Nā Manu o ka Nahele | Keiki Tee

Nā Manu o ka Nahele

ʻO ka nani ʻoi kelakela māhiehie wale o nā mea hulu manu o nā aliʻi, he mea maopopo loa ia i nā paʻa moʻolelo o ke au i hala. Pēlā ʻo Hoʻoulumāhiehie, a ma ka mana o Haʻinakolo āna i kākau ai, penei kāna no ka launa pū ʻana o ko Haʻinakolo ʻohana me Keaumiki lāua ʻo Keaukā: “E noho ana kēia poʻe aliʻi a pau me ko lākou mau kāhiko aliʻi o loko o ia mau lā kapukapu a ʻihiʻihi lani o Hawaiʻi nei. E ʻaʻai mai ana nā wai hoʻoluʻu o ka mamo, ka ʻōʻō, a me ka ʻiʻiwi maka pōlena ma luna o nā ʻahu ʻula o kēlā a me kēia aliʻi. E kū ana nā kāhili hulu nani, a e kau ana nō hoʻi nā hōʻailona kapu aliʻi ma luna o ua poʻe aliʻi nei, a he kū nō i ka ilihia ka ʻike ʻana aku i ia mau mea. He ʻiliʻilihia maoli ka nani o nā hōʻailona aliʻi!” (Ka Nai Aupuni, 27 June 1907). Ma ka moʻolelo o Hiʻiaka, he hale manu ko Papa lāua me Wākea ma Laloimehani (ma lalo hoʻi o Kīlauea), penei ke ʻano: “E kukū ana nā kāhili hulu manu o nā ‘ano waiho‘olu‘u a pau mai ke ‘anu‘u ‘ekahi a ke ‘anu‘u ‘elima…‘O ka hale ho‘i, he hulu o ka manu ke pili i ako ‘ia ai a pa‘a ua hale nei, a he keu aku nō ho‘i a ka nani. ‘O ka ‘aho, he iwi o ka manu, ‘o ka ‘aha i ako ‘ia ai ke pili hulu manu a pa‘a i ka ‘aho iwi manu, ‘o ia nō ka na‘au manu. ‘O nā pou o ka hale, nā o‘a, a pēlā aku, he ‘iliahi ka lāʻau. ‘O ka moena hāli‘i o ka hale, he ‘ahu‘ula.” (Ka Nai Aupuni, 18 September 1906). A he mea kupanaha nō hoʻi kā John Papa ʻĪʻī i ʻike ai i kona wā ʻōpiopio: “...he malo hulu manu, ua pili ʻia ka hulu mamo me ka hulu ʻakakane, a ua haku ʻia ma luna o ka ʻupena nae, a he pae niho kanaka ma kona poʻo. Ua ʻike ʻo ia i ka wā a kona makuahine e kaulaʻi ai.” (Ka Nupepa Kuokoa, 31 July 1869) ʻO ke kāʻei kapu paha ia o Līloa?

Manu (birds) became the sound and color of Hawaiian forests, evolving in tandem with the spectacular diversity of plant life in them. Beaks curved to fit endemic Lobelias as a stunning radiation of honeycreepers grew out of a limited number of rosefinches from Asia that arrived millions of years ago. Other ancestor manu gave rise to the ʻalalā, ʻio, pueo, ʻelepaio and more. These manu were flying messengers, their clarion calls communicating between realms. Their access to higher spaces created natural relationships to aliʻi (chiefs) who descended from gods, were often attended by birds, donned ʻahu ʻula (feather cloaks) and mahiole (feathered helmets), and marked their spaces with kāhili (feather standards). These symbols of status and repositories of mana are some of the most stunning examples of Hawaiian creativity and ingenuity. They speak to the veneration our ancestors had for manu and the forests they call home, which created a system of lifeways that protected both. Western views of land and resources as commodities eroded such lifeways, causing a dramatic decline in Hawaiian forests and manu. Of the 84 endemic forest bird species that once existed, only 26 survive today. Avian malaria carried by non-native mosquitoes has been decimating manu populations for decades. The release of male mosquitoes infected with a bacteria that impedes the reproductive cycle may help to stem the tide of extinction. The laws of pilina (relationship) mean our survival is linked to that of forest birds by way of the wet forests—homes to many manu species and the watersheds that give us life. Learn more at https://www.birdsnotmosquitoes.org/