My name is Auliʻi Camacho. I am from Hauʻula moku of Koʻolauloa. (The wind and rain of this area is Lanakila and Ua Kani Koʻo). I currently live in upper Manāna moku of Ewa. I am one of five children and the only girl. I have attended Kamehameha since kindergarten. I like to spend time with my family and one of my favorite things to do is travel. I also like being outdoors at the beach or hiking.
Family has always been a big part of my life. My parents taught me to respect my kupuna because of their many years and attained wisdom. In the same way, the land is our kupuna. To me, mālama honua means to care for the land as your own family. Aspects of our land have been around way before our time. It feels, speaks and has movement just as we do. Why whouldnʻt it receive the same respect as human beings? I grew up in a rural area on the north side of the island. My siblings and I were always outdoors climbing trees, playing in the grass and river. On weekends my family cut the grass, pulled weeds, etc. The land was our playground but I began to learn that it was also a lot of work. If we wanted to use the land we needed to give back by maintaining it. This is where I found my first relationship with the land. As a haumana of papa mālama honua I aspire to learn more about the history of our people and their connection to the ʻāina. The Hawaiian lifestyle was strongly nature oriented. Everything from food to religion was based on the land itself. I feel it is impossible to have learned everything about our ancestors and the things they practiced. I would also like to learn more ways that we can participate in mālama honua as modern-day Hawaiians. Aloha ʻāina means to love the land. To love something is to have an immense feeling of deep affection. People love the land in their own ways, for their own reasons. Personally I feel my love for the ʻāina the strongest when I am surrounded by it. Swimming at a beach, hiking through a forest, or just sitting in my backyard. In todayʻs society, people are constantly trying cover up our land with skyscrapers and supermarkets. This only increases my love for the limited land that is left and still accessible. Aloha ʻāina and mālama honua need each other. If we love the land we will take care of it. And by caring for the land we can show that we do in fact love it. We canʻt or should not attempt to care for the land without true intent. As I said earlier the land can feel and sense every intent. When we are lazy with our work and do it willingly the ʻāina will not feel loved. In the same way, we can not try to love the land without action. You could love your loʻi but if you do not tend to it, it will perish.
0 Comments
|
|