A blessing ceremony took place last week for a newly constructed hālau waʻa – a traditional Hawaiian structure for canoes and learning – in Mākena on Maui.
Cultural practitioners, community members and lineal descendants of the surrounding Mākena area gathered to honor the area's fishing families and their relationship to the land and ocean through the building of the hālau waʻa.
The hālau waʻa, named Hale Pili, was built through traditional methods with the guidance of master builder Kuhikuhi Pu‘uone Francis “Palani” Sinenci and his hālau of practitioners.
Sinenci, now in his 80s, has worked for over 30 years to restore hale to Hawai‘i’s landscapes.
Affectionately known as Kumu Palani, he has committed himself to training the next generation of hale practitioners to perpetuate kūkulu hale and ʻuhau humu pōhaku (traditional stone masonry), ensuring that the knowledge remains alive and thriving.
Hale Pili will transition from the builder to its stewards, Mākena Golf & Beach Club’s ʻŌiwi Resources & Stewardship Department, to continue to provide an Indigenous space that honors and supports the generational families of Mākena as they steward the area’s unique environmental, cultural, and spiritual heritage.
“The hale as a hālau waʻa is a recognition of the long-time fishing and shoreline gathering families of the area and is also a space for continued learning," said Marinel Robinson of the Mākena Golf & Beach Club in a press release.
The completed structure provides more than a physical space to the area — it represents traditional values, ancestral knowledge and cultural piko, or places.
Explore Hale Pili here.
