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Colonization has impacted Native Hawaiians for centuries, destroying culture, language, and community, and exacerbating disasters such as COVID-19. However, a renaissance of Hawaiian culture has emerged, marked by increased longevity, education, and social mobility among Native Hawaiians. In this restorative spirit, we present Kaona, a tabletop role-playing game (RPG) and digital storyteller, designed to foster youth wellbeing from a Native Hawaiian perspective, by introducing the values of lōkahi (harmony). Kaona engages players in culturally revitalizing gameplay, integrating technologies to enrich immersion as players collaborate to restore balance to the realms they explore. Players problem-solve, self-reflect, and build community as they navigate complex quests inspired by local lived experiences and Hawaiian mo‘olelo (stories and legends). This paper details Kaona’s development, iterative playtesting, and our initial observations, presenting culturally restorative, community-informed RPGs as a promising avenue for empowering Native Hawaiian youth, fostering community wellbeing, and inspiring Indigenous futures.
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Scientific aspects of Hāpaiali‘i heiau
A heiau is a Hawaiian pre-Christian place of worship composed of rocks and holding historical and cultural significance, with a variety of uses ranging from worship to rituals. The scientific origins of Hawaiian heiau have yet to be fully inspected in the literature. This paper covers Hāpaialiʻi heiau on the island of Hawai‘i and its main function as a seasonal calendar through continuous observation of the sunrise and sunset locations over the sea horizon. Understanding the calendar functionality of the heiau contributes an essential step towards understanding Hawaiians’ use of indigenous science. This study mathematically investigates the sacred structure’s functionality with numerical accuracy and scientific rigour. A brief overview of the history of the Kahaluʻu area and the surrounding heiau provides important context for the heiau’s significance. This study reports and analyses the heiau’s relevant history, cultural significance and reconstruction by Kamehameha Schools. The importance of the calendar lies in the determination of the responsibilities for the current season, indicating which crops are to be harvested and which fish are in the mating season. In the mathematical analysis, the coordinates of the stones within the heiau are independently measured using Google Earth and Google Maps. The relative distances and angles between the internal stones are calculated using Google Sheets and Matlab to discover the underlying sciences possibly used by ancient native Hawaiians.
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- Award ID(s):
- 2034824
- PAR ID:
- 10581798
- Publisher / Repository:
- The Polynesian Society
- Date Published:
- Journal Name:
- Waka Kuaka | The Journal of the Polynesian Society
- Volume:
- 133
- Issue:
- 4
- ISSN:
- 2816-1580
- Page Range / eLocation ID:
- 465 to 478
- Subject(s) / Keyword(s):
- Makahiki, season, haversine, calendar, sunset
- Format(s):
- Medium: X
- Sponsoring Org:
- National Science Foundation
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- Free Publicly Accessible Full Text
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Accepted Manuscript1.0
- Journal Article:
- https://doi.org/10.15286/jps.133.4.465-478
