Ke hāpai ka makuahine i ke keiki, hoʻokumu aku ʻo ia i honua i loko o kona ʻōpū. He ʻiewe kekahi inoa o ka honua a mai laila mai nō e kahe aku ai ka ʻai, ka wai, ke aloha, nā mea a pau e pono ai ke keiki. Ke hānau ʻia mai, hoʻihoʻi ʻia kēlā honua i loko o kēia honua a mai ia wā aku, ʻo Papahānaumoku kekahi e hānai ana i ke keiki me ka hoʻomaluhia mai nō hoʻi o Wākea i luna. ʻO ia paha ke kahua kahiko o ia mea he aloha ʻāina. Nani ke akamai o ka poʻe nāna i koho ia mau huaʻōlelo i mākia paʻa no nā puʻuwai haokila e paio ana no ka pono a me ke kūʻokoʻa mau o ke aupuni i ka wā iā Liliʻuokalani. Ua ʻike nō paha lākou i ka pili wehena ʻole o ka Hawaiʻi i kona one hānau me kona kūlāiwi hoʻi. Hoʻi ke aloha i nā mele a me nā moʻolelo kuluma i hoʻolaha ʻia ma nā nūpepa no ka mea, e like hoʻi me ka ʻōlelo a John E. Bush (Ka Leo O Ka Lahui), “ʻAʻole he lōʻihi ka noho ʻana o ka lāhui a nalo aku mai ke ao, ke hoʻomaloka a hoʻopoina lākou i ka hiʻipoi ʻana me nā ohohia nui i nā moʻolelo a me nā mele o nā ʻano a pau, a kamaʻilio mau i mua o ka poʻe ʻōpio i kumu e mau ai nā hoʻoipo a me nā liʻa ʻana o ka naʻau o ke kanaka i ke aloha ʻāina...” E hoʻomaikaʻi ʻia nā inoa o nā aloha ʻāina a pau, mai Kauikeaouli a Kaulia, mai Haʻalilio a ka Hui Aloha ʻĀina O Nā Wāhine, mai Kahakuikamoana a George Helm, nā kānaka like ʻole i hoʻomanaʻo mai iā kākou e makeʻe mau ʻia nō ka ʻāina a me ke kūʻokoʻa. Ke kō mau nei nō ia au hoʻokahi o ke aloha ʻāina a ʻo ia nō ko kākou e ʻau like nei, e nā hoa makaʻāinana! E ola!
Pukui & Elbert: "Aloha ʻāina n.v. Love of the land or of one’s country, patriotism; the name of a Hawaiian-language newspaper published 1893-1920; aloha ʻāina is a very old concept, to judge from the many sayings (perhaps thousands) illustrating deep love of the land..." That aloha is rooted in the practices of our kūpuna: the burial of honua (ʻiewe or placenta) in Papa (earth mother) after birth, the mutual nourishment of Hāloa, her grandson, throughout life, and the return of our bones to her after death. These traditions show us that aloha ʻāina is our kahua (foundation) as kanaka. We may never know who was first to use the phrase “aloha ʻāina” to represent the concept of “patriotism”, but this wise choice of words shows a deep difference in how poʻe Hawaiʻi and Americans conceive of this idea. “Love of country” may indicate land, but for Hawaiians, ʻāina is Papa and feeds not just our bodies, but our minds and spirits as well. Since the overthrow and illegal occupation of the Hawaiian kingdom (which persists today), aloha ʻāina has been applied to people and actions that push back against attacks on our independence and our ability to steward the land as we see fit. From Kahoʻolawe to Mauna Kea, kanaka have risked and even lost their lives to protect ʻāina and kūpuna. More than a century of occupation may have produced a lot of confusion, but that can never break our aloha ʻāina. No matter the differences in our political persuasions, paths of learning, or chosen ʻoihana (areas of work), aloha ʻāina remains our common bond.
