"Cultural Attachment" embodies the tangible and intangible values of a culture. It is how a people identify with and personify the environment (both natural and manmade) around them. Cultural attachment is demonstrated in the intimate relationship (developed over generations of experiences) that people of a particular culture share with their landscape-for example, the geographic features, natural phenomena and resources, and traditional sites etc., that make up their surroundings. This attachment to environment bears direct relationship to the beliefs, practices, cultural evolution, and identity of a people. In Hawai‘i, cultural attachment is manifest in the very core of Hawaiian spirituality and attachment to landscape. The creative forces of nature which gave birth to the islands (e.g., Hawai‘i), mountains (e.g., Mauna Kea) and all forms of nature, also gave birth to nâ kânaka (the people), thus in Hawaiian tradition, island and humankind share the same genealogy (see page 14 above for further discussion of this genealogical connection).

Cultural Assessment

In considering projects that will modify a cultural landscape, government agencies, land managers, and the public are provided a series of Federal and state laws and guidelines (cited on page 3 in this study) that set forth criteria for identifying cultural values, properties and resources, and for assessing the impacts of actions on the same. The Advisory Council on Historic Preservation (ACHP 1985) provides the following definition of cultural value:

...the contribution made by an historic property to an ongoing society or cultural system. A traditional cultural value is a value that has historical depth… (ACHP 1985:3)

The ACHP guidelines also note that "[a] property need not have been in consistent use since antiquity by a cultural system in order to have traditional cultural value..." (ACHP 1985:7)

The National Register Bulletin 38 "Guidelines for Evaluating and Documenting Traditional Cultural Properties" (Parker and King 1990), provides agencies with further guidance for assessing the importance of traditional cul-tural beliefs or practices (or cultural attachment) while assessing cultural resources and proposed actions that will affect their integrity. In defining "traditional cultural properties," the National Register explains:

"Traditional" in this context refers to those beliefs, customs, and practices of a living community of people that have been passed down through the generations, usually orally or through practice. The traditional cultural significance of a historic property, then, is significance derived from the role the property plays in a community’s historically rooted beliefs, customs, and practices...

...A traditional cultural property, then, can be defined generally as one that is eligible for inclusion on the National Register because of its association with cultural practices or beliefs of a living community that (a) are rooted in that community’s history, and (b) are important in maintaining the continuing cultural identity of the community (Parker and King 1990:1).

As described in interviews of the present Mauna Kea oral history study, readers learn that sometimes a traditional cultural property may not have physical boundaries which are easily understood, valued, or defined, yet the property continues to be valued in the Hawaiian cultural system. In "Protecting Traditional Cultural Properties Through the Section 106 Process," Sebastian (CRM Volume 16 - 1993) discussed the importance of oral history in determining and evaluating the historical importance of traditional cultural properties:

Although many traditional cultural properties have physical manifestations that anyone walking across the surface of the earth can see, others do not have this kind of visibility, and more important, the meaning, the historical importance of most traditional cultural properties can only be evaluated in terms of the oral histories of the community (Sebastian 1993, CRM - Vol. 16:22)

By way of claims made, and information shared in the Mauna Kea oral history interviews and consultation program, it is possible to develop assessment categories which may be used to evaluate the impacts of observatories and development on Mauna Kea. Generally described, these categories would include:

(1) Traditional Cultural Property claims which are within the purview of Federal and state historic preservation review processes;

(2) Traditional and Customary Cultural Practice claims which are within the purview of Article XII, Section 7, of the Hawaii State Constitution; and

(3) Contemporary Cultural Practice claims. These claims, while perhaps not within the purview of traditional cultural properties or traditional and customary cultural practices as defined by agencies, do relate to current practices and beliefs of cultural practitioners.

In the section of this study titled "Overview of Information Recorded Through Interviews and Consultation" readers were provided with a narrative overview of the primary documentation pertaining to sites, cultural landscape, and practices described during interviews and consultation. Tables 2a, 2b, & 2c presents that information in a format that assigns the claims to one or more of the three categories described above. In reading the overview and interviews, it will be seen that at times, there is no fine line between certain customs, practices, and beliefs. For example, one interviewee may discuss going to a traditional site to offer prayers as taught by his or her elders, and may offer prayers that are to native gods and Christian in manner. Other interviewees describe the significance of ancient burial sites and the sanctity of Mauna Kea as a place for burial, and continue the practice through cremation, which is not an ancient Hawaiian practice. These intermixings and variations in traditional and contemporary practices are to be expected, and are a result of the significant impacts of foreign cultures and values on the native Hawaiians over the last 180 years

Ka Mauna a Wâkea or Mauna Kea, also referred to as "Ka piko kaulana o ka ‘âina" (The famous summit or center of the land). Historical literature. Oral history interviews with all Hawaiian inter- viewees (particularly - J.K. Lindsey, K.K. Phillips, A. & A. Lancaster, A.K. Haa Sr. & Jr., L. Case, and P. Kanahele). Consultation records of: Association of Hawaiian Civic Clubs (AHCC), Ed Stevens, Iopa Maunakea, L. McCord, K. Pisciotta, L.K. Kimura, E. Kauhi, L. Teves, and B. Robertson. Interviews with Tita & JK Spielman, H.K. Springer, A.K. Haa Sr. (& Jr.), C. Hind, L. Case, and P. Kanahele; and consultation Appendices B & C. Oral history interview with Lloyd Case. Consultation records of K. Pisciotta and L. McCord. See Appendix D. Generally described as the mountain region from approximately the 6,000 foot elevation to summit. Described as a sacred landscape that is a physical and spiritual connection between one's ancestors, history, and the heavens. Many of the pu‘u (hills) and other topographic features on Mauna Kea are named for Hawaiian gods and deities. Also, many of the pu‘u, particularly those of the upper region, are believed to be burial sites of ali‘i and other important ancestors. Viewplain: The upper mountain region is described as a sacred landscape; for some interviewees ascending the mountain and viewing its features is important, for other families, the mountain is so scared that there is no desire to ascend it, but seeing it from afar-feeling its presence-is sufficient. Mountain landscape in navigational traditions: Hawaiian Navigational It is noted that while none of the archival-historical literature cited has made specific references to sites or features on Mauna Kea that were recorded as being associated with navigational practices and customs, the gods and deities associated with Mauna Kea have celestial body forms and some were evoked for navigational practices. Ms. Pisciotta was invited to provide the interviewer with a report she has prepared on the navigational-practices-to be included as an appendix under her name with the present study-but at the time of this writing, the report has not been received. (It is likely that Rubellite Kawena Johnson, Clay Bertlemann and Nainoa Thompson could provide the University with additional documentation on native practices and lore of Hawaiian navigation.)

Waiau Historical literature. Oral history interviews with all Hawaiian inter- viewees (particularly - K. Kalili, J.K. Lindsey, K.K. Phillips, A. & A. Lancaster, A.K. Haa Sr., L. Case, P. Kanahele, and I. Lindsey Fergerstrom et al.). Consultation records of: Ed Stevens, L. McCord, K. Pisciotta, L.K. Kimura, B. Robertson, and AHCC. See Appendix D. As an important cultural-geographic feature - a repository of piko of children; and a source of sacred water used for ceremonial and healing practices.

Trails - · Kûka‘iau-‘Umikoa to Mauna Kea Trail. There are also other trails which are potential Traditional Cultural Proper-ties; documentation was recorded for the following trails: · Humu‘ula to Mauna Kea Trail. · Laupâhoehoe-Waipunalei- Kanakaleonui to Mauna Kea Trail. · Makahâlau-Kemole to Waiau Trail. & · Waiki‘i-Pu‘u Lâ‘au to Waiau Trail. _____ ·10,000 ft. elevation trail/road around Mauna Kea. Historical literature. Oral history interviews: particularly - J. Ah San, T. Imoto, S. & D. Kaniho, T. Bell Sr., A. Lancaster, A.K. Haa Sr. (& Jr.), M. Pence, L. Case, I. Lindsey Fergerstrom et al., and A.K. Haa Sr. (& Jr.). Oral history interviews: particularly - J. Ah San, T. Imoto, S. & D. Kaniho, T. Bell Sr., A. Lancaster, M. Pence, and P. L‘Orange. Oral history interviews: particularly - J. Ah San, & L. Case. Oral history interviews with: J.K. Lindsey, T. Bell Sr, and L. Case. Oral history interviews with: J.K. Lindsey, and Teddy Bell Sr. Oral history interviews with: I. Lindsey Ferger- strom et al., and L. Case See Appendix D. Trail generally known to all interviewees, and remains in use by some who travel to Mauna Kea in present times. A portion of the trail which connects with the lower Mânâ-Laumai‘a Trail (around the base of Mauna Kea) was also known as "Ioane’s Trail" (Ioane was the great grandfather of A.K. Haa Sr.) Trail generally known and traveled on by all individuals who went to Mauna Kea prior to opening of the summit road alignment in the 1960s. Trail generally known to individuals who traveled to Mauna Kea up to ca. 1930. These two trails are not generally known to most people who have traveled to the summit region of Mauna Kea. The two elder interviewees last traveled on them in the 1930s, Lloyd Case still travels the trails. In the interviews, it was also noted that most of the trails rising to the summit of Mauna Kea converge in the vicinity of Waiau, with a trail then rising to the summit peak. Of particular interest to this trail/road feature at approximately the 10,000 ft. elevation are references to: (1) stone platforms and up-rights that mark the contour of the trail (Mrs. Fergerstrom et al., associate them with the work on the alignment-there are burials and other features near by which they have personally seen); and (2) the walled enclosures in the region above Pu‘u Lâ‘au.

· Releasing of ashes at the summit and other locations on Mauna Kea. Oral history interviews with - T. Imoto, J. Ah San, T. Bell Sr., S. & D. Kaniho, Tita & JK Spielman, and P. Kanahele. Described as a continuation of the traditional practice of taking loved ones remains to Mauna Kea.

Subsistence and recreational hunting. Oral history interviews with J. Ah San, and T. Imoto, M. Pence, S. &. K. Kaniho, T. Bell Sr., I. Lindsey-Fergerstrom et al., and L. Case. Described as important to the well-being of practitioner families, and important in maintaining a balance in an already disturbed environment on Mauna Kea.

Further assessment of the status and significance of cultural properties and practices-in conformance with Federal and State criteria-will occur under the guidance of DLNR-SHPD. That assessment will be based upon archaeological work undertaken by staff of the State Historic Preservation Division, and will be developed when the information becomes available. At that time, the findings and recommendations cited in this study will be taken into consideration for development of a historic properties-site preservation plan for Mauna Kea (pers comm. J. Overton - Group 70 International; Jan. 26, 1999).

 

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