Ronak:
Waimea Valley is a very respected place by the Hawaiians and they protect it very well, preserving their past. They believe in the souls and spirits still living at the valley, meaning their ancestor, for example we had to ask a permission to enter the park and then a sign like a wind or the birds would chirp therefore access is granted. It is believed that people with good intentions and reasonable purpose are allowed if not they would be executed in the olden time. It was a form of taboo (or Kapu) for them. In the olden times, the native people had a completely different culture. The men had to do all the work instead of the women like cooking, cleaning, etc. The way we have rooms now, that way they had houses so things like one house for eating, one for sleeping, one for sharing, one for bathing, etc.
The men and women ate separately and the women could not looking or be around at all while eating so their hut would be built facing away from the men's house. The women were also not allowed to follow religion and were banned from eating certain food. In the sleeping house, it is the only place and time where the men and women can come and be together. The leaves there are also endangered as the uses of the leaves like, toothbrush, glue, etc, are taken over by the growing modern market so the plants are not grown very often but the valley authorities are preserving it for future generations to learn from. There is also a story behind one of the first plants in Hawaii. At one point of time, Mother Earth and Father Sun came together and gave birth to a girl who grew up and gave birth to a kid who unfortunately died at the time of birth. Thus, the women buried her and every night she would come back and cry and somehow, because of the tears, slowly a small plant started growing. She then gave birth to another kid and explained to him that the plant (Food source) is considered your big brother so you protect it and it will feed you in return.
They also had games, more of skill practice, and all the materials are made up of disposed or useless materials in the forest around them. This is a very good example of sustaining other materials and not waste anything and plus get benefits like warrior training and skill building to fight against threat.
Shakti:
Waimea Valley is a reservation to promote plant growth of native and foreign plant species. After making the valley a park it also became an educational reservation that taught visitors about Hawaiian culture. There were many rebuilt Hale's that showed the many cluster's of home that Hawaiian's in the past used to do their daily activities in. We learnt how Hawaiian were really in tuned with the nature and how they asked the nature to take things for certain purposes. This shows how Hawaiians really care for their nature and how the nature in turn provides for them.
Brendon:
Waimea Valley:
Waimea Valley is an important place, as it is where the chief priest use to live. From there, we learnt about the history and the way the people of Hawaii in the past lived their lives. There were many structures, to explain how the people lived their lives. We even get to try out some of the old Hawaiian Games. We learnt that you need to ask permission to get in, and you only do what you need. If you see something else, u must not get distracted. At the end of the hike, there is a little waterfall.
This valley is about sustaining the culture of the people of hawaii, so that it will not get lost, and teaching foreigners as well as younger generation of people the way the people lived their lives in the past. This will ensure that the culture will be sustained and continue on, and will not get lost.
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