WALL 3: E OLA KA MOANA! O WAU KA MOANA!
LONG LIVE THE OCEAN! I AM THE OCEAN!
KUPUNA: The Moana Ohana - three generations, Ling, and son, Mike Nakachi, and his twins, Kaikea and Alohi
Chad Wiggins (also for fish ponds) Direcor of The Nature Conservancy, Hawai'i Kia'i loko 'ia (caretaker) and educator, Kiholo Pond.
THE MOANA OHANA: Three generations of this Kanaka Maoli family live, breathe, and work to protect the ocean and its inhabitants. MIKE NAKACHI, USCG Captain and his father, LING, are highly respected reef and ocean protectors, professional divers, and cultural and marine science educators. They were actively involved in the successful TRY WAIT 3.6 mile No-Take preservation zone at Ka’upulehu. Mike’s son, KAIKEA, and his twin sister, ALOHI, both environmental resource management graduate students, join them in the work.
As kanaka and scientists, the Moana Ohana works to mesh traditional practices with contemporary methods to unobtrusively research the ocean, particularly sharks. The family’s mission is to perpetuate the culture of aloha ‘aina by putting the well-being of sharks and the ocean first in our efforts of research and conservation.
BACKGROUND AND ESSENCE: Coral reefs are ancient, spectacular and of the utmost importance to the health and abundance of the oceans and the people. In the 2015-16, there was a massive global bleaching event of coral reefs due to a Pacific warm water mass known as “The Blob”. Around the world, given the critical state of the fresh water systems and the ocean, the kupuna remind us that it is the time to protect the reefs, and the ocean.
There are 7,000 known forms of marine life in Hawai’i’s exquisite yet fragile reefs. The ancient Hawaiian coastal kupuna intimately knew the ocean, currents, reefs, sharks, a vast array of marine creatures and their mating and reproduction cycles. They cared for the prized fishing spots called ko’a (distinct fish aggregation sites). As they were dedicated to preservation, they developed a strict code of conduct to protect the longevity of every species.
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Malama o ke kai! Throughout my life, I have known nothing else except the ocean and its inhabitants. We are the official Malama ‘aina for all species in the Kai (sea). Every species works for the benefit of the entire ecosystem, except humans.
Mike Nakachi
*AS WE ADD MORE GLASS ~ AUMAKUA, SPECIES DIVERSITY, LIGHT AND COLOR HARMONIES: It is morning with clear light and a monumental scale kaleidoscope of ocean species radiate out from The Moana Ohana. The brilliant colors of the larger-than-life coral, marine life, mano (sharks) and other species of fishes in a variety of textured streaky purples, lavenders, grays, pinks, yellows, and oranges, in contrast with the sea in ultramarine dark and thalo and the Kona Kai Opua clouds in whites and pale blues.
The ocean’s destiny and our destiny are one.
Sylvia Earle
Art and Soul for the Earth
Big Island of Hawai'i
