Increasing conservation capacity by embracing ritual: kuahu as a portal to the sacred
Kekuhi Kealiikanakaoleohaililani A , Aimee Y. Sato
A K , Christian P. Giardina B , Creighton M. Litton C , Smrity Ramavarapu D , Leslie Hutchins E , Evelyn H. Wight F , Michelle Clark G , Susan Cordell B , Kainana S. Francisco B , Heather McMillen H , Pua‘ala Pascua I and Darcy Yogi A J
+ Author Affiliations
- Author Affiliations
A Hālau ‘Ōhi‘a – Hawai‘i Stewardship Training, Hilo, HI 96720, USA.
B Institute of Pacific Islands Forestry, USDA Forest Service, Hilo, HI 96720, USA.
C Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Management, University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa, Honolulu, HI 96822, USA.
D Department of Botany, University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa, Honolulu, HI 96822, USA.
E University of California at Berkeley, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA.
F The Nature Conservancy in Hawai‘i, Honolulu, HI 96817, USA.
G Pacific Islands Fish and Wildlife Office, US Fish and Wildlife Service, Kapa‘a, HI 96746, USA.
H Hawai‘i Division of Forestry and Wildlife, Honolulu, HI 96813, USA.
I Center for Biodiversity and Conservation, American Museum of Natural History, New York City, NY 10024, USA.
J Pacific Islands Climate Adaptation Science Center, Honolulu, HI 96822, USA.
K Corresponding author. Email: aimeeys@hawaii.edu
Pacific Conservation Biology 27(4) 327-336 https://doi.org/10.1071/PC20010
Submitted: 2 February 2020 Accepted: 19 October 2020 Published: 13 November 2020
Journal Compilation © CSIRO 2021 Open Access CC BY-NC-ND
Abstract
In this Pule Ho‘oulu (prayer for inspiration), we are calling ourselves and you, the reader, to embrace growth and perpetuation of life’s many sacred manifestations, to honour the guardians of our places and the sources of our knowledge, and affirm the profound responsibility that is conservation management. This chant initiates the process of kuahu, an altar of Native Hawaiian spiritual practice within Hālau ‘Ōhi‘a, a ritual-based stewardship program in Hawai‘i led by Kumu (master teacher, a primary holder and source of knowledge for the community) Kekuhi Kealiikanakaoleohaililani. This paper outlines how the kuahu process has advanced learner capacity to embrace the many sacred dimensions of resource stewardship, thereby transforming conservation biology, and related conservation practices, through Indigenous perspectives. We examine themes evoked during the kuahu process at scales spanning the universal, the regional, and the personal. In doing so, we describe how kuahu practice can serve as a coparticipant, catalyst, and portal to sacred conservation, allowing learners to engage and grow more personal relationships with the environment, our communities, and ourselves.
Keywords: altar, ancestral knowledge, Hawai‘i, indigenous, kuahu, sacred.
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