With deep emotion, an ailing William K. "Uncle Bill" Wallace III [pictured at right, below], director of the BYUH Hawaiian Studies program, chanted a tale from his birth island of Molokai on June 25 and thanked those who made the construction of the Halau Wa'a O Iosepa — new home of the University's 57-foot traditional twin-hulled Hawaiian voyaging canoe, Iosepa — in the Polynesian Cultural Center's Hawaiian village possible.
Later, preceding with a powerful spiritual message, Mark Willes [pictured at left, above] — former Hawaii Mission President, current chairman of the Polynesian Cultural Center board of directors, and principal donor on the project — dedicated the impressive, A-shaped structure that measures 85 feet long, 43 feet wide and is almost 40 feet high. A groundbreaking ceremony on November 6, 2007, marked the beginning of its construction.
The Halau Wa'a O Iosepa, or the Iosepa Canoe House is designed so the mostly wooden vessel can easily be towed on a large trailer to nearby Hukilau Beach for launching. When the canoe is at home it will rest on a unique track-rolling cradle system devised by service missionaries that enables two people to move it onto a deck by the Center's lagoon to practice raising the single mast and spar. The compound also includes a star compass display to explain traditional Polynesian wayfinding, a knot-tying activity and other informational displays, and a storage room for canoe gear.
As previously explained by Wallace, the canoe's name Iosepa — Hawaiian for Joseph — came to him in a dream and refers to Joseph in the Old Testament as well as Joseph F. Smith who used the name while serving several missions in Hawaii in the 1800s, and also the name of a community of Hawaiians and Polynesians, including some of Uncle Bill's ancestors, who migrated to Skull Valley, Utah, in 1889. Master carvers Sione Tuione Pulotu, a Laie-based Tongan, and Kawika Eskaran, a Hawaiian, crafted the beautiful canoe from seven large Fijian logs over nine months in 2001. Hundreds of community members participated in the process; about 1,000 attended a community orientation when the Iosepa was almost finished; and over 3,000 thronged Hukilau Beach when Elder M. Russell Ballard of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, the great-grandson of Joseph F. Smith, dedicated and launched the unique floating classroom on November 1, 2001.
PCC President Von Orgill started the dedication program by saying he has wondered "what it must have been like for the ancient Polynesians" as they prepared for their voyages of discovery. Then he quoted Alma 63:5-8 wherein Hagoth built an exceedingly large ship...and launched it forth into the west sea... This man built other ships and many of the Nephites who did enter into them and did sail forth with much provisions...and it came to pass they were never heard of more...
"We know where they went, and we know that many of you here with us today are descendants of those people," President Orgill continued, referring to the Polynesians among the small private ceremony. "What an honor it is for us to be here with you."
He also remarked that "people from so many cultures" participated and visited the Iosepa during its creation literally yards away from its new home. "It was really an incredible experience over all those months. It is our sincere hope and prayer that feeling of unity, common purpose and love — that special spirit — will be a part of this halau wa'a for everyone who associates with it or comes to visit"
After his haunting chant, Wallace, who had just come from a chemotherapy session to treat the lymphoma cancer that struck him just five months ago, quipped he was "radioactive," but added he was "so glad to be here and anxious for the future."
He explained the Molokai chant referred to a rare bird leaving Pelekunu Valley "because changes were coming to the island," and a Hawaiian kahuna who told it, "The day will come when you shall be called back to your home. Things will change. Things will not be the same, but your song will continue."
"It's a great metaphor for us to look at who we are and the things we do. I just want to express my deep appreciation for all those who are here, who so willingly gave that we could have what we have now. People keep on giving and sharing, and without that aloha, what we have would not be here now." Wallace also thanked the W.K. Kellogg Foundation, which provided initial funding to start Hawaiian Studies at BYUH — "a viable, donor-funded program on campus today because of their help."
"This will be the canoe's home, and we're excited about that," he continued. "We're excited about having our students here and running some of their classes with the Iosepa, and sharing with the visitors who come to the Center. This is a joint effort between BYU-Hawaii and the PCC. The things that we do will strengthen each other, and more people need to know about what's happening here."
Ira A. Fulton — a member of the Polynesian Cultural Center board of directors as well as the BYU-Hawaii/PCC Presidents' Leadership Council, and another major donor to the Iosepa — said he felt "honored and privileged" to work on the project over the past eight years. "There are going to be wonderful, wonderful things happen here," he said.
When Mark A. Willes, a former Times-Mirror CEO, took the microphone, he said, "I hope you know how much I love you. You are in our lives and in our hearts. We are better because of our association with you."
"I hope you know how much we love this place. When we walk onto the grounds of the Polynesian Cultural Center, we feel like we have come home. We feel like we have come back to our family. We feel healed and strengthened by the spirit that is here. We've also come to love the Iosepa, and now this halau wa'a where it will be housed."
Willes described the new canoe compound as a "stunning addition to a very special place" and said it was "evidence of the critical and necessary connection between BYU-Hawaii and the Polynesian Cultural Center." He also said it is a "important place of refuge for a very special voyaging canoe; and it is a place, if the Lord wills, where millions will come and be touched by the Spirit."
He then shared a number of "things the Iosepa means to me," including:
- "The logs were turned into something of utility and beauty by the hands of the master carver. It helps me understand how, if we will, turn our lives over to the Master."
- "I admire the courage of those long-ago people who set out on the seas to travel through treacherous water and sometimes unknown places, but found their way by looking to the stars to guide their way. It helps me to understand that if we, too, will look heavenward to Heavenly Father and His Son, Jesus Christ, They will make sure we get where we need to go."
- "When I think of the Iosepa coming to be nestled in this sacred place out of the way of the winds and the swells, I think of our voyage: The Lord has promised us that we, too, can be saved in His mansion on High."
"Everybody who comes will learn something different, will see something different as they experience this place and what takes place here," Willes continued. "It is just my hope and prayer that all of us who come will seek wisdom and understanding, and find rest in the Spirit of our Father in Heaven which, after all, is really the spirit of all that is important in this place, or anywhere."
In his subsequent dedicatory prayer, which he gave with special permission from President Thomas S. Monson, Willes blessed the halau wa'a and all of the surrounding grounds "that it will be a place of refuge for the Iosepa, that it will bide here safely and securely."
"We bless it as a place of learning, that those who come, as they learn about voyaging canoes, will also gain a greater understanding about the life's voyage that they take, and will have promptings in their minds and hearts to look heavenward to receive the guidance and direction that they need."
"We pray, Heavenly Father, that Thou will bring millions to see, hear and feel what Thou has in store for them, that they might be touched in their minds and in their hearts, that they might feel the brotherhood of those around them and recognize that they are all Thy children."
(Left-right): Naauao Panee of the PCC's Hawaiian village, Mark Willes, Ira A. Fulton, William K. "Uncle Bill" Wallace III and PCC President Von D. Orgill
Another larger reception — complete with Polynesian protocol and heavy pupu [refreshments] was held June 27.
(Left-right): PCC Hawaiian cultural expert Cy Bridges chants for a hula presentation in honor of the new Halau Wa'a O Iosepa, as hula dancers from the Center, BYUH and community perform. Raymond Mokiao, Hawaiian village manager or "chief" said the PCC and BYUH have been working together for the past two years planning for Iosepa's new home.
The community will celebrate the opening of Halau Wa'a O Iosepa on June 28 with a free "family day" event, starting at 3 p.m., that includes a special cultural presentation (4 p.m.) and Hawaiian music concert (6:30 p.m.).
— Photos by Monique Saenz and Mike Foley