tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18386461811323089962024-02-20T17:14:24.054-08:00Poets CornerPoetry and visual art work that tells stories of resistance.Womens' Voices, Women Speakhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02912681445162063331noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1838646181132308996.post-72329297194149221622009-09-12T02:52:00.001-07:002014-02-22T16:17:59.927-08:00Mapping HistoriesBy Ellen-Rae Cachola<br />
<br />
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Womens' Voices, Women Speakhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02912681445162063331noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1838646181132308996.post-59860817067286074022009-09-11T23:35:00.000-07:002014-02-22T16:18:21.326-08:00Na Wahine Koa (Women Warriors)By Summer Nemeth<br />
<br />
In the time of Kü (1)<br />
I am . . . a woman <br />
Shhh! <br />
I mean . . . a word warrior <br />
Who throws words like spears <br />
To penetrate the heart <br />
of the tourist industry<br />
To bore holes of awareness <br />
through western ideology <br />
To awaken the thoughts <br />
of the seventh generation<br />
To ensure a prophecy can be fulfilled<br />
To ensure a prophecy can be fulfilled<br />
In the time of Kü<br />
I become: <br />
An amplifier of ideas <br />
A blower of the pü (2)<br />
A uniter of youth<br />
In the time of Kü<br />
I am . . . a woman <br />
Shhh!<br />
I mean . . . a word warrior<br />
Who takes an aiha'a stance (3) <br />
against those who threaten to take<br />
the iwi (4) of our Kupuna (5) as curios<br />
who desecrate and defile<br />
the mana (6) of our mo'okuhauhau (7)<br />
under the guise of <br />
what they consider to be<br />
“anthropology”<br />
<br />
I am a woman<br />
Who stands steadfast <br />
in the shadows of rainclouds (8) to call upon Kamapua'a (9) to uproot those <br />
who transplant golf courses <br />
to burial sites at Mökapu (10)<br />
who erect false gods and <br />
blatant flags of disrespect<br />
over the 'iwi of our ancestors<br />
in the name of <br />
“rest and relaxation”<br />
<br />
Who stands steadfast<br />
in the life-giving mountain mist <br />
to summon Wakea (11)<br />
to summon Maui (12)<br />
to defend us against those<br />
who erect white balls (13)<br />
atop sacred slopes of <br />
Mauna Kea (14)<br />
and Haleakalä (15) <br />
desecrating the wahi pana (16)<br />
of Poli'ahu (17), <br />
of Lilinoe (18)<br />
and Hina (19)<br />
in the name of “science” <br />
<br />
I am a woman <br />
who stands upon sickened shores<br />
in tainted waters <br />
where 'o'io (20) and ulua (21) swim <br />
and dead mollusks tell stories<br />
to call upon Ka'ahupahau (22) <br />
to protect us against<br />
those who erect the white globe (23)<br />
a beacon of violence and destruction<br />
atop ke kai mälie o Pu'uloa (24)<br />
the sacred uterus (25)<br />
ke ÿawalau o Puÿuloa (26)<br />
once a place of nourishment<br />
the sacred waters <br />
once the homeland of Ka'ehuikimano'opu'uloa (27) where<br />
Kaikimano'opu'uloa (28)<br />
was displaced<br />
a future guardian <br />
washed upon polluted shores<br />
teeth grabbing hold to roots <br />
which entagled its body<br />
now just another sacrifice<br />
for “national security” <br />
<br />
I am a woman<br />
of valley and stream<br />
Who summons the mo'o (29) <br />
Kihanuilülümoku (30)<br />
guardian of Lä'ieikawai (31)<br />
to protect our wahi pana<br />
to devour like flies <br />
those who train soldiers <br />
to penetrate the depths of Papa (32)<br />
raping her with foreign projectiles<br />
until she bleeds rusted metal (33)<br />
<br />
Who calls upon Kihanuilülümoku<br />
guardian of Läÿieikawai<br />
to protect our wahi pana<br />
to lash out against those<br />
who turn fish ponds (34) into toxic stews (35)<br />
who turn fertile islands into barren deserts (36)<br />
in the name of “national defense”<br />
<br />
I am a woman<br />
who calls upon Pikoiaka'alala (37) <br />
to use his skills<br />
against those 'iole (38) who erect<br />
barbed wire fences as barriers <br />
compressing culture <br />
conforming kanaka maoli (39) <br />
into wandering sprits <br />
who roam beaches and parks <br />
for eternity <br />
forcing them to eat the moths <br />
of western society (40)<br />
<br />
A woman<br />
<br />
Who summons Pikoiaka'alala<br />
to draw his bow<br />
against those who ho'iole (41)<br />
who erect barbed wire fences <br />
around the 'aina of our ancestors (42)<br />
<br />
claiming with ordnance <br />
littering with toxics <br />
our Mäkua (43), <br />
Lïhue (44), Lualualei (45), Pöhakuloa (46), Nohili (47), Waikäne (48), Waimomi (Another name for what is now Pearl Harbor)<br />
Waiÿanae . . . (49)<br />
our waiwai (50)<br />
our äina <br />
our kai (51) (ocean)<br />
as personal playgrounds<br />
in the name of “Homeland Security”<br />
<br />
In the time of Kü<br />
I am a woman <br />
I mean . . . word warrior<br />
<br />
Who takes an aiha'a stance<br />
against those who erect<br />
concrete structures <br />
as personal invitations<br />
to pakeha/palagi/papalagi/haole (52)<br />
hä 'ole (those without breath)<br />
Who takes an aiha'a stance <br />
against those who prostitute <br />
our culture <br />
in the name of capitalism <br />
selling cellophane lies<br />
corrupting our identity<br />
with casting calls for Sweet Leilani (53)<br />
in faux grass skirts and coconut bras<br />
eroticizing young kanaka maoli<br />
swaying their hips for a tip<br />
to haole hula hula songs<br />
<br />
In the time of Kü<br />
I’m not your Sweet Leilani Barbie<br />
I don’t have arms that will bend <br />
under pressure<br />
Into subservient, <br />
welcoming positions<br />
I don’t own a cellophane skirt, <br />
a coconut bra<br />
I don’t live in a grass shack,<br />
own a canoe<br />
I don’t sing and dance <br />
for your entertainment<br />
<br />
So . . .<br />
Don’t ask me to be your living trophy <br />
Don’t plan to shelve me alongside your collectibles <br />
Don’t mistake me for your: <br />
slave, <br />
server <br />
Or entertainer<br />
(Or my big blalah father <br />
will come and sit on you . . .) <br />
* * *<br />
In the time of Lono (54)<br />
When the flag of white kapa (55) flies <br />
I am a woman <br />
a weaver of words<br />
<br />
Who reinforces red feathers to capes<br />
that connect and entwine<br />
the blood of fallen generations<br />
to the shoulders of young warriors<br />
To ensure that their mana is restored<br />
That their bones shall live (56)<br />
<br />
So that their bones shall live . . .<br />
In the time of Lono<br />
I am a woman<br />
a teller of stories<br />
<br />
Who recites the chants <br />
of Hi'iakaikapoliopele (57)<br />
of La'amaomao (58)<br />
of La'ieikawai<br />
Who praises the actions <br />
of Kuapaka'a (59) <br />
of Kahalaomapuana (60)<br />
Who remembers the struggles of Lili'ulani (61)<br />
of George Helm (62)<br />
Who celebrates <br />
Sovereign Sunday (63), <br />
the Hawaiian Renaissance (64), <br />
Pünana leo (65)<br />
and Aloha 'Aina (66)<br />
So that these bones shall live . . .<br />
<br />
In the time of Lono<br />
I prepare ho'okupu (67) for the ahu (68): <br />
Kalo, 'uala, 'awa <br />
wrapped in green la'i<br />
<br />
I give thanks <br />
for the restoration of pono (69)<br />
I ask for the blessings of my ancestors <br />
E ho mai ka 'ike . . . (70)<br />
E ho mai ka ikaika . . . (71)<br />
E ho mai ke akamai . . . (72)<br />
E ho mai ka maopopo pono . . .(73) <br />
E ho mai ka ÿike päpälua . . . (74)<br />
E ho mai ka mana . . .(75)<br />
<br />
In the time of Lono<br />
I wont forget when:<br />
You asked me to be your living trophy<br />
You shelved me alongside your collectibles<br />
You mistook me for your <br />
slave, <br />
server <br />
and entertainer<br />
<br />
In the time of Lono<br />
I will wait <br />
for the time of Kü to deal with you <br />
<br />
<b>NOTES</b><br />
<br />
(1) a male god of war-making. Traditionally seasons shifted between times of harvest and peace and times of war (the times of war were in the realm of Ku, times of peace and harvest in the realm of Lono.<br />
(2) a conch shell used to gather the community<br />
(3) a warrior-stance, legs apart, knees slightly bent, also a hula position.<br />
(4) Bones. The saying to let the bones live was a common one, because the bones of one’s ancestors not only represented where one came from genealogically, but also held the mana (strength) of that ancestor . . . to touch or to defile it, would be to take away that strength.<br />
(5) elders/ancestors<br />
(6) strength<br />
(7) genealogy<br />
(8) one of the kinolau a form of the shapeshifter Kamapuaa<br />
(9) a well-known kupua: shape shifter who could take the form of a man, a pig, a blade of grass, a cloud, etc.<br />
(10) the traditional name for what is now Kaneohe Marine Corps Base<br />
(11) the god of the sky, a male form who is connected to the mountain Mauna Kea, also known as Mauna o Wakea<br />
(12) a well-known demi-god whose home was on the slopes of Haleakala<br />
(13) Huge white globes that act as telescopes or missile defense systems<br />
(14) Mountain located near the center of Hawaii island; meaning “white mountain” because it is snowcapped<br />
(15) Mountain located on Maui; meaning “house of the sun”; where Maui harnessed the sun to help dry his mother Hina’s kapa (bark cloth).<br />
(16) sacred places<br />
(17) a goddess of Mauna Kea known for her white mantle<br />
(18) sister of Poliahu, also a snow goddess, who makes her home on Haleakala<br />
(19) the mother of Maui and the goddess of women’s work<br />
(20) bonefish<br />
(21) Jack Crevalle or Giant Trevally<br />
(22) the shark goddess, and protector of what is now Pearl Harbor <br />
(23) A sea-based x-band radar at Pearl Harbor; used by the Navy as part of the missile defense program<br />
(24) the peaceful sea of Puuloa<br />
(25) the aerial view of Pearl Harbor is in the shape of a uterus.<br />
(26) A traditional name of Pearl Harbor; also called Waimomi<br />
(27) the little red shark of Puuloa; a character from a moolelo (traditional story)<br />
(28) the small shark from Puuloa; a name given to the baby hammerhead which the Hawaii delegation found washed ashore at Pearl Harbor.<br />
(29) female lizard guardian – usually over bodies of water: streams/ponds<br />
(30) a guardian and protector of Paliuli (a mythical place of chiefs located in the mountains of Hawaii); name meaning “large supernatural lizard who shakes islands”<br />
(31) A beautiful girl who was hidden away from the public eye by her parents and grandparents; one of the main characters of the Hawaiian literature titled The Hawaiian Romance of Laieikawai<br />
(32)Wakea’s female counterpart, the embodiment of land<br />
(33) many military training areas, including those at Makua, Lihue, Waikane, Kahoolawe and Pohakuloa, are filled with unexploded ordnance; many times rainfall exposes the old ordnance from the soil; some of the old ordnance has been found to contain depleted uranium.<br />
(34) Also called loko ia; a traditional pond used for aquaculture; several of these ponds were destroyed to make what is now Pearl Harbor. <br />
(35) Pearl Harbor has been identified as a “Superfund” site which means it has been recognized as one of the most toxic areas.<br />
(36) The entire island of Kahoolawe was used by the Navy as a training area from WWII time. The bombing cracked the cap of the water table beneath the island which was the source of ground water. The loss of groundwater led to the death of native flora, but ironically in 1988 a Navy spokesperson praised their actions, saying that the bombing of the island allowed, “seeds to penetrate and germinate, thus promoting new growth.” What he failed to mention was that it was promoting growth of invasive species.<br />
(37) a man of legend known for his ability to shoot rats with a bow<br />
(38) rats<br />
(39) traditional name of the Hawaiian people <br />
(40) this was the fate of those who died without the ancestors who would bring their spirits back to the deep darkness<br />
(41) to act like a rat, lie, steal, act sneakily, etc.<br />
(42) land<br />
(43) located on the west coast of Oahu, used for Army training<br />
(44) located in central Oahu, but includes what is now Schofield Barracks <br />
(45) Navy installation on the west coast of Oahu<br />
(46) located in the center of Hawaii island now used as an Army training area<br />
(47) a naval missile defense station located on the coast of Kauai<br />
(48) located on the east coast of Oahu, once used for the training of the Army and Marines<br />
(49) on the west coast of Oahu, where WWII munitions are washing up on the beaches<br />
(50) wealth – but more so the concept is rooted in wai which is water, which demonstrates the difference from the western concept of wealth<br />
(51) ocean<br />
(52) terms for foreigners across the Pacific<br />
(53) the stereotypical native Hawaiian woman from early Hollywood films<br />
(54)see note 1.<br />
(55) The flag was hoisted to remind people of peace time.<br />
(56) See note 4<br />
(57) the younger sister of the goddess Pele. The literal translation of her name is “Hiiaka in the bosom of Pele” because she was the favorite younger sister; the moolelo of Hiiaka is based upon her travels throughout the islands.<br />
(58) The goddess of winds; grandmother of Kuapakaa from the Moolelo by Esther Mookini entitled: The Wind Gourd of Laamaomao<br />
(59) Kuapakaa received the power of winds from his grandmother, and was able to chant the names of winds all over Hawaii.<br />
(60) One of the main characters of the story The Romance of Laieikawai. She dedicates herself to the protecting the sacredness of Laielohelohe, the sister of Laieikawai.<br />
(61) Queen Liliuokalani, last monarch of Hawaii who was forced to give up her throne and later imprisoned by missionary descendants who set up a self-proclaimed provisional government with the support of the U.S.S. Boston. <br />
(62) George Helm was one of the key figures of the 1970’s who occupied the island of Kahoolawe during military training. George was lost at sea on his return from an occupation of the island.<br />
(63) The celebration of the restoration of sovereignty (July 31, 1873) after Britain had occupied Hawaii for 5 months. <br />
(64) A period of cultural resurgence in language, voyaging, music beginning in the 1960s & 70s.<br />
(65) Hawaiian language immersion programs(66) The traditional concept to love and respect the land as it is the ancestor and provider for the people.<br />
(67) Ceremonial offering<br />
(68) a traditional altar to recognize the gods of a person or place<br />
(69)<br />
(70) grant us the knowledge<br />
(71) grant us the strength<br />
(72) grant us the wisdom<br />
(73) grant us correct understanding<br />
(74) grant us the foresight<br />
(75) grant us the powerWomens' Voices, Women Speakhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02912681445162063331noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1838646181132308996.post-4949304295807273862009-09-09T04:07:00.001-07:002014-02-22T16:18:47.701-08:00No Moreby Ellen-Rae Cachola<br />
circa 2004<br />
<br />
No, no more<br />
Please stop, end this horror<br />
End molestation<br />
End barbarism against my body.<br />
I am forced to be silenced<br />
Can’t speak of violation as you my rapist <br />
Tear my lips with unmerciful fists<br />
Your politics that cement my skin<br />
So I cannot protect when you<br />
Strike my child who speaks<br />
Until naturally she clings to you and calls you papa.<br />
Like a child seeking confession<br />
She finds redemption by reading your books out loud<br />
In a house that you rule<br />
Force feed her with your rusting spoon<br />
Until she sits on your lap,<br />
Obediently she will nap,<br />
Then you begin to finger her crack too…<br />
<br />
Oh no, please <br />
Leave me and my baby alone.<br />
Let us feel at home and love this life<br />
That has been endowed as a gift.<br />
Since we took first breath<br />
Grand mother universe cradled us sweetly in her arms<br />
Wanting to teach us life without harm<br />
Placing us to sit around the fire of the sun<br />
Listen to her stories written on infinite pages across the sky<br />
Day by day a new moral unfolded<br />
And she foretold when others would be emboldened enough to defy<br />
Her lessons<br />
By puncturing into her heart with missiles, rockets, and bombs<br />
Borne out of numbers of oil black bruises you place on our bodies now.<br />
<br />
Oh let us go free and live accordingly to how we are meant:<br />
Mother and child safe, hand in hand preserving gentle relationships<br />
Unlike the unquenchable thrusting of your exploiting <br />
Oil rig, drinking our life force like a vampire, parasitic. <br />
<br />
The only time to escape the hits and intrusion of sacred genitals<br />
Is when you sleep,<br />
Deeply satisfied by the release of your deformed seed<br />
Splattered on black and blue belly.<br />
Flesh raw and exposed<br />
Like soil exhausted, disposed of with GMOs<br />
We sow vegetation that does not feed<br />
Like an aborted child with no reason to breathe.<br />
<br />
How can I seek truth in this reality, terrifying?<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
Only in my child who creeps next to me<br />
Climbing the mountains of my arms to the peaks of my shoulders<br />
Asking for a bed time story <br />
In my breath that refreshes her like the breeze<br />
To hold her gently and color the dulled life with stories of long ago<br />
Like the sunset that glows and embraces her<br />
With purple and orange moods that warm her heart<br />
Due to the cold cement that separates her from my touch<br />
Only through intangible visions can she feel how much I love her<br />
Although it seems she has been placed in such bad luck<br />
She has been blessed to be the holder of futures<br />
<br />
As my words linger and enter into her attentive ear…<br />
<br />
The story I tell her is<br />
When man, woman and child lived<br />
They once were devoted to grow their spiritual minds<br />
Through finding love like in the sight of wildflowers<br />
Facing their petals toward the sun and moon.<br />
True belief that the celestial bodies <br />
Spoke of timeless messages<br />
That flew like invisible doves into their consciousness<br />
Valuable knowledge as much as infinite gold weighing as much as feathers<br />
Light was their hearts living in trust of their prayers<br />
Because fallen we were to be<br />
As it was destiny that seeks to refine our strength.<br />
In our cages we were to seek freedom until death<br />
World wide calamities is inevitable they said<br />
In histories that massacred identities<br />
Ideologies vanished underneath seas of political tides <br />
Life was then defined beyond the sight of leaves and petals<br />
But of roots and seeds<br />
Abstract, invisible beliefs are propagated and spread <br />
In a field as wide as the universe<br />
Nurtured when we remember the past to create the future<br />
So generations can break through the soil with their purpose.<br />
To move from form to form<br />
We break through the realm of control<br />
And open our minds like a blossoming rose<br />
To allow celestial bodies to feed us with messages<br />
To become radiant like the light of the moon upon dewy skin.<br />
<br />
The story I tell her brings tears in her eyes<br />
They are faraway and glisten like stars hopeful<br />
Like how she swoons to leave this world<br />
Because the beauty she sees lies away from this plane<br />
Reality is the poisonous amphetamine<br />
That numbs her from the patriarch <br />
That causes her to bleed tears in this political realm<br />
Yet her spirit still breathes<br />
Conceived and budding like a flower embryo<br />
Enclosed in my womb,<br />
Then bloomed at her birth<br />
You were born, dear child<br />
As springtime to the winter<br />
You were born, dear child<br />
The seed that remembers.<br />
<br />
And they hold each other,<br />
Mother and child, tight to never let go<br />
Her feet clings close to the mountain soils<br />
Even though his beastly roars<br />
Echoes from the highway below<br />
Like the bellows of her father<br />
Penetrating her sores, infecting her might.<br />
<br />
But inspiration she breathes when she is outside<br />
The chants of night crickets and leaves whispering<br />
Express the comfort of a sigh<br />
As she listens to the solace of mother’s story telling<br />
That nurse her spirit in this torturous plane<br />
Threatening her with the label of insane.<br />
But she prays with her acts of believing<br />
The words that are absorbed up her feet and echo into her intuition:<br />
Her body shall be left behind like<br />
A withered flower that climbed through the cracks of cement.<br />
But her essence will never vanish.<br />
As the chance to expose her face to the sun<br />
Was to put a name to the cause.<br />
As the words to speak of forgotten stories<br />
Are the seeds for them to never be lost.<br />
As pain shall come to claim our bodies<br />
Our breath would have sung the life-giving song.Womens' Voices, Women Speakhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02912681445162063331noreply@blogger.com1