Look to the east just after sunset in mid- November.
Do you see a cluster of stars rising above the three of Orion’s belt?
Those are the Pleiades. Hawaiians call them Makali’i.
This marks the Hawaiian New Year and a four-month long festival called Makahiki.
A Story – mo’olelo
A traditional Hawaiian story, called a moʻolelo, tells how this cluster of stars – Makaliʻi – got its name.
There was a Chief in the region of Kona on the island of Hawai’i. He greedily decided to hoard everyone’s food, so gathered it up into one enormous net. He then traveled with all the food in the net to the highest heights of the heavens and he hung it up there, out of reach.
The people of the island got hungry, so they gathered to make plans how to get their food back. A brave little mouse offered to travel to the net and take on the arduous task of getting the food back. He gnawed and gnawed and gnawed on the net until he was able to open the net to release the food. It drops back to the earth to feed the ravenous people. All were appreciative and celebrated.
This is how the cluster of stars gets the name of the chief who hung up the food in the stars. The word for Chief is ali’i, and his name was Makaliʻi.
The Festival of Makahiki
For Hawaiians, Makali’i rises at the time of year where there is a change in weather and the harvest season. It marks winter or the wet season, called hoʻoilo, accompanied by strong winds and rain.
From the story, we see the celebration of food at this time of year coincides with rising of the stars called Makali’i. As a harvest celebration, everyone expresses thanks and appreciation.
With harvesting completed for the season, work and warfare were forbidden (kapu.) This was a time for putting aside differences marked by feasting, playing games, dancing (hula), and storytelling (moʻolelo).
While games – open to everyone – were played throughout the year, Makahiki games are on the order of the Olympics. During Makahiki the competitions and tournaments were an important part of the celebrations. Traditionally they were a training ground for young warriors.
Makahiki also signifies a time of rest and rejuvenation for both the land and the people. The land rests after harvest time, and the rains come. For people, it is an opportunity to both fortify existing relationships and forge new ones.
Of note historically, when Captain Cook landed in Hawai’i in 1778, it was in January and the Makahiki season. He was welcomed with open arms and established friendly relationships with the Hawaiians. When he came back at another time of year and there was an altercation, he was killed because of the conflict. War and killing was not kapu at that other time of year.
The Hawaiians also consider it the beginning of the New Year. The festival starts in mid-November depending on the moon cycle and lasts through early February.
Celebrate Makahiki
What if you took a note from the Hawaiian Culture and looked to the eastern sky at sunset to see the Pleiades rise, and celebrate harvest like the Hawaiians?
How can you appreciate the harvest and feast with friends and family?
How can you suspend work for a while and play games with each other?
How can you put aside differences and tell stories and listen to the stories of others?
Let’s make this a time of peace and rejuvenation.
