize about Mormonism in the Hawaiian community, and why the Mormon church seems so popular among Hawaiians, is that Hawaiians and Mormons have a lot of history in common. There may be legends on both sides, some that may be very true, or so that may be embellished. However, Mormonism and Polynesian history have many many parallels. I personally left the LDS church, and I believe most of their teachings to be legend or fiction, and I do not follow Mormonism. But growing up in Utah with an LDS family, and dating several Hawaiian girls growing up and having a couple of Hawaiian friends in school growing up. I always wondered “WHY would Hawaiians join a historically racist church”?? But, there is appeal in other areas of the Mormon/Hawaiian connection, such as genealogy, and the history that they teach.

This is another direction point of connection that I have in common with many Hawaiian friends. Despite not being either Hawaiian myself (not by birth), nor do I practice Mormonism any more. I would say that my dedication to family history ranks closely with devoted Mormonism, or culturally tuned in Hawaiians. I love family history, and I have spent a good portion of my life building a repository of photos, documents, and video of places that my family have visited where our family has history. I love talkin story with Mormons and Hawaiians both, based on similar interests and similar history.

The many many blessings that I enjoy in Hawaii could go on for a very long time. Most of it is common sense and obvious type of stuff, like sun, seas, beaches, fishing, etc. But there is so much to Hawaii that I can only understand by experience, and I have no verbal way to communicate it. Even the disagreements and political issues in Hawaii become a learning experience and therefore a blessing as well.

In the video below, I shared some of our sailing and exploration experiences around the world.

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NwEhRlPo6ww?feature=oembed&w=1170&h=658]

References:

I always recommend that you do your own research! I am sharing only from my own personal observation and opinion.



Our bi-weekly call-in event – update

I wanted to inform our audience of our live call in show which I want to be able to host every two weeks.
However I tried to host this on January 2nd 2020, and I had a technical difficulty. An audience member called me out on it, saying “why did you blame it on google”. So I wanted to be clear (again), even though I made a video about it already on youtube.

So I am attempting to get people on video chat with Google Hangouts, so that we can have a sort of “face to face” talk story session about Hawaiian History. Less than a year ago, Google Hangouts was free. But it is no longer free.
It now comes with G-Suite, which is a paid service. I set the up recently thinking that I could host this live on January 2nd 2020.

I was able to connect to Google Hangouts, however, when broadcasting live on Youtube, I got the following error:

For more information about the error, you can check this link that is given: https://support.google.com/a/answer/9000768

Upon further investigation, my account has to be more than 30 days old, but at the time of the broadcast it was only 4 days old. I also have to have paid into the account $30 or more. The subscription is only $12 per month. Which means it will be more than 2 more months before I can use this subscription for joining people together for a live event on youtube.

I also bought software called ManyCam, and attempted to stream live. While the livestream didn’t show up to others immediately, the recording did show up about 8 hours later, strangely. So it doesn’t look like I have this solved yet.
I can take live call-ins, and I am working the bugs out now for that. So we will see.
Either way, the chat will work, and if you really want to have a face-to-face, make a video, upload it to youtube, and send me a link. If you make that sort of effort, I will certainly reply with my own video.

This is our scedule going into February and March: https://www.facebook.com/events/752277008590241/

January 16th at 6pm HST (-10 GMT)
January 30th at 6pm HST (-10 GMT)
February 6th at 6pm HST (-10 GMT)
February 20th at 6pm HST (-10 GMT)
March 5th at 6pm HST (-10 GMT)

This all started out as just a documentary or a vlogumentary called “Hawaii Divided”. I have tried to accomodate meetings, and live questions. However that was not part of the original plan.

This is how this originally started out:
https://disruptarian.com/hawaii-divided-a-comprehensive-history-of-hawaii-december-14th-2019-premiere/

I have been diligent to engage the audience in the comment sections of the videos, but if I can make a live session happen, via video chat. I will let you know if I find a way. If not, it will just be the documentary style that I release.
After my Google Gsuite account is ready for live chat, which will be at the end of March apparently, then I will do the Live Google Hangouts on Youtube incase anyone wants to be brave and show up live. 🙂

We’ll see what happens. There is always the opinion of making a video, uploading it to your own youtube channel, and sending me a link though. That is ALWAYS an option, regardless of my technicial difficulties.

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6_fulyHIPW4?feature=oembed&enablejsapi=1&w=1170&h=658]


Hawaiian Kine Stuff – Setting the Record Straight with Al Gonzales

This is a Hawaiian grown kupuna who has been active in Hawaii fighting back false idea’s about Hawaiian history.  In this interview on Think Tech Hawaii Al Gonzales dispels a lot of the false information spread around about the “illegal overthrow” of the Hawaiian monarchy.

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JsQ_DrMOeEo?feature=oembed&enablejsapi=1&w=1170&h=658]

As a Native Hawaiian who cares about the future, Al Gonzales wants to set the record straight on Hawaiian history and values. Keli`i and Al discuss some of the misconceptions about “Hawaiian Kine Stuff” especially in regards to activism. ThinkTechHawaii.com streams live on the Internet from 12:00 noon to 5:00 pm every weekday afternoon, Hawaii Time, then streaming earlier shows through the night. Check us out any time for great content and great community. Our vision is to be a leader in shaping a more vital and thriving Hawaii as the foundation for future generations. Our mission is to be the leading digital media platform raising pubic awareness and promoting civic engagement in Hawaii.

https://www.grassrootinstitute.org/2016/03/al-gonzales-and-native-hawaiian-progress/

Al Gonzales’s website is https://www.facebook.com/808majority

Al Gonzales was featured in Huffington Post October 21st 2015 regarding this information as well

https://www.huffpost.com/entry/trying-to-set-the-record_b_8353554

 



Mauna Kea Protesters Want to Keep Hawaiian Lands in Hawaiian Hands

Mauna Kea Protesters Want to Keep Hawaiian Lands in Hawaiian Hands.

They say “Hawaii is a fake state” and that the USA stole Hawaii from the Monarchy in 1893.

Latest video What is at the heart of the Mauna Kea Protests?

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lCMuUdA5z_A]

The facts are far different than they present, and this transition started long before 1893 when Hawaiian subjects, Hawaiian citizens and genetic Hawaiians overthrew their government.

This process started when King Kamehameha I made European visitors Ail’i (chiefs) and gave them land and wives in exchange for weapons and ships so that King Kamehameha I could destroy his enemies in local islands, some were his cousins and other family, and he wanted those weapons so bad to destroy those people, that he started giving up parts of Hawaii to foreigners.

There are the different constitutions of Hawaii, which contrasted one from the other greatly, which gives a bit of a look into the conflicts in Hawaii from one regime to the next, long before Hawaii was annexed into the USA.

  • Kingdom of Hawaii. Constitution of 1840 on October 8, 1840.
  • The Constitution of 1852 came into effect under Kamehameha III signed it into law June 14, 1852.
  • Republic of Hawaii. Constitution of 1894 on July 4, 1894.
  • Territory of Hawaii. Organic Act of 1990 on June 14, 1900.
  • State of Hawaii. Constitution of 1950 on August 21, 159 (statehood)

When Hawaiian sovereignty people say that Hawaii was stolen.
In fact it was mismanaged by war and greed, and then more greed and mismanagement, and even more mismanagement until the Hawaiian Kingdom dissolved slowly over 100 years time.

Here are some links to sources that are referenced in the video;

Dr. Ken Conklin’s documentation of this descent of Hawaii.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n1e75xiUHLA

This is from Dr. Ken Conklin’s work;
http://www.angelfire.com/hi2/hawaiiansovereignty/overthrow.html

Dr. Ken Conklin’s website on Hawaiian Studies
http://historymystery.kenconklin.org

Going a bit further back, but not too far, is when Tahitians (modern day Hawaiian’s ancestors) conquered Hawaii and took it from the original inhabitants, which those first inhabitants came from South East Asia.

This is confirmed by many sciences.

First with Oral Tradition:

http://hawaii-guide.info/past.and.present/history/tahitian.takeover/

Then through DNA evidence

https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371%2Fjournal.pone.0047881

And linguistic evidence.

http://www2.hawaii.edu/~yotsuka/course/PN_history.pdf

Hawaiians (Tahitians) were not the first inhabitants of Hawaii.

So if we are to give Hawaii back to the original inhabitants, then where are they? In Fiji and Taiwan? Because the people who are here now, are not the original inhabitants.

And beyond that, if the overthrow of Hawaii is null and void, and if we are in a “fake state”, then is the USA also a fake state?

What about all of the other countries who have had revolutions?

They always talk about “Codified law” and “the Geneva Convention” and the “Hague Convention”.

So is that the rules that are going by? Rules that didn’t exist until after the overthrow of Hawaii?

Then why did the Hague throw their case out?

Learn more about “Larsen vs. the Hawaiian Kingdom”

https://disruptarian.com/knowledge-base/category/treaties/

If for any reason the referenced linked above are not longer at the location linked to in the future, you can use:   www.archive.org  to view this page and others from how the looked in the  the past

What are your thoughts?



The negative effects of the Hawaiian Sovereignty Movement

On social media I have been interacting a lot with the supporters and protesters of the Thirty Meter Telescope project, because this one is very important to me.
The TMT project means more than just local jobs and an economic boost over the next 10-12 years.  It also effects the potential for protecting life on this planet by exploring out galaxy, and seeing distance objects that could potentially be heading toward earth.

As I have spoken about on other blog posts and videos, the lass of 5 mass extinctions on earth in our history happened when the dinosaurs roamed the earth and an asteroid impacted earth and wiped out 99% of life on earth.   If the sentient life on earth at the time could have created and used the technology that we have today, such as rockets and telescopes, the last mass extinction would not have happened.  By scoping out the object on the path to impacting the earth, and sending a armed rocket far enough in advance to deflect the object or destroy it, then we can avoid the same fate as the dinosaurs.

Of course there are a lot of cool things that will be discovered by the telescope, and we all know that Hawaiians and other Polynesians are very good with the stars and navigating by the stars and over all just gaining wisdom from the stars.  To me this place seems like the best place for the telescope in both a cultural sense and a logistical placement.

 

However there are some cultural practices that are being resurrected by a small group of people in the Hawaiian sovereignty movement.  These things include Kapu related worship, and altars and idols and such.   These are things that the Hawaiians destroyed and never practiced again ending 200 years ago when Kamehameha’s son Liholiho ended the practice, ordered the temples and altars to be destroyed as well as the idols.   After that there was a small scuffle over the decision to end the Kapu, but for around 200 years those things have not been observed or practiced in Hawaii.  Except until recently, when this sovereignty movement fired up, and like other Native American tribes,  this group wants their piece of the pie.  So they have resurrected cultural practices that have been dead for 200 years.  They have claimed areas that have high investment like Mauna Kea as “Sacred” and they are asking and demanding for free land to be given to them through the OHA (Office of Hawaiian affairs) based on a Hawaiian Homelands legislation that was passed some years ago.

So now we have some jokers like David Sai who got a PHd in Hawaiian studies some how, and he is claiming that the USA forged an illegal overthrow of these Islands and annexed them without a treaty.   However, what David Sai uses as proof, and what he neglects to present makes a world of difference when looking at these claims.

A few of the things that I have pointed out are:

Someone replied to my statements about the history of war and conquest in Hawaii that dates back 700 years before the whiteman/haole came to these islands.

My points:

The first people in Hawaii were from SE Asia. They are not the people who make up what people call “Native Hawaiians” today.
The people who make up so-called Native Hawaiians today came 200 years after the original settlers got here, the SE Asians.
When the Tahitians came here 700 years ago, and conquered the SE Asians, there was a lot of brutality in their conquest.
These are your people, the Tahitians, the ones that brutally stole this land from the SE Asians 700 years ago.
And for 700 years, even up until King Kamehameha 1 there was war after brutal war where Hawaiians would kill each other for conquest and power, to try to control the neighboring islands.
Hawaii hasn’t had this much peace, since after the Haole took over.
Your ancestors were CERTAINLY not innocent, and CERTAINLY not peaceful

This is a video that I made to document this violent history of Hawaiian/Tahitian conquest
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tw95Xjx_dCw?feature=oembed&enablejsapi=1&w=1170&h=658]

You know that King Kamehameha invited the haole, he gave them titles as chiefs, land, and wives, in exchange for weapons, so that he could kill other Hawaiians. Do you know that part of history?
You know it was Kamehameha’s son Liholiho who ended the kapu, tore down the temples and idols, and completely ended the practice here in Hawaii, before the missionaries ever arrived?
Do you know that the transfer of power was from ex-Queen Liliuokalani to other native born Hawaiians? The provisional government was made up of people born in Hawaii. People that King Kamehameha 1 endorsed by giving their ancestors titles and land?
You know that ex-Queen Liliuokalani signed the abdication document, and then swore an oath to the republic?
You know that more than 20 countries around the world recognized the Republic of Hawaii as the legitimate government of Hawaii before 1895? Its in the state archives.

This was his reply:

Ryan while everything you wrote is spot on it can not refute the fact that Queen Liliuokalani’s government was illegally overthrown by greedy American sugar planters. Unfortunately before this happened the Hawaiians had already lost their right to suffrage due to the western influence and growth in power in Hawaii’s government and loss of land because of the mahele and Kuleana act. Hawaiians should be upset. But, could it be that protesters are misguided? Maybe focus should be on homeland issues such as lack of opened homestead land and blood quantum. Maybe focus on the education of all Hawaiians children by bishop estates rather than only certain elite Hawaiian children. I feel the protesters have a golden opportunity to unify All Hawaiians over these types of issues which would enable them to possibly see some form of sovereignty actually take place (hasn’t because various sovereignty groups do not agree on goals). By focusing on an issue that is a losing cause, they will only undermine these other arguably more important issues, and possibly divide the Hawaiian people further. The protesters say they are acting for the benefit of their keiki and keiki’s keiki, however this a golden opportunity for them to unite against these other issues that can take place that would probably be more beneficial to their keiki

 

This is my follow up.

 

 I lived in Puerto Rico up until Hurricane Maria took everything I owned, and I have lived all over the world.
I have been a very libertarian, and anti-borders person most of my life. Meaning I do not support Trump’s wall, or his anti-immigration stuff, even though I think he is a good business man, and a better president than most of the USA’s presidents in the past.

But I was all for the Puerto Rican sovereignty movement, and I still am. The PR people welcomed my family as their family, very warm and kind people. We had common goals, like fighting off the imposition of the Jones Act, and high taxation.

When I came to Hawaii, basically as a refugee from Puerto Rico after the storms. I also supported Hawaii’s sovereignty. Naively I must say. But for many of the same reasons. The imposition of the Jones Act, high taxation, and other government impositions.

But when I have researched it more and more, to me it seems like a very fake and selfish movement. Not like the Puerto Rican sovereignty movement.

I mean for instance, resurrecting Kapu practices 200 years after Kamehameha’s son Liholiho destroyed the practice, destroyed the temples, burned the idols, and for nearly 200 years it hasn’t been practiced. But now with David Sai’s incomplete presentation of the Hawaiian history, and the transfer of power that he talks about as “illegal occupation” while ignoring things like the Morgan report, the Abdication Documents, the signed and sworn oath of ex-Queen Liliuokalani to the Republic, and the 20+ letters of recognition from nations all over the world in 4 continents and 11 languages. I mean him skimming out those important details, and making claims such as the Hague case “Larsen vs. The Kingdom of Hawaii” being in a “pending status”, when in all reality the case is NOT pending and has been permanently dismissed.
Dr. Sai and others are stirring up racial tension, based on false premises, and it is hurting Hawaii right now.

For instance. Lets look at TMT. That project is going in, like it or not. It is. No stopping it now, I promise.
But do you think the TMT project is going to hire local workers, if it appears that the local workers HATE the TMT, and may possibly sabotage the job?
No, the TMT likely now, will hire workers from the Mainland, to protect their investment from locals who would like to see the TMT fail.
Otherwise, if there wasn’t all of this fake outrage about a Kapu system and temple that was laid to rest 200 years ago. The TMT project would probably hire local workers.
But I doubt there is any chance of that now. These protesters fucked all of that up. It will be mainland workers coming in now instead of locals.
I understand the struggles of the Hawaiian people. I talk story with everyone, and I have a radio show that I have done here in Hawaii since 2010. I am an advocate of sovereignty for the most part.
But this racist stuff, where everyone (even in this conversation) says “Haole go back to where you came from”. Makes me less and less interested in supporting this. I despise racism.   And most of the stuff I get from these activists is just plain racist.
So I hope people chew on that when they make their next move.
If you don’t support the TMT now. Don’t attempt to benefit from the jobs it will produce later.

I very much support the TMT, even though I do not really offer a service that they would be able to use at the facility.  But I support it on a species beneficiary level.
There are a lot of other local Native Hawaiians that support the TMT as well, see this youtube channel:  https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCkRLwDfnVqQf-xKIep6sWzQ

More details on the threats and problems that this protest is causing.

All Observatory Staffers Evacuated As TMT Protest Continues

Protesters Cloud TMT Discussion With False Claims, Threats