Punalu'u bones closer to being buried
By Eloise Aguiar
Advertiser Windward O'ahu Writer
PUNALU'U — Negotiations are under way for a final burial site for iwi kupuna, ancestral bones, found during the Ka'a'awa to Punalu'u water main installation, with a preferred site on Kamehameha Schools' property in Punalu'u.
Three sites are being considered but most of the descendants of the iwi kupuna unearthed during a Board of Water Supply project have chosen a relatively secluded location that is near their homes, close to where the bones were discovered and out of the public's reach.
Secrecy of the burial site is tantamount to Hawaiian custom so those involved with the burial planning process asked that the location not be revealed.
According to Hawaiian custom, the bones of a person still hold the mana, the power of the individual, and if discovered that power can be misused or abused, said Alani Apio, a cultural expert with Communications Pacific.
In today's civilization, while Hawaiians may follow a modern culture, they show their respect for the ancient traditions by adhering to secrecy, Apio said.
"What you see today is a desire to respect who they were and what they believed in rather than to impose something new upon them," he said.
Under the law, the Board of Water Supply is responsible for moving the bones and must come up with a plan that is approved by the O'ahu Island Burial Council and the State Historic Preservation Division, Apio said.
Howard Tanaka, BWS head of maintenance unit engineering branch, said the water company has worked with the community on a plan that includes building a 50-foot-by-50-foot mound surrounded by moss rock veneer and containing compartments for the iwi. The mound will have no floor so when the bones dissolve they will go back to the land, Tanaka said.
Some 63 sets of iwi were discovered but the mound will have room for more in the event that other construction projects unearth additional iwi, he said.
"We knew there (were) sensitive areas on this project and even before we started the project we retained a cultural monitor and an archeologist," Tanaka said, adding that both were present during excavations.
The project for the most part is complete and now BWS must rebury the bones. The water company is working with Kamehameha Schools to obtain the preferred site but no formal proposal has been submitted, said Kekoa Paulsen, school spokesman.
"We're very interested and its very important that the iwi are treated with the greatest respect," Paulsen said, adding that the process may end with a different result than the preferred one.
Cathleen Mattoon, who is one of the descendants of the iwi kupuna, said the planning is done and now BWS and Kamehameha have to finalize an agreement.
The preferred site is special to many of the descendants who have been meeting about the iwi since the project began in 1999, Mattoon said. The community encountered a few "bumps" along the way but is generally satisfied with the outcome, she said.
Although the project is over, Mattoon said, "The end of the project for us will be when we properly inter our iwi."
Reach Eloise Aguiar at eaguiar@honoluluadvertiser.com or 234-5266.
