Current:Home > ContactHonolulu tells story of healers with dual male and female spirit through new plaque in Waikiki -Visionary Growth Labs
Honolulu tells story of healers with dual male and female spirit through new plaque in Waikiki
View
Date:2025-04-18 19:43:49
HONOLULU (AP) — Honolulu officials on Tuesday introduced a new interpretive plaque for four large boulders in the center of Waikiki that honor Tahitian healers of dual male and female spirit who visited Oahu some 500 years ago.
The centuries-old boulders — one for each of the four visiting healers — are protected by an iron fence in a beachside park surrounded by hotels and shops in the heart of the world-renowned tourist district. The monument is known as the stones of Kapaemahu, after the group’s leader.
According to stories handed down orally, the boulders were placed on Waikiki’s shore at the time of the healers’ visit. But the stones became neglected more recently. In 1941, a bowling alley was even built over them and remained there for two decades.
The earlier plaque dates to 1997. It doesn’t acknowledge the healers were “mahu,” which in Hawaiian language and culture refers to someone with dual male and female spirit and a mixture of gender traits.
Scholars blame that omission on the homophobia and transphobia pervasive in Hawaii after the introduction of Christianity. Missionaries pushed aside gender fluidity’s deep roots in Hawaiian culture and taught believers to suppress anything that deviated from clearly defined male and female gender roles and presentations.
The new plaque is attached to a stone in front of the iron fence.
“Please respect this cultural site of reverence,” the sign says. “There are many stories of these four healers from Tahiti, known for duality of male and female spirit and their wonderous works of healing.” The plaque includes a QR code and the address to a website with more information about the stones and their history.
Kumu Charlani Kalama, whose title “kumu” is the Hawaiian language term for master teacher, performed a blessing with ti leaves and salt. Kumu Hinaleimoana Wong-Kalu draped lei on the fence.
Joe Wilson, a member of a group that pushed for signage acknowledging a more complete story of the stones, said monuments and public art are powerful symbols of who and what are valued by a community.
“Kapaemahu should and will be a shining example of a city that honors and celebrates its culture, diversity and all who visit or call it home,” Wilson said at the blessing ceremony.
The story of the stones was initially handed down orally, like all tales in Hawaii before the introduction of the written language in the 1800s. The first written account appeared in a 1906 manuscript by James Alapuna Harbottle Boyd, the son-in-law of Archibald Cleghorn, who owned the Waikiki property where the stones were at the time.
Wong-Kalu, who is mahu and a community leader, said she stopped by Boyd’s grave before the ceremony to pay her respects and express her gratitude that he wrote down the story for subsequent generations.
“If not for his recordation of this, we would not be able to tell this story today,” Wong-Kalu said.
Honolulu’s mayor said the future of tourism lies in teaching visitors about the culture of a place so they appreciate it for more than its beautiful beaches and the ocean. The stones can help do that, he said.
“I’m hoping is that the people who are interested will realize that it’s just not four stones in Waikiki. There’s a meaning and a history and even a spirituality,” Mayor Rick Blangiardi said after the ceremony.
veryGood! (4717)
Related
- From family road trips to travel woes: Americans are navigating skyrocketing holiday costs
- New York Mets outfielder Brandon Nimmo faints in hotel room, cuts head
- Despite vows of safety from OnlyFans, predators are exploiting kids on the platform
- Oklahoma St RB Ollie Gordon II, who won Doak Walker Award last season, arrested for suspicion of DUI
- DoorDash steps up driver ID checks after traffic safety complaints
- Sonic joins in on value menu movement: Cheeseburger, wraps, tots priced at $1.99
- Kate Middleton's Next Public Outing May Be Coming Soon
- 2 men were arrested on public road within Oprah’s Hawaii ranch. They’re suspected of illegal hunting
- The White House is cracking down on overdraft fees
- Jeffrey Epstein secret transcripts: Victim was asked, Do you know 'you committed a crime?'
Ranking
- Stamford Road collision sends motorcyclist flying; driver arrested
- Court orders white nationalists to pay $2M more for Charlottesville Unite the Right violence
- GOP US Rep. Spartz, of Indiana, charged with bringing gun through airport security, officials say
- 2 children among 5 killed in small plane crash after New York baseball tournament
- McKinsey to pay $650 million after advising opioid maker on how to 'turbocharge' sales
- Arthur Crudup: What to know about the bluesman who wrote Elvis’s first hit and barely got paid
- Arby's brings back potato cakes for first time since 2021
- Joseph Quinn still cringes over his 'stupid' interaction with Taylor Swift
Recommendation
Tom Holland's New Venture Revealed
Video shows man leave toddler on side of the road following suspected carjacking: Watch
Jamie Foxx gives new details about mysterious 2023 medical emergency
Woman dies from being pushed into San Francisco-area commuter train
B.A. Parker is learning the banjo
José Raúl Mulino sworn in as Panama’s new president, promises to stop migration through Darien Gap
Team USA Olympic trial ratings show heightened interest for 2024 Games
Dangerously high heat builds in California and the south-central United States