[Conch shell fades into inspiring music]
The action of creating growth.
So that's basically what hoʻokupu is.
And its part of a larger ceremony
for the most part, but it's also the responsibility of
of the visitor to a place.
Here at the summit of Kīlauea, many hula
as well as other practitioners find themselves doing oli
and giving offerings to Pelehonuamea as well as the other elementals
that reside in this area.
Today, we'll be sharing with you folks the protocols of hoʻokupu
here at the summit and why we do it in this particular area.
My name is Huihui Kanahele Mossman.
I'm Hoʻola’i Miday and join us as
we learn about the function of protocol and hoʻokupu
and how its still used in the perpetuation
of many of our cultural practices.
Oli- Asking permission to enter a sacred place
My name is Huihui Kanahele-Mossman.
I was raised in Hilo, in Keaukaha.
I now live in both Hilo and Waiohinu, Kaʻū
I am a the the Executive Director at the Edith Kanakaʻole Foundation
and I am also
a Kumu Hula
for Hālau, Hālau o Kekuhi. Which I have been a part of
since I was seven years old
and so a little less than I've been in
hālau and practicing hula a little less than 50 years.
Hoʻokupu
is a part of a ceremony.
But again, so if you take the word apart,
if you take a kupu, kupu is to grow
the ferns that we see on the ground
that first come out of the pāhoehoe, those are kupukupu ferns.
So that first growth is kupu and then hoʻo is to do it.
The action of creating growth.
So that's basically what hoʻokupu is.
Its a part of a larger ceremony for the most part.
But it's also the responsibility of,
of the visitor to a place.
It's a responsibility of the steward of the place.
And it's the responsibility of those
who live around of wahi pana or forest or
or coral reef
to be able to provide that hoʻokupu.
or that reason or that activity to grow.
So any of those things that it takes the giver an effort
to, to make and to create those are worthy hoʻokupu.
Some examples of hoʻokupu is if you dance hula
or you had experience of hula, that's a good hoʻokupu is a hula.
Another hoʻokupu can be a mele
that you that you haku
or a mele that you that you know
that has something to do with the place that you're at
or if you giving a hoʻokupu
to a structure like a heiau
or if you're giving hoʻokupu to a lele
it can be in those things that come from that place,
food that comes from that place.
Hoʻokupu can also be
a lei or it can be a plant.
It can be anything that
that will again, going back to the word,
it can be anything that creates growth
for that place.
If the situation is in and within a ceremony,
then there is a certain protocol to follow for the hoʻokupu, such as announcing
who you are
saying why you are there
identifying your hoʻokupu
and either asking for
something in return or just
showing a word or two of
of appreciation of the place, especially hula dancers,
hula practitioners when they go to Kīlauea they want to leave something.
And so when they go, they want visual access of the element
in order to leave hoʻokupu.
And so wherever you have that close
vocal and visual access, that's where they want to go.
Examples are Uēkahuna and Kapaliokamohoali'i
or the top of Kapaliokamohoali'i.
Wahinekapu is a good example.
If you are able to have a space
for a private hoʻokupu session.
Another example is Kūpinaʻi.
That's a great place to do a hoʻokupu.
And so again, whenever
you have that visual and vocal access
between you and the space, those are all good places to do hoʻokupu.
If you just hang on to that definition of hoʻokupu
that's what the forest is
Growth begins and flourishes
and then you have the forest
and so you know it's
the product of what we do for hoʻokupu
or our process of hoʻokupu the forest is a product of that.
And so it's
the end product of what we should
what we should be thinking of when we give hoʻokupu.
Aloha I’m Makani Gregg from Kailua, Waimanalo, Oʻahu.
I now live Pohoiki in Puna.
I am the botanical field and data technician
for the Native Plant Restoration.
I've been here for seven years.
Here at the Native Plant Restoration Crew
we collect fruit and seeds and propagate them here in the nursery
and outplant plant them back into the wild to ensure their progeny
and little babies live on forever and ever.
It is important that we collect
fruits and seeds and grow these and outplant them and mālama
these resources so that as kānaka
as people that live here in Hawai’i, outplant these Hawaiian plants
back into the wild, into their landscape so that they live on
in this competing world of non-natives
because they are the ʻōiwi the aboriginals or this place.
And if we canʻt help them, most likely they won't survive in the world.
So we're
just trying to do our part to make sure that
the Kānaka ʻŌiwi of this place has a chance to make it
for our future generations.
If you don't know what hoʻokupu is
like how I just explained it, if you don't have
that an accurate definition of hoʻokupu, you shouldn't be giving a hoʻokupu.
But we do see a lot of examples of those,
such as plate lunches,
such as paper leis,
money, like, you know, dollar bills.
Those are inappropriate, hoʻokupu for a place.
And so things that don't
naturally belong in that space should not be a hoʻokupu.
So hoʻokupu is not a thank you that's not what we're talking about.
It's not it's not a thank you.
It's not showing gratitude or any of that.
It's a recognition between you and the place
or you and what you are visiting that
you are present there in order to have an exchange,
an equal exchange between you and the place.
If you don't have anything else to give to a space, you know, give your voice
in all of our mele
There's good examples of that.
Usually practitioners
know that if they're doing
leis, they do it with only natural ingredients.
They don't put raffia or anything in the lei
and then they give it to the Lua.
So they don't usually leave it there
where people can pass it by and things like that.
If you wanna say thank you. Go back to the visitor center and tell the rangers and the people who maintain the place
thank you and leave a donation.
I think that's the biggest.
thank you that visitors can leave.
But again,
because it's an exchange between people who practice
and people who maintain the space
for generations,
they know what an accurate hoʻokupu should be.