Around 400 Kauaʻi middle schoolers competed in the island-wide Makahiki games this season. Kawaikini New Century PCS won the championship held at on December 12.
Kumano I Ke Ala Executive Director Kaina Makua said the games are for everyone, and they bring the community together.
“In Makahiki games, you can be at any ability level, and you going find one place in Makahiki,” Makua said.
Makua said this is the second championship held on Kauaʻi, and it’s been 20 years in the making.
“I see this as a wake-up and a time where our decision makers really got to think about what our youth need,” Makua said. “Everybody is trying to find their place. You don’t have to be Hawaiian for play Makahiki. You don’t have to be Hawaiian to be accepted in Hawaiʻi, you just got to buy into what Hawaiʻi get.”
Students from Waimea Canyon, Ke Kula Niʻihau O Kekaha, Kula Aupuni Niʻihau A Kahelelani Aloha PCS, Chiefess Kamakahelei, Hawaiʻi Technology Academy, Kapaʻa, Kanuikapono, Island School, Kawaikini, Alakaʻi O Kauaʻi, Namahana PCS and Kanu o ka ʻĀina competed in games such as kōnane (a traditional Hawaiian strategy board game similar to checkers), hukihuki (a traditional tug-of-war game) and haka moa (a traditional game testing balance, precision and focus).
Director of Hawaiian Culture-Based Education at Island School Kanana Kuhaulua said she teaches her students that the quickest way to get rid of a culture is to get rid of a language, which is why cultural events like this are so vital to the revitalization of Hawaiian culture.
“We see where we’re at in revitalization is that events like this are so important because they remind us that our culture is thriving and alive,” Kuhaulua said. “Seeing the importance of pilina (connections) and being proud of our culture for all of our students, even if they aren’t Hawaiian, is so important. Hawaiʻi is our home. I try to remind them that it is all of our kuleana to know this land that nourishes them, and without events like this, I think they sometimes forget how connected we are, especially here on Kauaʻi.”