HUKILAU
Reviving a fishing tradition after 30 years
In Makena, after more than three decades, the practice of hukilau is lived again.
Guided by the families of the area, including Uncle Eddie Chang, Jr., in the malu (care) of the Makua family and their ʻāina, our ‘Ōiwi Resources & Stewardship team invited Maui High School students into a practice that is of this place.
Over three days of preparation, students learned how the plants and resources of Honuaʻula support the practice of sustainable fish gathering to feed a community. It is a powerful reminder of what it means to be of Makena: generations side by side, mending, reusing, and strengthening the enduring cord binding ʻāina and kānaka. Take a closer look at how each day unfolds in preparation for this meaningful return.
Continuity of Practice in Place
We witness pua (baby fish, child) of Makena moving in the same currents as their kūpuna.
This living practice reflects the ʻike passed down through generations, sustaining ancestral knowledge and making new memories together, people, place, and fish.
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Day 1: Dry ʻĀina Day
We began at the place of connection, Hale Pili, on KeaweaweulaaKane (Summer Solstice). Students learned about successful stewardship, including native species still present in Honuaʻula and those that have been carefully reintroduced through it. Also, the impacts of non-native species and the consequences of poor stewardship. In preparation for the hukilau, students prepared wiliwili for floats to be bound to the lau, learned essential knots like the square knot and bowline, and readied kukui oil to soak the floats.
Day 2: Kilo & Dream Day
Departing Hale Pili for the Makena shoreline, students practiced two types of vision: kilo and dreaming.
At Makena Landing, they observed the natural lifeways of a sheltered bay while reflecting on the impacts of commerce, development, and tourism. They considered root causes, possible solutions, and ways to restore connection.
In the shade of the milo, students entered a space of dreaming the dream of people, place, and fish mutually thriving. Through hands-on practice, they prepared lau kī and wiliwili floats to ready the net for the hukilau.
Like any long-time place-based practice, approval from the elder fisherman is an appropriate rite of passage. Our ‘Ōiwi Resource & Stewardship team trained with Uncle Eddie at Poʻolenalena in preparation for the hukilau, showing him the lau, reviewing and relearning the movement of the practice, and taking it for a test drive all in his front "yard."
Day 3: Hukilau
On the third day, the hukilau unfolded in front of the Makua’s hale. Guided by ʻŌiwi families, we live a Makena lifeway again. In a celebration of place-based knowledge and knowledge-keepers, the next generation of Makena fish gatherers are trained in traditional & customary practices, in kapu aloha and careful exchange, and in State laws.
And as has always been, and will continue to be, the akua and kūpuna are fed first.
HUKILAU | 2024
Please watch and enjoy our hukilau video series!
Hukilau Series
Hukilau Series
Part 1
Part 2
Part 3
