Mahina ʻŌlelo Hawaiʻi- Beau Shishido

Beau Makanamakamae Shishido

Kula Kiʻekiʻe; Kumu ʻŌlelo Hawaiʻi

High School Teacher

Kawaikini NCPCS

No Papakōlea, Oʻahu

Mai koʻu wa liilii, puni au i na moolelo kahiko Hawaii a minamina hoi ka naau i ka nele ana i keia mau moolelo. Aole nae kakou nele i na moolelo kahiko. He mau moolelo hiwahiwa no, a malama ia nae ma ka olelo kanaka. Oiai he lahui kakou ma ka kakou olelo kupuna, he lahui no hoi kakou ma ko kakou mau moolelo kupuna. A he alahele keia i kipapa mua ia e na kupuna. E ole lakou, ola mau ai ia ike i keia au hou nei. O kaʻu, he hoʻaʻo no ia e hoomau i ka lakou hana, i ole ai minamina ka naau o na opio o keia wa.

I enjoyed stories of old Hawaiʻi from when I was a little child and there was a sense of loss that there was such a lack of these stories.  We are not lost to these old stories, however.  They are precious and preserved in our native language.  When we are a people literate in our native language, we become a people who tell our ancestral stories.  This is a path that was first paved for us by our ancestors.  Without them, the knowledge would not still be alive today.  For me, I am trying to continue their work so that the young people today will not have to feel that same sense of loss.