KC3 Essay (Draft) "The Rise, The Fall, The Comeback"

Olelo Hawaii, or the Hawaiian Language is was one of the oldest living language in the world. Before Captain Cook arrived in Hawaii, the Hawaiian Language was a strict oral language.
Hawaiian was an oral language. The 19th century missionaries, however, were supposed to teach their converts to read the Bible, and created a writing system with an alphabet of only twelve letters for words of indigenous Hawaiian origin. The Hawaiian language became the language of the government, remained the most commonly used language in daily life, and was used between the numerous different ethnic groups who had all arrived here to work the plantations.The alphabet was later expanded to allow for two unique characteristics in the Hawaiian word that the missionaries had missed. First, there was the unnoticed consonant, a glottal stop. The 'okina symbol (') now indicates this stop. Secondly, the five vowels could all function as longer sounds, now symbolized with a short line above the vowel. It became clear that Hawaiian was just as diversified and complete as the familiar European languages.

Captain Cook and his companions recorded the Hawaiian language for the first time in Kaua'i, in 1778. They immediately noticed the great similarity to Tahitian and Maori. In communicating with the Hawaiians they used Tahitian words and gestures. The arrival of American Protestant missionaries (from New England) in 1820 marked another new phase in the development of the Hawaiian language. The missionaries wanted to convert all Hawaiians to Christianity. In order to achieve that goal, they needed to learn the Hawaiian language so that they could publish a Hawaiian Bible, preach in Hawaiian, etc. To that end, they developed a successful alphabet for Hawaiian by 1826, taught Hawaiians to read and write the language, published various educational materials in Hawaiian, and eventually finished translating the Bible. Missionaries also influenced King Kamehameha III to establish the first Hawaiian-language constitutions in 1839 and 1840. This is the 115-year period during which Hawaiian-language newspapers were published. Missionaries introduced newspaper publishing in Hawaiian and in English, and played a significant role in publishing a vocabulary grammar and dictionary of Hawaiian. Literacy in Hawaiian was widespread among the local population, especially ethnic Hawaiians. Use of the language among the general population might have peaked around 1881. Even so, some people worried, as early as 1854, that the language was "soon destined to extinction."In spite of a huge decline in the use of Hawaiian, compared to the era of its peak, those fears have never been realized.

Hawaiian was the primary language in Hawaii for many years. After the annexation of Hawaii as a territory of the United States in 1898, the language was officially banned from schools and the government. Use of the Hawaiian language was even banned at the Kamehameha Schools. It is important to note that this ban of the Hawaiian language was not made against the language in general. People were still allowed to speak Hawaiian on a daily basis. In fact, there were fourteen separate newspapers that were printed in Hawaiian. Notables are the Ka Lama Hawaii and Ke Kumu Hawaii, which began as early as 1834 and the Ka Nupepa Kuoka, which had a 66-year-run from 1861 to 1927.

In 1978, the Hawaiian language was recognized as the official language of the state of Hawaii. Federally funded language immersion programs began in 1989. Many students are choosing to study Hawaiian as their required language in college. Today, there are about 1,000 Native Hawaiian speakers plus over 8,000 people who can speak and understand the language fluently. It is a far cry from the original 500,000 Native Hawaiian speakers that were on the island during the time of Captain Cook, but it’s a good start at resurrecting a dying language. The numbers are continually growing.

Yokohama Beach (Draft)

You could hear my cousins & friends strumming to the ukulele, singing to local hawaiian music just waiting to arrive at Yokohama. We still had about a hour and a half to arrive at our destination. As I was looking out the window, I could the long shoreline of beaches breaking the the shore. As I looked on the otherside of the car, I could the Makaha Mountain Range, with different shades of green & brown covering the mountain.

We had finally arrived at Yokohama Beach. Yokohama Beach is like a second home to me. As you look out to the beach, you see the long stretch of untouched sand waiting for you to step on it. You could hear roar of the waves crashing against the shore. The clear crystal blue water was making you want to just jump into the water. It was so tempting to go into the water, but we had to get all the tents & food all out the car & set it up on the beach. I stepping on the sand, it was burning hot. Felt like you were on a hot stove being cooked.

I jumped into the cold water. It was so refreshing & the salty water being splashed against your face, taking the stress & the negativity out of you. As I looked out the the ocean, I could see the I was surrounding by reef, I ran to the shore to get my snorkel because I had a feeling that there were a lo t of reef fish swimming all over. I dove into the water, looking at the reef that I was about to approach. I could see the stripes of white, yellow & black of the butterfly fish swimming past me. As I was diving deeper & deeper into the water, I could see black sea urchins & tiny clear shrimp in the small holes of the reef. While I was swimming, I could see a dark figure swimming at me about 50 yards away. As it got closer, I got kind of nervous & scared. I was thinking to myself that a big shark was gonna attack. The black figure got closer & closer, & I just realized that it was just a honu, or a green sea turtle. The turtle was harmless & didn't do anything to me at all. It was just swimming more to the shore to feed on the seaweed on the rocks.

It was about 2 o'clock in the afternoon, & all of a sudden, the waves started to get bigger & bigger. All you could see were surfers just arriving & took out there shortboards & ran to the water. The lifegaurd said that the surf was gonna get big towards the afternoon. I got really excited because I brought my surfboard with me to the beach. So I rewaxed my board & ran straight into the water. My first wave & I got a barrel. The wind rushing through & the water just sprays you as you get out of it. The barrel is what every surfer wants in his or her life.

Yokohama is my favorite to be at to make me happy.

Journal #9

This book relates a lot to culture. First, the Pidgin language relates to a typical Hawaii family. The book describes their identity by describing what they eat, what they do, how they manage their problems, and how they living their everyday life in Hawaii.

Journal #8

1. Beach:

-Surfing at the beach lets releases the stress.

-Its very refreshing.

-Its where I get to spend time with my friends & family.

2. My room:

-Its quiet & peaceful. Thats where I can go whenever I'm feeling sad or disappointed.

-Its where I can do what ever I want too.

-Its very private, where no one else is able come in.

Essay Draft

It was just a typical Saturday morning sitting on the big grass lawn lawn under the big banyan tree waiting for my Kumu (Teacher) to start hula practice. As he approached us, he said, "Aloha, today you guys are gonna do something different from what you normally do." We replied, "Oh Kumu, what are we gonna do today?" "We are going to Kahana Valley to visit the Lo'i (taro patch). I am gonna teach you guys our to take care of the kalo(taro), pick the kalo, & how to make poi." We were all excited to go to Kahana that day because we have never been to a Lo'i before.

Finally we arrived in at the Kahana Lo'i. You could smell the aroma of white ginger & pikake surrounding you. You could hear the birds chirping the guava trees. You could hear the kahawai (water stream that is very important for the lo'i) flowing around the lo'i.

My hula friends & I were sitting down on the big branch of the koa tree above the river. We were just talking about random things when we could hear Kumu calling, "Wahine, Hele mai eia nei oluolu(Ladies, please come here)." All of us jumped off the branch & went into the cold river swimming to the shore. "Yes, Kumu," we all announced. "I'm gonna teach you guys how to make poi." Kumu replies. I was so excited because I have never made poi before.

So we sat down around Kumu. He brought out steamed kalo(taro), pohaku ku'i ai (poi pounder), a koa wood bowl, & a bowl of fresh water. Before he taught us how to make the poi, he had told us that poi is considered the an important & a sacred part of daily Hawaiian Life. He took the steamed kalo & started to pound kalo onto the wooden poi. He would pound it until the kalo became mushy & sticky. About every minute or two, Kumu would put water on the poi pounder & the poi to make it less thick.

Two & a half hours had past, & Kumu finally finished. I took my two fingers, & scooped up the poi into my mouth. It made you feel like you step back in to the past where our native hawaiian used to eat this in every meal.

Til this day, I eat poi with my family to keep my Hawaiian Tradition going. My siblings & I will past it on to our children so that our Hawaiian culture will never be forgotten.

Roots & Recipes

Kiana Felicilda
Period 5

Roots & Recipes Interview
Uncle Ainsley Halemanu


Why is poi so important to you?
The bowl of poi was considered so important and a sacred part of daily Hawaiian life that whenever a bowl of poi was uncovered at the family dinner table, it was believed that the spirit of Haloa, the ancestor of the Hawaiian people, was present. This is because Hawaiians believed that the taro plant, or kalo, was the original ancestor of the Hawaiian people.


What is poi made out of?
Poi is made out of kalo (taro). The taro is supposed to be steamed & smashed into a sticky substance.


How does poi taste like?
Poi has a paste-like texture and a delicate flavor. The flavor changes distinctly once the poi has been made. Fresh poi is sweet and edible all by itself. Each day thereafter the poi loses sweetness and turns slightly sour.


Are there different kinds of poi?
Poi is always the same, but the thickness of the poi maybe different depending on how much of water you put in it. People may called the poi either poi can be known as two-finger poi or three-finger poi.

Writing to me is ok but it is kind of hard because you would have to think really hard of what you're gonna talk about. When I first started to write essays, I did HORRIBLE! My grammar & spelling were really bad. It was so bad that you weren't able to understand the first sentence. As the years past by, my writing has improved but at some spots, I would need help.

In the future, I would like to increase my skills in writing, grammar, spelling, & also vocabulary.