Maui Mayor Alan Arakawa defended the county's handling of sacred rocks from Iao Valley that were mistakenly transported to a landfill. While a county spokesperson had previously apologized, Arakawa said there is no such thing as sacred rocks in Christianity and that concerns over the rocks were being raised by "political wannabes". Arakawa's comments generated controversy as Native Hawaiians consider Iao Valley to be sacred ground.

1. MAUI MAYOR ALAN ARAKAWA
PETROLOGIST1
Photo Courtesy The Molokai News
“There's no such thing as sacred rocks,” County of Maui Mayor Alan
Arakawa said Friday morning on Hawaii News Now - Sunrise in response to
criticism over how the county handled rocks transported from `Iao Valley
during ongoing food repair work.
Native Hawaiians consider `Iao Valley sacred. It's the site of a famous battle
between Kamehameha I of Hawai'i island and Maui's chiefs.
Just three days ago, the county's spokesperson, Rod Antone, apologized for
the unfortunate oversight after admitting some `Iao Valley rocks mixed in
with tree debris were sent to the landfll where they crushed – but Arakawa
seemed to take a diferent approach this morning on #HawaiiNewsNow.
1 Petrologist study rocks. Windows to the Universe. Scientists Who Study Rocks
https://www.windows2universe.org/earth/geology/geopeople_intro.html

2. “It's very simple. There's no such thing as sacred rocks. First of all, the
monarchy, starting with Kamehameha, his lineage, declared Christianity the
religion of Hawai'i. In Christianity, if I remember the Ten Commandments
correctly, 'Thou shall have no false God before me'. There are no sacred
rocks in that religion.
We have a group of people that are political wannabes that ran for political
ofce the last time, and they're trying to make an issue out of nothing.
During an emergency situation where people's lives are endangered, we have
to do what we have to do,” said Arakawa.
Hawaii News Now's full sit-down interview with Maui Mayor Alan Arakawa:
http://bit.ly/2lsmBIu
Related stories: http://bit.ly/2kS1yLR & http://bit.ly/2lTfb1A
Source: There’s no such thing as sacred rocks By Mileka Lincoln HawaiiNewsNow.
Facebook. Reposted, Accessed on February 19, 2018
https://www.facebook.com/milekalincoln.hnn/videos/1322783971113827/
Pohaku - Sacred Stones of Hawai`i
Stones (pohaku - rocks) are very sacred in Hawaiian tradition
Petroglyphs and Heaius on Maui and Kaua`i
Guardian Maui
http://www.pihanakalani.spiritmythos.org/gpohaku.html

3. The Sky Watcher
The 2013 Hawaii Prayer Breakfast, held on April 12 at the Hilton Hawaiian
Village brought both religious and non-religious persons together as it
demonstrated a hallmark of civil society, the freedom of religion and from
religion. Prayers, speeches and poems were shared in the presence of
more than one hundred government ofcials from the federal, state, and
county levels, as well as the military. Honolulu Mayor Kurt Caldwell told a
personal story and shared thoughts on doubt. Kauai Mayor Bernard
Carvalho opened in song. Retired U.S. Senator Daniel Akaka gave a quick
Hawaiian language lesson and spoke of Aloha.
Maui County Mayor Alan Arakawa read a passage from the Bible.
The First Amendment ensures that government shall neither establish
religion nor prohibit the free exercise thereof. Grassroot Institute is proud
to stand with government ofcials as private citizens who are building a
civic space in which the Constitutional rights of individuals are protected
and practiced.
Source: Hawaii Prayer Breakfast – A Civic Space for the Religious and Non-Religious
By Keli`i Akina, Ph.D., President/CEO of Grassroot Institute of Hawaii
http://www.hawaiifreepress.com/ArticlesMain/tabid/56/ID/9488/Hawaii-Prayer-
Breakfast-ndash-A-Civic-Space-for-the-Religious-and-Non-Religious.aspx

4. We're using a million dollars of Open Space funds to preserve 64 acres
of oceanfront property known as the Paukukalo Coastal Wetlands. We
thank you council members for recommending this purchase. This
area once saw native Hawaiian fshponds, shrines, burial grounds and
agricultural terraces, all right there between the mouths of Waiehu
and Iao streams. Besides being culturally signifcant the area is
environmentally important as it provides a natural flter for runof
before it reaches the ocean. We have lost too many of these lands
already, and we must protect those we have left.
~ Mayor Alan Arakawa ~
Source: State of the County: Maui Mayor Alan Arakawa - February 24, 2012
Hawaii Reporter. http://www.hawaiireporter.com/state-of-the-county-maui-
mayor-alan-arakawa/
ANCIENT HAWAIIAN HEIAU
By Punaboy. Aloha Valley E-Magazine. July 23, 2016
http://alohavalley.com/ancient-hawaiian-heiau/
A heiau is a Hawaiian temple or shrine, a place of worship. Many
types of heiau were built in diferent architectural styles depending
upon their purpose and location. There are heiau to treat the sick
(heiau hō`ola), ofer frst fruits, ofer frst catch, start rain, stop rain,
increase the population, ensure the health of the nation, achieve
success in distant voyaging, reach peace, and achieve success in war
(luakini). Heiau are sacred places; in ancient times only the kahuna
(priests) and certain sacred ali`i (high chiefs) were allowed to enter.
Architect of heiau varied from simple stone markers to large stone
platforms. Their shapes could be rectangular, square, or rounded.
Some consisted of simple earth terraces, while others were elaborately
constructed stone platforms. They could be placed on hills, clifs,
level earth, valleys and on the coastline touching the sea. Some ko`a
or fshing shrines were built underwater. Heiau of the people varied in
size. Large heiau were built by prominent people while smaller heiau
were built by the humble.

5. At the ofcial end of Hawaiian religion in 1819 under pressure from
Christian missionaries, many were deliberately destroyed, while
others were allowed to fall into disrepair, left for ruins. Some heiau
structures were preserved, some fully restored physically. Heiau are
still considered sacred by Hawaiians and the people of Hawai`i.
Hana: `Pi`ilanihale Heiau, also called Hale O Pi`ilani Heiau is the
largest heiau known to exist, a massive, three-acre (12,000-square-
meter) platform with ffty-foot retaining walls.
Moloka`i: `li’ili’ōpae Heiau is the most impressive structure belonging
to a 6 heiau, 2 fshpond complex. Second largest heiau constructed.
_____________________
Wailuku: Haleki`i-Pihana Heiau State Monument is a 10 acre park
containing two important heiau (religious sites) near the mouth of the
`Iao Stream in Wailuku. Haleki'i and Pihana were associated with
important Hawaiian chiefs. Originally they were places of worship,
only to be changed to war temples. The site is open to pedestrians
only (the entry road doesn’t permit vehicles). The heiau complex was
added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1985.
Source: Hawaii State Parks. https://hawaiistateparks.org/parks/maui/haleki
%CA%BBi-pihana-heiau-state-monument/
No ka Baibala Hemolele
The Making of the Hawaiian Bible
By Jefrey (Kapali) Lyon, Ph.D.
Associate Professor and Department Chair
Department of Religion
University of Hawai`i at Mānoa
https://scholarspace.manoa.hawaii.edu/bitstream/10125/43986/1/07_1lyon.pdf

6. In spite of its unparalleled signifcance in the religious and literary history
of nineteenth- and early twentieth-century Hawai'i, research into the
Baibala has been conspicuously absent. And yet for decades, thousands
of Hawaiians read it daily (as some continue to do), memorized lengthy
portions of it, composed chants and hymns from its language, and
ventured to distant islands and sometimes hostile shores as missionaries
themselves.
In Hawaiian-language circles, even though the language of the Baibala
was shaped by the most eminent Native scholars of the day, it is often
considered a strictly missionary production, and therefore of little worth in
the study of literary Hawaiian of the early nineteenth century. The
content is ancient Israelite and Greco-Roman, the interpretation is early
nineteenth-century Protestant, but the language is, by and large, the
Hawaiian recommended by the highest-ranking chiefs and advisors of the
1820s and 1830s.
Through over a decade of incessant and mostly fruitful labor and
cooperation, they created a work for the ages, among the best Bible
translations of their century, and an enduring literary monument today:
Moses and David, Jesus and Saint Paul, all speaking the courtly language
of the sons and daughters of Papa and Wākea.
NUMBERS 6: 24-26
BAIBALA HEMOLELE
THE HAWAIIAN BIBLE
1839 Edition
Na Iehova oe e hoomaikai mai,
a e malama mai
Na Iehova e kau mai i kar malamalama o kona maka maluna iho ou,
a e lokomaikai mai ia oe.
Na Iehova e maliu mai ia oe, a e haawi mai i malu nou.

7. 2012 Edition
Na Iēhova `oe e ho`omaika`i mai,
a e mālama mai;
Na Iēhova e kau mai i ka mālamalama o kona maka ma luna iho ou,
a e lokomaika`i mai iā `oe.
Na Iēhova e maliu mai iā `oe, a e hā`awi mai i malu nou.
Operation Holy Bible ̶ New Living Translation Second Edition 2017
Tyndale House Publishers Inc. Carol Stream, Illinois
To all of you ̶ our Men and Women in Uniform and to your families
It is our prayer that the contents of this book will feed your soul, enrich your heart,
and broaden your understanding of relationships with your fellow man and with
your Father in heaven, who loves beyond compare.
May the Lord bless you
and protect you
May the Lord smile on you
and be gracious to you
May the Lord show you his favor
and give you peace
_____________________
The Hawaiian translation of the Bible (Baibala in Hawaiian) remains the largest single
volume ever printed in Hawaiian, with over 1,400 densely packed pages in its most
recent incarnation (2012), slimmed down from an original (and unwieldy) 2,300 pages
(1837–39). Hawaiian participants: governor of Hawai`i Island John Adams Kuakini;
governor of Maui Ulumeheihei Hoapili; the ali`i nui 'high chief' Kēlou Kamakau of
Ka‘awaloa; the ali‘i advisor to kings and foreigners Ioane Papa `Ī`ī; and the learned
and brilliant commoner Davida Malo
Source: Lyons, cited above

8. DAVID MALO
David Malo (or Davida Malo) was a leading Native Hawaiian
historian and scholar of the Kingdom of Hawaii. He was born in
Keauhou on the Island of Hawai’i around 1793. He spelled his
name Davida, since syllables always end in vowels in the Hawaiian
Language. His father was named Ao'ao and mother was named
Heone. He grew up during the period when Kamehameha I united
the islands into a single kingdom. Malo was associated with the
chief Kuakini, who was a brother of Queen Ka`ahumanu, during
this time of great change, probably serving as oral historian and
court genealogist.
In 1823 Malo moved to Lahaina on the Hawaiian island of Maui
and became a student of Reverend William Richards, learning how
to read and write in both English and Hawaiian. Malo converted to
Christianity and was given the baptismal name of David.
He was a member of the frst class at the Lahainaluna School when
it was founded by Lorin Andrews in 1831, later serving as school
master. He married Lepeka, who took the Christian name Rebecca.
They had one daughter. Lahainaluna High School has named the
Boys' Dormitory after David Malo, and in mid-April each year holds
a celebration in his honor.
When Queen Ka'ahumanu died in June 1832, Malo composed a
poem in her honor titled He Kanikau o Ka'ahumanu. He helped
translate books from the Bible so they could be published in the
Hawaiian language. From about 1835 he started writing notes on
the Hawaiian religion and cultural history, along with other
members of the school and instructor Sheldon Dibble. The book
was frst published in Hawaiian around 1838 (a facsimile of this
original has been recently reprinted). In 1858 more stories were
added to his book and a second Hawaiian edition was published.
The book was translated by Nathaniel Bright Emerson and
published in English in 1898, and again in 1951 and 1987 editions.

9. This book is known today as Ancient Hawaiian Antiquities.
He helped form the frst Hawaiian Historical Society with Samuel
Kamakau in 1841. He wrote a history of Kamehameha I, but the
manuscript has been lost. Also in 1841 he was elected as
representative from Maui to the frst House of Representatives of the
Kingdom.
In 1852 he supervised building Kilolani Church on Maui. Its ruins
are now on the grounds of the Trinity Episcopal Church by-the-Sea
near modern day Kihei. He was ordained into the Christian ministry
and settled down in the seaside village of Kalepolepo on East Maui
where he remained until his death on October 21, 1853.
Source: Trinity Episcopal Church By-The-Sea
https://trinitybts.org/david-malo/
_____________________
May the grace of the Lord Jesus be with God's holy people.
`O ke aloha o ka Haku, `o Iesū Kristo, me `oukou a pau.
`Āmene