The Makahiki games. Bringing our heritage from the past to now. This is the time of Lono, a time of tranquility, peace, and over all good cheer. ‘Ulu maika (rolling stone disks), ‘o‘o ihe (spear throwing) and moa pahe‘e (dart sliding) are games that encourage camaraderie, good sportsmanship, and friendly rivalry.
As the instructions were uttered and the games took off. Many of the students gathered around, some touching the equipment for the first time while others feeling the familiarity. Cheers and groans came in spurts as students successfully threw their moa pahe‘e’s through the posts and groans as they missed.
These games were used to train young boys in the art of warfare.
The ‘Ulu maika was used to demonstrate a boys strength and accuracy depending on the distance they would have to throw the stones. (interesting fact: the longest field for ‘Ulu maika is 500ft long found on the Island of Moloka’i).
‘O’o ihe: taught a young warrior hand-to-hand combat. It helped to develop skills in food gathering and is proving to be extremely difficult to master. (Kamehameha I had 6 spears thrown at him, 3 he caught, 2 he parried, and the last he was able to escape by a hair!)
Moa Pahe’e: is similar to the ‘Ulu maika, but it is much more difficult to maneuver through posts because the path is unpredictable. A person must be skillful and familiar with their equipment to successfully throw it through the posts.
The past was rekindled by the students and teachers of the future. May our culture and our people continue strong and move forward.
Mo'olelo: Native Hawaiian Center at Honolulu Community College's Blog 