Co-captains and BYUH Hawaiian Studies professor Kamoa'e Walk and projects director Kawika Eskaran gave a small number of university and community people the rare opportunity to climb aboard the BYUH sailing canoe Iosepa at its home halau or berth in the Polynesian Cultural Center's Hawaiian village on November 6 as they and some of their students marked the seventh anniversary of the beautiful 57-foot wa'a kaulua or twin-hulled traditional Hawaiian sailing canoe.
Elder M. Russell Ballard of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, a descendant of former Church President and Hawaii missionary Joseph F. Smith — for whom the canoe is partly named, dedicated the Iosepa at Hukilau Beach on November 3, 2001, as over 3,000 people watched the inaugural launching and later enjoyed a luau. For the eight months prior to that, master carvers Eskaran and Sione Tuione Pulotu, a former labor missionary originally from Tonga who has lived in Laie for over 40 years, and other volunteers created the canoe from seven large hardwood logs imported from Fiji.
"We wanted to celebrate the canoe, its purposes and mission in serving as a sailing classroom for our Hawaiian Studies students, and also bring more awareness of Iosepa to the community — this treasure that we have," said Walk. "It's not just a museum piece, but it's a live, vibrant wa'a kaulua or sailing canoe that we use as part of our Hawaiian Studies program."
Walk said even before Iosepa's creation, "we began our lifelong association with [the organization] Na Kalai Wa'a Moku o Hawaii and their voyaging canoe, Makali'i, on the Big Island, who trained us and continue to provide support in all that we do. As we completed the canoe, we integrated it into our curriculum component malama kai, which is 'caring for the ocean' and all of its resources. One of those resources is a 'highway' between islands. Our ancestors sailed upon the ocean to get from one island to another, not seeing the ocean as a barrier, but rather as a connector of islands and people."
For example, Walk said Hawaiian Studies offered two required courses this past spring term before he and 10 students sailed to the Big Island. "We stayed at Kawaihae and Kealakekua Bay before the window of weather opened and we were able to return home."
"We really learned of the teamwork and aloha that it takes to sail on this vessel and to reach another island," he continued. "It was a huge success. In the evaluations we got back from the students, all of them said it was a life-changing experience, it was something they would love to do again, and it was the best class they had ever taken."
He added that a year earlier he and Eskaran captained the Makali'i from Hawaii to Micronesia to help the Na Kalai Wa'a organization honor Pius "Papa" Mau Piailug of Satawal, the man credited for reawakening traditional wayfinding among modern Polynesians.
"We hope to integrate the canoe even more fully into our curriculum in the future," Walk continued. "For example, we've always known that culturally we have a responsibility, a kuleana, to sail the canoe back to where these logs came from to honor that connection we have with the islands and people of Fiji."
"We're pleased to have these events to honor Iosepa and meet the community," Walk said. "We're hoping a lot of people from the community will come see the canoe and reconnect with us, or if they haven't seen it before, establish that connection."
As part of the anniversary celebrations, the BYUH Hawaiian Studies Department also sponsored:
- Showing two documentary films by BYUH alumni on November 3: The Launching of Iosepa by Sonny Ah Puck, and The Birthing of Iosepa by Daniel Skaf.
- The island premier of a new documentary film on November 8 in the Aloha Center Ballroom from 6-10 p.m.: Mau Voyager by Alan Rosen and Na Kalai Wa'a Moku o Hawaii. Potluck pupu will be served during intermissions.
— Top photo of the Iosepa in Hukilau Bay by Monique Saenz
— Bottom photo of Kamoa'e Walk aboard the Iosepa by Mike Foley