Day 9: Them Hawaiians know what's up.

For those of you that think science is the end-all-be-all answer to explain how the world works, explain this:

Yesterday in Hawaii I spent the day with my class at the Pa’I Foundation, an organization that preserves the artistic culture and rituals of native Hawaiians. We learned a hula dance, whose chant and movements honor Pele, the Goddess of fire, lightning, wind and volcanoes. She was the ultimate creator of the islands and the Hawaiian people, making the land and the people siblings. We learned yesterday that the Hawaiian culture is tightly knit to their land. It is their family, and many of their ritual chants and dances, as the one we learned yesterday, are tributes to it.

Obviously, when a volcano erupts it takes down anything in its path. Our teacher at the Pa’I Foundation named Vicky Takamine told us about a friend whose family has occupied the same house for many generations. Somehow, the house has survived dozens of volcanic eruptions.

There are certain Hawaiian rituals that are practiced in preparation for the arrival of family. The men clean the yard, and the women clean the house and prepare food. So Vicky’s friend does exactly this when a volcano erupts, when Pele is on her way to this woman’s home. Her house built on the land, her older sibling, and is not truly her own property. So, when her family (Pele) is coming, she invites her friends and family over. Officials come to her home, warning her to leave for higher grounds from the lava. She refuses, ordering the boys to clean the yard and the girls to clean the house while she makes enough tuna sandwiches to feed thirty. The officials return, this time with a little more urgency- as if she were unaware that her home is in Pele's direct path. “I know, I know," she says; and again, she tells the boys to continue cleaning the yard, the girls to clean the house, and returns to her tuna sandwiches. Vicky described the lava creeping over the land and engulfing this bus near her friend’s home. The lava reached up to its tires, then the door handles, and eventually the windows. Everything in Pele's path was consumed by the molten heat, many homes included- all except the home where the boys cleaned the yard, the girls cleaned the house, and Vicky made her tuna sandwiches.

She gathered the boys and girls around her table and asked, “do you know why I had you cleaning the yard, cleaning my home, and sitting here around this table?” She explained the meanings behind these traditions, telling stories of her family performing these rituals for decades and discussing the Hawaiian histories and legends of Pele. And as the lava creeped down the road and approached her home, Pele went completely around her property, as if she were reciprocating the reverence from her younger sibling. This has been happening for generations at this very same home. Her property, everything and everyone inside it were completely untouched. Just like that.

Science can continue to research and discover things on this planet to help sustain us, and keep our species alive. But it sure does seem like it would be a hell of a lot easier if branches decided not to fall on our roofs, and hurricanes opted not to wipe out towns. Maybe droughts could let some rain down here and there. The Hawaiians have been doing something right, and clearly there’s more than just science to explain how the world works. Think about it...