• The culture of cockfighting • We need clean beaches • Windy City troubles The culture of cockfighting Tears of love for my family and friends. I’m here to justify that cockfighting is a culture and has been for many
• The culture of cockfighting
• We need clean beaches
• Windy City troubles
The culture of cockfighting
Tears of love for my family and friends.
I’m here to justify that cockfighting is a culture and has been for many years of many cultures including the Hawaiians.
It’s highly embraced in Hawai‘i by many people who are honorable persons of the community. Some people do not understand that it’s been a way of life for many and they don’t know anything else. Not to say they have any lack of respect for life, law or rights. It’s just a way of life and embracing a once great activity that has horribly turned into a misunderstood evil. Many of us like myself have wonderful memories, family memories of cockfighting, believe it or not. There are many of us who want to keep these memories alive in the positive light and not the negative one that a lot of people have misunderstood cockfighting to be.
Cockfighting back in the old Hawai‘i was not illegal. When the missionaries arrived in the islands they persuaded kingdom law to recognize gaming as illegal. The community that does not understand the culture of cockfighting needs to realize that cockfighting became corrupted by individuals who decided to use it as a venue to deal drugs. But we have drug dealing and gambling linked to every other sport you can think of but have not been made into such a huge deal because football, horse racing and boxing, to name a few, are not considered illegal. What if they were?
Hula at one time was banned from the Hawaiians and became an underground activity for its so-called “pornographic” nature but was kept alive by those who believed in it. Can you imagine if we had no hula?
Cockfighting was never banned in Hawai‘i. Cockfighting has become misunderstood and misrepresented.
I am a man with integrity and pride. I consider myself to be a positive contributer to the community. There are many people like me who can relate to what I am talking about. In my 56 years of seeing actual chicken fights I have not once witnessed drug use or drug transactions. The people who attend the chicken fights I have attended are all people like me, honest hard-working and genuinely good people with a great passion for chickens. In a 2002 article in the Maui newspaper there was a year-long surveillance of cockfights and during that time, quoted by officer Kiyoto of the Maui police, officers didn’t observe illegal drug transactions at the cockfights “but there were known drug people that attended.”
Yes, cockfighting is a part of the Filipino culture, as it is in many. You are sadly mistaken when you say there is no evidence that it’s not part of the Hawaiian culture. You obviously do not know your Hawaiian history. The rooster, or moa, was used as many ancient Hawaiians amakuas — they strongly believed that these true warriors should be as advantageous as the rooster. The alii used a feather headdress or mahiole, which is like the comb of the cock. Their weaponry, the kakal or spur was used in battle, and mannerism in battle were all the same as a rooster as well. On the Big Island you can find actual archaeological sites today and see pens or the chicken pens that chickens were kept in and trained in, in the area of the most noted alii, “Uni.”
They are still located on maps, and in fact, on the state reservation maps. So there is physical evidence that chickens were a part of traditional Hawaiian society.
Palolo Valley on O‘ahu which we call today, Pua Kaau or Kauu Crater, is named after that famous rooster who is an ancestral guardian of the alii fighting class. There is so much to the history of the rooster and cockfighting that stems to the great Kamehameha which denoted his great warrior spirit.
This is something that the warrior and the rooster should be known for and not its abused outcome of drugs and gaming. I ask you to look up great historians like David Mao, Abraham Fornanda, Kama Kao and Hoi Pio who wrote text in the 1800s; you can find sections of Paa‘ani or Mea Paa‘ani at play or leisure and game.
As far as good ole Abe, I know that honest Abe was a chicken fighting referee. Not a picture perfect ending for some. But hey, he lived in the forest surrounded by wildlife and game-chicken fighting wasn’t illegal then.
You make the decision. God bless their souls. My sons, father-in-law and uncle requested to have chicken sculptures on their headstones because other than their family that’s all they knew.
Chickens were a way of life.
• Harvey Garcia, Kalaheo
We need clean beaches
I’m Kawika Lindsey-Bandmann resident of Puhi and I live in the Puna district on Kaua‘i and I attend Kamehameha schools Kapalama Campus.
We have a great district and it is well developed with stores and stuff but I think we need to clean up our beaches because it’s kind of filthy. Beaches like Kalapaki, Hanama‘ulu and Marine Camp should be cleared of all debris.
These are wonderful beaches and people love going to them, but I think that whenever people go to these wonderful beaches they expect them to be clean. But the sad part is, when they go, beaches end up being full of debris and people absolutely don’t want to see those. Our marine animals are starting to die due to things left on the beach and oil spills.
When people come to Kaua‘i they expect a lot of nature and beauty and we can’t have our most prized attractions looking like Dumpsters.
We want tourists to come back so we can get more money for the economy because as you already know our country is in a downfall and we don’t want this to continue.
We need to have our ‘aina survive and live. We can’t do that with people leaving their trash all over the place. So I think it should be law that people mustn’t leave their trash all over the beach because beaches are supposed to be beautiful not looking like a dump. Thanks for all your time Billy.
• Kawika Lindsey-Bandmann, Puhi
Windy City troubles
I would talk to my buddies down at Republic Window however they are dealing with a sit in.
I would go down to discuss this with my Mayor however he would ask for a bribe.
I would call my Senator however he is part of the problem.
I would contact my Governor however he just got arrested.
I would write to my paper the Chicago Tribune however they just filed for chapter 11.
I am a general contractor in the city of Chicago and would like the problem solved. Any assistance would be greatly appreciated.
• Dirk Hoerr, Chicago, Ill.
