OUR HONOLULU
Stepping back into Makahiki

By Bob Krauss
Advertiser Columnist

Moses walked for 40 years leading the children of Israel to the promised land. Martin Luther King Jr. walked to overcome racial bigotry. Gandhi walked to free India.

Now Kapono Aluli Souza, 28, is walking around O'ahu to find a compromise between old and new Hawai'i.

He started last November on the day Pleiades rose at sunset. That's the beginning of the ancient Makahiki season when Ku, the god of war, retired temporarily and Lono, god of peace, reigned over the Islands.

"I wanted to find a balance for myself internally," said Souza, who makes his living administering lomilomi, the Hawaiian method of massage. His clientele takes him as far as Japan. "We celebrate New Year on Jan. 1 and Chinese New Year — why not the Hawaiian New Year? It doesn't do any good unless you apply it."

So, what has he discovered?

"Water is a problem," he said. "I tried to find the old springs. I'd say most springs have been buried, covered up or abused. It's sad because these watering holes were where the chiefs walking around the island during the Makahiki would stop and refresh themselves. In the Hawaiian mind, water is cleansing."

Souza said much of the water today is polluted. He had raised a blister on the North Shore. After he crossed Waimea Stream, his foot swelled up. Fortunately, his uncle taught him a Hawaiian remedy — a poultice made from a plant. The infection healed in three days.

"In the old days, people would have invited me to come in and eat," he said. "Some people give me 'ulu (breadfruit), bananas and coconut. I look for fruit trees. If I see one, I ask before I pick."

Souza said he's making the walk in stages because he also has to earn a living. When I talked to him, he had gotten as far as the State Capitol.

He had hoped that others would join him in what was a major annual activity in ancient times. Only a few people have done so. But Souza considers the first half of his walk a success.

"I wanted to take myself out of my safe zone and find out why the Makahiki was such a huge part of life in old Hawai'i," he said. He thinks it's because walking is contemplative. It's a way of getting close to people and to the environment.

"By walking and slowing yourself down, you become aware of these things," said Souza. "Wisdom is not just knowledge but being aware of what's around you. I try to learn from people about their neighborhoods."

He said the kupuna know but young people don't. At Kahana Valley, he asked about a grave site. A group of twentysomethings sneered, "We don't do grave sites."

He said the people most knowledgeable about the Makahiki aren't Hawaiians. For himself, "I feel I've accomplished something. Anybody can do it. Just do five miles and you are taking yourself out of a box."

Reach Bob Krauss at 525-8073.