LIHU‘E — When Hawai‘i and Kaua‘i’s first inhabitants journeyed away from their new homelands by canoe, they needed to know how to get back home. There is a chant for that. A celestial chant was used to guide them on
LIHU‘E — When Hawai‘i and Kaua‘i’s first inhabitants journeyed away from their new homelands by canoe, they needed to know how to get back home.
There is a chant for that.
A celestial chant was used to guide them on their way, and that chant in reverse guided them home, said ‘Iokepa Hanalei ‘Imaikalani, founder with wife Inette Miller ‘Imaikalani of Return Voyage.
Return Voyage speaks of both the outbound and return voyages of the first settlers of Hawai‘i and Kaua‘i, dives deep into the native culture, and also speaks of ‘Iokepa Hanalei ‘Imaikalani’s own journey of self-discovery and prophecy.
Along the way, participants also learn through chant and other means the many meanings of “‘ohana,” what is necessary for effective “ho‘oponopono,” and other Hawaiian principles.
And while not everyone who comes into The Garden Island newspaper offices comes just with a story to give to a reporter, we’re not sure the office staff was ready when, even behind the closed doors of the conference room, ‘Imaikalani let out a couple of thunderous chants to begin and end this interview.
The opening chant, he explained later, was a call to attention, to remember the past, bless the future, honor the spirits of the land and live in the presence of God in every breath.
The closing chant was a request for the granting of wisdom and knowledge from the chant, insight from huna (tapping into the electromagnetic field surrounding each person that has all the wisdom, knowledge and answers), and wisdom from above, he said.
“‘Ohana,” he said, means more than “family.” It means everything you look at, wrap your thoughts around, you have to take care of.
“Ho‘oponopono,” a Native Hawaiian way of arbitrating differences by putting those with differences together in one place until those differences are resolved, must be community-driven, he said.
Communities must be part of the healing process, something difficult in today’s world when many people in the same neighborhood on Kaua‘i don’t even know nearby neighbors.
A bottom line in Return Voyage is “We all have ancestors who love us,” he said.
Sharp readers will note the present tense of that quote, as ‘Imaikalani’s contention is that deceased ancestors may be gone from the physical world, but they are still very much with us in the spiritual realm.
Identity is another big part of Return Voyage, wherein he teaches “that practices are important,” not necessarily the law, but justice, and how we take care of our communities, he said.
He also talks about his spiritual journey, where his ancestors instructed him to give away all his earthly possessions and learn the ways of the first settlers of Kaua‘i and Hawai‘i.
It has been a journey that taught him anything can happen at any time, in a moment, he said.
“I feel the love of my ancestors now more than ever,” and knows what it means to be unconditional in love and other arenas, he said.
More information on Return Voyage is available at www.returnvoyage.com.
