To bring you a segment about an effort to bring back the stories, the mo’olelo, about Hawaiʻi’s native birds, we talked to the voice of HPR's Manu Minute — University of Hawaiʻi at Hilo biology chair Patrick Hart, also head of the LOHE Bioacoustics Lab.
"Birds were the only land vertebrate and had been in Hawaiʻi for over 6 million years by the time Hawaiians arrived, and so really are the native ancestors of all of us here," Hart said.
"Over the next 1,000 years after the Hawaiians arrived, the birds inspired many forms of art. They were used in the making of sacred objects, such as ʻahu ʻula, or cloak, mahiole, helmets, kāhili, feather staffs."
Hart has been working with a group on Hawaiʻi Island called ʻĀhuimanu, meaning cluster of birds.
Led by Kekuhi Kanahele Keali‘ikanaka‘oleohaililani of Lonoa Honua, they gather to write oli, or chants, about native birds.
ʻĀhuimanu's goal is to keep the spirit of the manu at the forefront and restore a deep cultural connection to birds, even as many are threatened or endangered.
"I see it as a form of ancient poetry that helps connect us with the space that we're in and helps focus our intentions in a productive way. And it's basically the way that humans have been interacting with the environment and plants and animals here forever," Hart said.
Hart said the group is on a break but they're going to start back up in May.
"It's a really good way to learn Hawaiian words when you try and learn oli and practice it out loud, you know, it's also a good way to get better at imitating birds," Hart told The Conversation. "We'll have like this roomful of adults trying to imitate all these different birds, it's actually pretty hilarious."
This interview aired on The Conversation on April 21, 2023. The Conversation airs weekdays at 11 a.m. on HPR-1.
