Hawai‘i Aloha

Kumulipo: The Creation Chant
*Translation by Lili‘uokalani of Hawai‘i (1897)

‘O ke au i kahuli wela ka honua
At the time that turned the heat of the earth,
‘O ke au i kahuli lole ka lani
At the time when the heavens turned and changed,
‘O ke au i kuka’iaka ka lā
At the time when the light of the sun was subdued
E ho‘omālamalama i ka malama
To cause light to break forth,
‘O ke au o Makali’i ka pō
At the time of the night of winter
‘O ka walewale ho‘okumu honua ia
Then began the slime which established the earth,
‘O ke kumu o ka lipo, i lipo ai
The source of deepest darkness. 
‘O ke kumu o ka pō, i pō ai
From the source in the night was night formed
‘O ka lipolipo, o ka lipolipo
Of the depth of darkness, of the depth of darkness, 
‘O ka lipo o ka lā, o ka lipo o ka pō
Of the darkness of the sun, in the depth of night,
Pō wale ho’i
It is night,
Hānau ka pō
So was night born.

The Kumulipo begins the Hawaiian perspective on and relationship to the environment. Through its description of how the elements of the land and ocean were born, it teaches nā kānaka, the Hawaiian people, that our land and oceans are living beings and homes of living gods. Nā kānaka are instructed by the gods to be the caretakers of all living beings.

About Hawaiʻi

Hawaiʻi is the northernmost island group in Polynesia and is the 50th state of the United States. The Hawaiian Archipelago encompasses 1,500 miles. Its population lives on 8 main islands — Hawaiʻi, Maui, Kahoʻolawe, Lānaʻi, Molokaʻi, Oʻahu, and Hawaiʻi Island. The Northwestern Hawaiian Islands are a series of smaller islands and atolls and, along with its surrounding waters, are protected under the Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument.

For most of Hawaiʻi, dry season is May to October and rainy season is October to April. Temperature varies from the upper 80s on summer days to mid 60s in winter evenings at lower elevations. Snow falls at 13,796 feet (4,205 meters) on Mauna Kea and Mauna Loa on Hawaiʻi Island. Local climates vary by island and between windward and leeward sides of islands. [1]

[1] http://www.prh.noaa.gov/hnl/pages/climate_summary.php

Education

Hawaiʻi public schools are unified under one State Education Agency, divided into 15 complex areas. The Hawaiʻi DOE oversees 286 schools (166 elementary, 38 middle, 33 high, 16 multi-level, 32 charter, 1 special) with 183,251 students (2013; 105,396 elementary, 77,855 secondary) and 11,147 classroom teachers. About 8% (14,124 students; 2013) of public school students in Hawaiʻi are English Language Learners.[2]

Most Hawaiʻi private schools are organized under the Hawaiʻi Association of Independent Schools (HAIS). In 2013, approximately 37,097 students (18,894 elementary, 18,203 secondary) attend 120 private schools (77 on Oahu, 17 on Hawaiʻi Island, 18 on Maui, 6 on Kauaʻi, 2 on Molokaʻi). [3]

Hawaiʻi is home to several institutes of higher education. The University of Hawaiʻi system includes 3 university campuses and 7 community colleges. [4] Major private universities include Chaminade University of Honolulu and Brigham Young University Hawaiʻi.

[2] http://arch.k12.hi.us/state/superintendent_report/annual_report.html

For additional information about weather and climate in Hawaiʻi

• Hawaiʻi and the U.S. Affiliated Pacific Islands (NCA, 2014): http://nca2014.globalchange.gov/report/regions/hawaii-and-pacific-islands
• Climate of Hawaiʻi (NWS 2011): http://www.prh.noaa.gov/hnl/pages/climate_summary.php
• NOAA National Weather Service Forecast Office, Hawaiʻi (for weather alerts): http://www.prh.noaa.gov/hnl/watchwarn/

PCEP Partners

• Center for Ocean Sciences Education Excellence (COSEE) Island Earth (Hawaii): http://www.cosee-ie.net/
• Hawai‘i Department of Education: http://doe.k12.hi.us/
• Hawai‘i Institute of Marine Biology at the University of Hawai‘i: http://www.hawaii.edu/HIMB/
• Kapi‘olani Community College (Hawaii): http://kapiolani.hawaii.edu/page/home
• Polynesian Voyaging Society (Hawaii): http://hokulea.org/
• University of Hawai‘i Curriculum Research and Development Group (CRDG): http://manoa.hawaii.edu/crdg/
• University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa’s Kawaihuelani Center for Hawaiian Language: http://manoa.hawaii.edu/hshk/kawaihuelani/