Makahiki is the traditional Hawaiian season from October through January, honoring the deity Lono.
It was a time of peace, prayer, and celebrating abundance brought by the rainy season.
During this time, Hawaiians across the islands would come together in friendly competition.
The island of Molokaʻi observed Makahiki until the early 1900s, when cultural practices began to wane. But the community spearheaded efforts to revive the traditions, and it’s been held annually since 1981.
Organizer Walter Ritte talked to attendees about the revival at Ka Molokaʻi Makahiki, which was held on Friday.
“So there's a group of people that came together and said, ‘Why don't we try and see if the young generation would be interested in Makahiki games, Hawaiian games?’ And nobody thought that it would work," he said.
"So here we are, 45 years later, and as a community of Molokaʻi, we're affecting the rest of the islands. There's Makahiki games being started on all of the different islands, and we have been welcoming people from outside islands to come and join us in our Makahiki games.”
The community observes cultural ceremonies with oli and offering hoʻokupu, or gifts, to Lono.
Hundreds of keiki and adults compete in traditional games like kūkini, hukihuki, uma and haka moa.
