Our Honolulu
A resting place amid the bustle

By Bob Krauss
Advertiser Columnist

Waikiki has never seen anything like its new Hawaiian memorial, an oasis of eternity amid the bustle of brief vacations.

On remote Rapa Nui, the ancestors stand silent and lonely in stone on a deserted, wind-swept coastline. In Waikiki, the ancestors sleep in a cozy 'ohana with plenty of company, surrounded by a wrought-iron fence at the busy intersection of Kalakaua and Kapahulu avenues.

This morning, by invitation only, descendants and friends will bring closure to a long and difficult journey that honors the remains of Hawaiians dug up during hotel construction, laying of sewer lines and other development in Hawai'i's tourism capital. The formal public ceremony is scheduled for Jan. 15.

"A few people have been opposed to the manner and location (of burial)," said Emalia Keohokalole, a member of one of the 14 families who made the decisions. "That's their right. Our families are honoring our relatives by bringing them back as close as we can to where they were buried.

"It's been a good collaboration between the city, the private sector and the descendants. Our families have been working since 1998. When some of them disagreed with our plans, we asked Mayor (Jeremy) Harris to leave the meeting." Then they worked out the disagreements amongst themselves.

"We reminded ourselves that we were doing this for our kupuna (elders)," Keohokalole said. "After that, it went smoothly."

Van Horn Diamond, whose family comes from Waikiki, said many of the recovered bones have been in boxes at the Bishop Museum. He said about 100 remains come from construction in 1981 of the Royal Hawaiian Shopping Center on the Royal Hawaiian Hotel grounds, a Bishop Estate development.

He explained that some of the remains go back to the Hawaiian monarchy. Others were buried secretly and their identities lost upon the death of the burial parties. Some remains were identified from the location of family plots in Waikiki.

All of this took close cooperation between the state Preservation Office, city officials in charge of the memorial, construction crews and descendants. While a water main was being laid on Kalakaua Avenue, an archaeologist was on call 24 hours a day and descendants decided on the spot whether remains should be protected in place or removed for reburial in the memorial.

"The families didn't want to stop the project and have workers lose pay," said Diamond.

Hawaiian Cement donated sand so the remains could be buried as they originally were. Family members and community leaders such as Harris, Councilman Duke Bainum, Nainoa Thompson and Hamilton McCubbin of Kamehameha Schools helped reverently hand the remains from the boxes and place them in the memorial.

Reach Bob Krauss at 525-8073.