Crew Profile: Kaleo Wong
See Kaleo’s profile in English
By ʻOiwi TV
He hana nui, ʻaʻole ia he hana maʻalahi wale nō, he ʻike kapu kekahi.
Navigation is hard work, and the knowledge is sacred as well.
“O kēia ka hā o ka manawa e holo ai ma ka waʻa. I nā manawa a pau, holo au me ʻanakala Bruce, ʻo ia ke kāpena, ke kilo hōkū, a e hele hou ana au me ia This will be my fourth voyage. Iʻve always sailed under Uncle Bruce, and will accompany him again for this voyage,” said Kaleo.
“ʻAkahi nō a hoʻomaka kēia ʻano aʻoʻao i ke kilo hōkū, i ke ʻano o ka hoʻokele ʻana i ka waʻa me ʻanakala Bruce. Nui ka hana, nui ka hoʻomaʻamaʻa ʻana no kēia ʻano hana ʻoiai nui nā hōkū o ka lewa, ka holo ʻana o ka hōkū ma ka lewa. He hana nui, ʻaʻole ia he hana maʻalahi wale nō, he ʻike kapu kekahi. I just started learning to navigate with the stars from him. It’s a lot of practice and memorization because there are so many stars in the sky. Itʻs hard work, and the knowledge is sacred as well,” said Kaleo.
A he hana nui nō hoʻi kāna ʻoiai ma waho o ke aʻo ʻana mai nā hoʻokele waʻa o kēia au, ua ʻimi akula ʻo Kaleo i ala hou aku e ili ai ka ʻike hoʻokele waʻa ma luna ona ma o ka hoʻohana ʻana i kona mākau ʻōlelo Hawaiʻi. Itʻs been hard work indeed as Kaleo has been using his Hawaiian language abilities to explore other avenues in which he can learn navigation.
ʻImi au i ka nūpepa kekahi, i ka moʻolelo Hawaiʻi kahiko. Na Joseph Poepoe i kākau i kahi moʻolelo. Pēlā pū kekahi, ka heluhelu ʻana i nā moʻolelo maiā Kamakau, kāna moʻolelo Hawaiʻi. A ma kekahi ʻano, ua wehewehe ʻia pehea e hana ai, a ʻo wai lā nā hōkū i kau ʻia ma ka ihu… ka holo ʻana o ka lā, ka mahina. No laila he ʻano mea hōʻikeʻike, hōʻoia kekahi, i ke akamai o nā kūpuna. Ua waiho ʻia, ua palapala ʻia ma ka nūpepa, nō kākou i kēia au e ʻike ai, e hoʻomaopopo ai, a e hoʻohana ai, no ka holo hou ʻana i ka waʻa. I read the old Hawaiian language newspapers as well. Joseph Poepoe has written articles, and Iʻve also read Kamakauʻs works. They explain how to navigate and the pathways of the moon and sun. It exemplifies the intelligence of our ancestors. They’ve written all of this knowledge down for us to learn and utilize in navigating,” said Kaleo.
Eia hou, ʻaʻole e pau ka ʻimi naʻauao ʻana ma ka ʻāina. Iā ia e holo ana i Tahiti ma Hikianalia, manaʻolana ʻo Kaleo e aʻo mai nā hoa holowaʻa o Nuʻuhiwa me Polapola. His studies won’t end on land. While he is on his way to Tahiti Kaleo hopes that he’ll learn from his Marquesan crewmates.
Ua kākau ʻia nā moʻolelo kahiko o nā kanaka holo mai ʻō a ʻō o ka honua; mai Hawaiʻi aku a i Kahiki. No laila, he ʻano hoihoi kekahi ka holo ʻana i kēia ʻano huakaʻi ʻoiai he kanaka no ka Marquesas, a he kanaka no Tautira, Tahiti, kekahi. A maopopo iā lāua ka ʻōlelo o ka Marquesas me ka ʻōlelo o ka Tahiti. He pili kekahi i ka ʻōlelo Hawaiʻi. No laila iā mākou e holo ana ma ka waʻa, e aʻo aku aʻo mai ana i kēlā ʻano like ʻole o ka Pākīpika. No laila i koʻu manaʻo, ke pae aku i Tahiti e maopopo ana paha kēlā ʻano ʻōlelo o nā hoahānau o ka Pākīpika. There are accounts of Hawaiians traveling all over from Hawaiʻi to beyond. So it’s exciting to go on this type of voyage since there are crewmembers from Nuʻuhiwa as well as Tautira, Tahiti. Their language is very similar to Hawaiian. So I hope that by the time we get to Tahiti I’ll have learned a little from our Pacific cousins.,” said Kaleo.
No nā kūmole a ʻikepili no ka Huakaʻi Holo Puni Honua, ʻo Mālama Honua, ma ka ʻōlelo Hawaiʻi!
