Future Events

Kalani's new series of Hawaiian Culture Events takes place every 4th Wednesday of the month.

These events feature a different Hawaiian cultural practitioner who speaks and shares ‘ike (wisdom) through talk story, hō`ike`ike (demonstration), or hana`ana (performances).

Kalani’s monthly Hawaiian Culture Events provide a unique forum where Hawai`i and its peoples can come together and share cultural knowledge, customs, and aloha to all willing to receive.

Admission: Free / Donation

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This month's theme:

Pola Hānau (Birth Bowl) with Kupuna Malulani Konanui of ‘Opihikao

In 1914, a researcher for the American Anthropologist Journal, Martha W. Beckwith, did a research in Hawaiian customs and beliefs relating to birth and infancy.  A family genealogy reveals my KūKū Pā (grandfather) David Marshall Konanui, living in the area called Kapa`ahu, more popularly known as Kalapana in the Puna district, was the informant named in this research.  Konanui spoke about an area called Pu`uloa, in the Puna district, which means long hill, and was respected as a place that gives long life.  Hawaiian families chose Pu`uloa to deposit the piko (navel cord) of their children.  The piko was transported in pola (wooden vessels) or ipu (calabashes) from all over the islands until it found a final resting place according to the family’s beliefs.

The concept of “Pola Hānau” is the birthing of a bowl on the day of the child’s birth, thus making it an heirloom for the baby and the generations to follow.  Today, with the awakening of being pono (in perfect order) in the ways of our kūpuna (elders), and the blessing of the Pola Hānau, which is “born the day of my hānai (the one I feed), I hope to bring harmony, love, respect, understanding and humility in the tradition of the Hawaiian way.  It is in the reflection of the Kūkui Ola (Light of Life) from the bowl of light.

About Malulani “Malu” Konanui

Born on September 25, 1946, in Wailuku, Maui, Malulani “Malu” Konanui grew up on the Big Island of Hawai`i in ‘Opihikao and Kaueleau in the Puna district.  He graduated from Pāhoa High School, class of ‘64.  He enlisted in the U.S. Navy for two years from 1965-1967.  After leaving the Navy, he joined the Honolulu Police Department in 1968 and transferred to Hawaii County Police Department in 1970 until his retirement in 1994.

In 1995, a unique reunion with an old friend who is self-taught woodturner, Bert Osamu Tagawa of Ola`a, Puna, led Konanui to an interest in woodturning.  This led him to woodturning projects which included family collections and wood show pieces.

Today, bowl making has become a passion for him, especially in perpetuating the Hawaiian culture through his woodwork.  According to “Uncle Malu”, creating a Pola Hānau with a spiritual understanding in the Hawaiian way is one of the most satisfying things that he has done in his life.