The Aha Moku: An Ancient Native Hawaiian Resource Management System

Abstract Over the last 40 years, there has been movement for Hawaiian Native people to return to being a Kanaka Maoli. Kanaka Maoli are guided by an ancient chant with generational knowledge. In the ancient system, experts were brought together to create a council to ensure that management of the resources would continue to provide for the people at its fullest potential. This was called the Aha Moku, a system that has defined areas within each island, puts the resource first, and makes use of respectful protocols. In 2007, following several statewide gatherings where resource generational knowledge was shared, the Aha Moku process was introduced as legislation in Hawaii as Act 212. The Act would ensure that the people of their respective Moku were allowed to be part of resource management decisions that affect their Moku. Today Kanaka Maoli continue to work with legislators to formally recognize the Aha Moku system. Federal agencies that have embraced the system include the U.S. Army Corp of Engineers in Hawaii, the Western Pacific Regional Fishery Management Council, and Haleakala National Park. Introduction It is difficult to write a scientific manuscript for a people’s cultural belief and social structure. Using a “Western science format” to measure or even statistically show an ancient practice is impracticable. It is especially difficult to use a scientific format with knowledge that has been relayed through oral history. What was written was censored, changed, and even misunderstood. When our Native Hawaiian people were exposed to the truth on what has happened to our culture, it became the mission for some Native Hawaiian people today to instinctively bring back our traditional ways. These traditions have been proven to work. The last 232 years of Western influence has led our Native Hawaiians to near extinction, including a complete ban of our language, practices, traditional culture, and most importantly, our management of natural resurces. Kanaka Maoli and the Kumulipo There has been movement, over the last 40 years, for our Native people to return to being a Kanaka Maoli (Kah-NAH-kah Mah-OH-lee). In very general terms, Kanaka Maoli is a Native Hawaiian. The Kanaka Maoli are guided by an ancient chant called the Kumulipo (Koomoo-LEE-poh). This ancient chant, with over 2,000 verses, has been passed from generation to generation since the beginning of our people. We call this passing of knowledge from one generation to the next “generational knowledge.” The timeline defining the beginning of our people has been debated among the scientific and Native communities. However, the sacred Kumulipo has been referred to as our “creation chant” or “the beginning of our time.” This chant profoundly describes how, what, when, where, and why Native Hawaiian resources and people came into existence. The Kumulipo probes deep by explaining how things became livable for our people. The feats of our spiritual beliefs are complicated and cannot be explained in a single document such as this. However, it is important to understand that our belief is that the natural resources are always first priority. Our people believe that people are to be the guardians of theses resources, and the best guardians of resources are those who depend on them. The Kumulipo inventories, guides, and reflects the importance of what truly defines our culture. It is our beginning, our roots, our responsibility, and our honor. It separates us from others, and this is okay. Accepting that we are different is good. It leads to mutual respect. It is when we ignore that we are different and force our ways onto others that leads us to division. Aha Moku A series of gatherings, called Puwalu (poo-VAH-loo), occurred on the island of Oahu in 2005, 2006, and 2007. The Puwalu brought Kanaka Maoli from the Hawaiian Islands together to share our generational knowledge. Knowledge was shared between farmers, fishermen, medicinal leaders, aquaculturists, spiritual leaders, hula experts, resource managers, gatherers, and teachers of our traditions.
One Kanaka Maoli, the late John Kaimikaua, a hula master from the island of Molokai, shared his knowledge of an ancient system called Aha Moku (Ah-hah-MOHkoo). He left us a message that forever will change our views of what being Kanaka Maoli really is. He left us the Aha Moku prophecy as it was passed on to him; it is the foundation for our being in existence today. The Aha Moku system is an ancient concept that was created during a time when our Native people were so abundant that the management of resources was inevitable. Management methods developed in a way that was so natural that it can be described as instinctive. Once our Kanaka Maoli understood that the goal for our survival is to put our natural resources first, it was easy to understand the concept of the Aha Moku. Ancient spiritual leaders observed that the fresh waters from land that meet the salt waters of the ocean were a natural phenomenon. The baby fish that were spawned in these waters were so abundant that they appeared as a mass that moved back and forth, like a cloud cutting through the sky. These baby fish were known as “kiole” (key-OHleh). When the spiritual leaders looked onto the land, they saw that the abundance of people mirrored this cloud of fish. It was decided then, that a resource management system was needed, hence the creation of the Aha Moku system. “Aha,” in simple terms, is a natural fiber cord woven from smaller cords, so precise that each smaller cord shares the workload when the larger cord is in use. Metaphorically, it is more complex. The smaller cords of the Aha represent persons who are experts. In our Puwalu these were the farmers, fishermen, medicinal leaders, etc. In the ancient system, these experts were brought together to create a council of experts. The council would combine their observational and generational knowledge to ensure that management of the resources would continue to provide for the people at its fullest potential. The experts came together, evenly sharing the workload, focusing on their responsibilities, making the Aha strong. In many instances, restrictions were placed to protect resources and allow for natural reproductive cycles to occur. The people followed protocols for these restrictions to observe natural processes and gain valuable knowledge to be passed to the next generation. Our people knew that nature, unlike people, has no protocols. Hawaii is made up of many islands. The eight larger islands are commonly known as the “main Hawaiian Islands”: Maui, Molokai, Lanai, Kahoolawe, Oahu, Kauai, Hawaii, and the privately owned island of Niihau. Every area on each of these islands is different, as tiny as they may be. Each island has different areas that are dry, wet, windy, rocky, with mountains, wetlands, shoreline cliffs, beaches, sand, etc. The amount of freshwater within these areas will differ, and therefore the resources and styles of fishing will differ. “Moku” are regional boundaries on each island formed to ensure that the protocols that were placed among the people were applicable for that area. When these Moku were established they included five common elements: land, shoreline, ocean, water, and air (to include celestial bodies and heavens). For example, the island of Maui has 12 Moku (Fig. 1). Once the Moku were established, then, like the Aha cord, smaller land divisions known as Ahupuaa (ah-hoo-poo-AH-ah) were placed within the Moku to evenly share the workload. Each individual and each family would be responsible for their role in managing the resources within the Ahupuaa. An important point to make is that the people of each Moku set their appropriate resource management protocols. Each Moku had their site-specific Aha councils to ensure that the balance between nature and people was intact and properly functioning. Equally important, the people of each Moku had mutual respect for the resources, and the people in other Moku were respectful of the protocols for that Moku.