Researcher Luka Kanakaʻole says that if you have a question about how Hawaiʻi's environment works, chances are the answer can be found in mele.
Kanakaʻole is part of the Papakū Makawalu project, which digs through mele to find environmental data. He says part of the key to understanding the data in ancestral texts is seeing akua like Kane and Pele not as personified beings but as powerful elements.
"Once you have gained that perspective, you can really start to diagnose the different environmental phenomenon that was occurring when these mele were composed," Kanakaʻole says.
Kanakaʻole offers the example of the akua Kāne, who controls the flow of fresh water.
"He has another name as well, Kanehoalani," he said, "and Kanehoalani is referred to as the sun."
To understand the relationship between fresh water and the sun, Kanakaʻole suggests breaking down the word Kanehoalani.
"'Kāne we know to be associated with water. And hoa means to 'bright or ignite,' and lani means 'in the sky.' And so what is that big, bright thing in the sky? Oh, that's the sun," Kanakaʻole said.
"When we start to think about what's the sun's function in terms of water? Well, the sun's heat is the ultimate mover of water. So this fresh water cannot be moved upwards without the energy permeating from the sun," he said.
Kanakaʻole says that by finding observations of how elements work together in mele unlocks the bigger picture of how Hawaiʻi's whole ecosystem functions. And that knowledge can inform all sorts of questions about conservation, energy, and climate change.
"We try to adapt those mele to not just help inform cultural practices, but also to help the development projects, scientific projects and conservation projects as well," Kanakaʻole says.
Papakū Makawalu teaches an annual workshop in January on deciphering mele to understand Hawaiʻi's environment. Find more information here.
