LIHU‘E — A Kekaha couple recently returned from a trip to New Zealand where they met with other “royalty” from Pacific island nations to “unite and form Te Moana Nui O Kiva.” Dayne Aipoalani said he and his wife Toni
LIHU‘E — A Kekaha couple recently returned from a trip to New Zealand where they met with other “royalty” from Pacific island nations to “unite and form Te Moana Nui O Kiva.”
Dayne Aipoalani said he and his wife Toni visited Aotearoa, the Maori name for New Zealand, in mid-September as part of a celebration and ceremony among at least 15 “confirmed kings” from the “Polynesian Triangle.” Dozens reportedly attended the week-long meeting of ariki in Auckland.
In addition to Aotearoa and Hawai‘i, royalty were there representing: Mangai (the most southerly of the Cook Islands), Rarotonga (the most populous of the Cook Islands), Tuvalu (formerly known as the Ellice Islands), Samoa and Pakomotu (also called Paumotu, a large chain of atolls in French Polynesia).
The traditional chiefs on Sept. 11 signed a proclamation of the “New Foundation of the Royal Union of the Pacific Nations,” named Te Alepha Te Papa Nui A Te Taata Maori No Te Moana Nui O Kiva. The proclamation says the kings and queen of the assembly, which represent the Maori-Maohi people, are recognized and reinstated as the sovereign authorities of their lands.
Aipoalani’s legal surname is Gonsalves after his Puerto Rican father but he has adopted his Hawaiian mother’s maiden name because he identifies more with that side of the family. He said he can trace his lineage at that side back to Kamehameha.
Aipoalani, who represented the Polynesian Kingdom of Atooi, presented Ariki Nui Teatuaura Temataru of Maupiti, who organized the meeting, with two stones he brought from Kaua‘i. One represented Pele, goddess of fire, and the other represented Haumea, goddess of fertility.
Teatuaura presented Aipoalani with a poi pounder and he was named “representative of tourism and environment.”
Aipoalani said he has invited a “whole entourage” of customary chiefs and royalty from within the Polynesian Triangle to visit Kaua‘i in September. He said some of the kings are coming in July and there will be a week of lu‘au and some events open to the public.
However, not everyone at the meeting found it to hold the same “spiritual” and “emotional” power that the Aipoalanis did.
Henry Noa, who was there as the prime minister of the Reinstated Hawaiian Government, reportedly told Radio New Zealand that “There was no agenda and … it became obvious they were deceiving people to believe they had the authority or legitimacy to try and organize the island nations of the Pacific, particularly within the Polynesian Triangle.”
The dissension among the sovereignty groups is an ongoing issue.
The Reinstated Hawaiian Government is hosting a panel discussion on Hawaiian sovereignty from 1 to 6 p.m. today at the War Memorial Convention Hall in Lihu‘e. The Polynesian Kingdom of Atooi was apparently not asked to participate as one of the panelists, according to an online list of those invited.
On the Net: atooi.net, hawaii-gov.net
