Maui Nō Ka ‘Oi. Maui is the best.
Maui is on so many of our hearts and minds right now. For me, Maui is a soul place, THE magical island. We went there 20 years or so ago and have been drawn back every year since. For the past week, the images and stories of the inferno have been way beyond heartbreaking. What can we do, helpless, from so far away? Wait, watch, donate, pray. Wildfires happen here in Colorado, and they are scary and devastating. But in a paradise in the middle of the Pacific Ocean? I cannot get my head – or heart – around it. Grieving for the people, the animals, for a place that has been beloved and has meant so much to so many of us. Painfully aware of the history, what has been taken from the Hawai’ian people, we’ve gone there with awareness, respect, gratitude – and have tried to tread lightly.
We would go to Maui to be with the whales each year, as much as small humans on small boats can be near them. They breathe life for our earth, I’m sure of it. There is a thing, apparently, that when you see a whale for the first time, you burst into tears. This happened to me and still does, every time. The whales sing their songs while they’re swimming around the Hawai’ian Islands. The channel between Maui and Lanai is shallow and warm, protected now, a perfect environment for baby whales. The first time I heard whale song, I stopped dead – as much as one can stop in the ocean - and burst into tears inside my snorkel mask. There is nothing like this sound, which goes straight to the heart and that other place where we connect with all that is bigger than us. You can stick your head in the water off the beach and listen to them, to their music. And it is music, I am convinced. We can only hear some of their songs because they reach frequencies far too low for us to hear. It was 1967 when Roger Payne discovered and told the world that whales sing “in rhythmic form,” phrases, and complex patterns. Songs. Of course, I thought when I first read this. (Roger Payne died in June of this year. Because of him, we’ve largely banned commercial whaling. Thank you, sir.) https://www.nytimes.com/2023/06/14/science/roger-payne-dead.html)
I’ve been listening to IZ all week. Israel Kamakawiwo’ole. You’ve probably heard his rendition of “Somewhere Over the Rainbow,” famously recorded in one take at 3am one middle-of-the-night studio session.
And IZ sings about Maui (the trickster, not the island) in “Hawai’ian Sup’pa Man” (from the album Facing Future)
For me, IZ is the sound of Hawai’i. His music, though he died in 1997, IS Hawai’i. He was a strong advocate for Hawai’ian rights and independence, and he was a beautiful and evocative singer.
IZ is gone now, but his music soothes us still. The whales are away for now, feeding in Alaska before their next trip to the islands in November or so. And Lahaina Town as we knew it is gone but something will rise again soon, literally from the ashes. Front Street was a concert from one end to the other, music spilling from storefronts, restaurants, streetcorners, the drum circle under the Banyan Tree (she may survive! https://www.hawaiinewsnow.com/2023/08/17/theres-still-life-nationwide-effort-underway-save-mauis-historic-banyan-tree/) There’s no way to know what the whales – or any of us – will come back to in the coming year. For now, I send my love and healing thoughts to Maui, my respect to those lost and my deepest condolences to those who have lost someone. This is everyone there – everyone. Please join me in supporting Lahaina and Maui however we can right now.
https://www.mauihumanesociety.org/
https://www.hawaiicommunityfoundation.org/strengthening/maui-strong-fund
“Know that when you repeat “Maui nō ka ‘oi,” you are continuing a tradition that began with ancient Hawaiian chant, and two centuries of Maui song.” — Gail Ainsworth (author, historian, librarian and founding member of Makawao Historical Museum)
This is beautiful, Kathy. Thank you.