“Aloha ʻāina is a
familial relationship; that means that we resist all attempts to further
separate any of us from our ʻāina. Our freedom to live in our land is linked to
our freedom to determine how we live in our bodies.” –Noenoe Silva
“In these
challenging times, convoluted views of our native culture are being
appropriated for other purposes…If you support the Westernized Christian view
of marriage, then so be it — but please don’t pretend that your choice has
anything to do with Hawaiian thought or values… You would relegate our people
to nothing but mere shells along the seashore, damaged by those who trample
upon their fragile beauty because they want to walk in paradise. I speak on
behalf of mahu and those in aikane relationships who are too afraid, too shy or
unable to articulate their profound connection to the true native concept of
Hawaii — an inclusive society that unconditionally accepts, respects and loves
all people, and that values the full and wondrous diversity of our
relationships and families.” –Hinaleimoana Wong-Kalu
Lately in Hawaiʻi, we have been painfully reminded of Chris
Finley’s observation that "Heteropatriarchy
has become so natural in many Native communities that it is internalized and
institutionalized as if it were traditional."[1] As
the Hawai‘i State Legislature continues its special session to consider a bill
that would extend marriage equality to same-sex couples, Native Hawaiian words
and values have been misused and taken completely out of historical and
cultural context by those who promote homophobia and heteropatriarchy under the
guise of “traditional marriage.” The
institution of state-sanctioned or church-sanctioned marriage has a
very short genealogy here in Hawaiʻi. To claim marriage is a Kanaka Maoli tradition is like claiming plantation capitalism is a Hawaiian tradition. It is necessary for us to
consider Driskill, Finley, Gilley and Morgensen’s call to look at the ways “the normalizing and privileging of
patriarchal heterosexuality and its gender and sexual expressions” undermine
struggles for decolonization and sovereignty.[2]
Before going any further, we need to provide a few brief
background:
- Since time immemorial, Kanaka Maoli—the Native Hawaiian people—have included and celebrated fluid gender and sexual practices in our culture.
- The Hawaiʻi Supreme Court in 1993 issued a landmark decision that a ban on marriages between same-sex couples violated the state constitution’s prohibition against sex discrimination.
- In 1998, Hawaiʻi voters approved a constitutional amendment that gave the Hawaiʻi Legislature the authority to reserve marriage in Hawaiʻi to opposite sex couples. The Legislature later passed a law that defined marriage as a union of a man and a woman.
- Currently, a bill that would affirm the equal protection and equal rights of same-sex married couples is making its way through the legislature and was approved by the Senate (with a vote of 20- 4) on October 28, 2013.
As we watch this situation unfold, we have seen numerous
instances of Hawaiian concepts being twisted and misunderstood. For example take
this commercial, “Hawaiʻi’s
covenant with God,” sponsored by
a group opposing Senate Bill 1 relating to equal rights. The speakers assert
that “the Bible is the highest law of the land,” and that “same sex marriage
will affect our traditional sense of ʻohana.” Among those in the commercial is
the Chairperson of the Office of Hawaiian Affairs—the state agency responsible
for administering funds and lands intended for the “benefit of Native
Hawaiians.” For an excellent analysis of and response to this ad and to the
wider usage of fundamentalist groups in appropriating Hawaiian language terms
and values, see Professor kuʻualoha
hoʻomanawanui’s opinion piece, “Living True Aloha.” For a concise and potent critique, please also read “Hawaiian
Values Differ from Western Traditions,” authored by Kumu Hinaleimoana Wong-Kalu, a fierce advocate for Hawaiian
independence and the kind of genuine liberation that requires challenging heteropatriarchy.
Additionally, we take this historical moment to look back to the words of
three Kanaka political theorists and practitioners, Noenoe Silva, Kuʻumeaaloha
Gomes and Kaleikoa Kaʻeo. During
the late-1990s, when the same-sex marriage issue was being debated in many
communities across the islands, these three Kanaka Maoli scholars came together
to shed some light on the connections between Hawaiian sovereignty and
sexuality. We post the following excerpts from the panel, especially since it
is incredibly difficult to access the transcripts from this event, and yet
their voices could not be more necessary and insightful.
"Ka Le'a O Ke Ola: A Forum on Kanaka Maoli Culture,
Sexuality, and Spirituality" featuring Noenoe Silva, Kaleikoa Kaeo and
Kuumeaaloha Gomes
Participants in the
AFSC gathering had the opportunity to attend a public forum at the Center for
Hawaiian Studies of the University of Hawaiʻi (UH), which addressed for a
Hawaiian audience many of the same themes under discussion at the gathering. In
addition to AFSC, cosponsors of the forum included Na Mamo O Hawaiʻi, the
Marriage Project Hawaiʻi, the Pacific Families Network, and a variety of UH
organizations and programs, including the Queer Student Union, the Center for
Hawaiian Studies, Kua`ana Student Services, the Task Force on Sexual
Orientation, and the Student Equity, Excellence, and Diversity Office. The
forum, which began with a traditional Hawaiian processional and invocation, was
well attended by representatives of both the Kanaka Maoli sovereignty movement
and Hawaiʻi's gay community. Excerpts from presentations by the three panelists
appear below; their remarks were followed by a spirited discussion with the
audience and many expressions of mutual respect and solidarity regarding both
gay rights and Hawaiian sovereignty.
Kaleikoa Kaeo
We need to speak about the issues of sexuality and same-sex
marriage with a Hawaiian voice, a Kanaka Maoli voice. Especially those of us
who are involved in Kanaka Maoli political struggles have been silent about the
whole issue. I believe this is a failure on our part, and by proclaiming my
support I hope that others will support this issue. As a heterosexual male I
don't pretend to speak for the gay community; I come to speak from a Hawaiian
nationalist perspective.
. . . Next to sovereignty, the most controversial issue
facing Hawaiʻi is the issue of same-sex marriage. Many nationalist
organizations and individuals have yet to publicly proclaim their point of
view. The only voices so far have come from a Kanaka Maoli organization formed
by students and faculty at the University of Hawaiʻi, Na Mamo O Hawaiʻi.
This is disturbing. It is as if same-sex marriage will not
have an impact on the Hawaiian community. If this were an issue involving
family, land, or religion you can bet Hawaiians would be there - why haven't
Hawaiians come forward on this issue? Many leaders in the Hawaiian community
are gay, lesbian, or bisexual.
Marriage as it exists today is an artifact of cultural
imperialism, encoded as a mechanism of colonization. It is no different than
the bringing of capitalism, Christianity, or privatization. It has brought
confusion to Kanaka Maoli culture: about sex, gender roles, and family; about
how we relate among the sexes.
The voices of opposition [to gay rights] have also been
minimal. Even though some have spoken in opposition from the churches they have
spoken on the basis of Christianity, and not as Kanaka Maoli. This issue
highlights the clash between Kanaka Maoli culture and the hegemony of
Euro-American culture in Hawaiʻi. This is a very painful situation for Kanaka
Maoli. It calls into question our basic cultural beliefs. It poses the
questions of who we are and what our beliefs are. What were our traditions
concerning sexuality? What are they today and how have they changed?
The question of shame and guilt has always been here. If we
are talking about decolonizing, can we truly do that without dealing with this
question? Marriage as it exists today is an artifact of cultural imperialism,
encoded as a mechanism of colonization. It is no different than the bringing of
capitalism, Christianity, or privatization. It has brought confusion to Kanaka
Maoli culture: about sex, gender roles, and family; about how we relate among
the sexes.
The main function of marriage was to produce a
European-style family, which was part of the process of colonization. As we
explore decolonization as Kanaka Maoli, issues like cultural institutions or
land use have all brought about deep discussions in our community, all for the
sake of the physical, cultural, and mental survival of Kanaka Maoli people. The
Kanaka Maoli cannot afford to limit our attempt to decolonize spiritually,
socially, culturally, and economically by failing to address one of the most
predominant institutions of American cultural hegemony.
I am talking not just about granting lesbians and gays the
right to marry, but about re-imagining the institution of marriage. We need to
include Kanaka Maoli values in the concept of marriage. If same-sex marriage
becomes legal in Hawaiʻi, it should be viewed by Kanaka Maoli as a window of
opportunity. We should follow the lead of the proponents of same-sex marriage
because it gives us the latitude to reshape societal institutions to fit our
cultural standards.
As Amilcar Cabral points out, the greater the difference
between the culture of the dominated and the culture of the oppressor, the more
possible becomes the resistance of the oppressed. It is easier to dominate
where there is a similar culture. Imperialism struggles unceasingly on the
cultural front, to bring you to believe that you have no culture, that your
culture and that of your oppressor is the same. If we want to liberate
ourselves as Kanaka Maoli, we cannot blindly accept and keep intact the
premises of the colonial regime.
The institution of marriage as we know it today is not a
traditional Kanaka Maoli cultural form. Many of the opponents of same-sex
marriage say we need to protect traditional marriage as it exists in Hawaiʻi,
marriage for procreation. What is traditional marriage in Hawaiʻi? Does this
term come from the view of marriage as it has existed in Europe and America, as
an institution that developed mainly to control property?
Marriage did not exist in Hawaiʻi before the arrival of
European missionaries in 1820. In the old days there was no such thing as
marriage; everybody slept with everybody. If a man wanted a woman, or a woman
wanted a man, they would seek each other. We had different types of unions and
relationships. One was a binding betrothal, when a family for procreative
purposes wanted offspring to be born, not because of love or sexual attraction
but because of the need to produce a child. A second type of relationship,
punalua, existed between two persons closely linked to a third person; they
could be sisters-in-law, brothers-in-law, two wives of a man, two husbands of a
woman, and so on. These terms cannot be translated into English, because they
are cultural concepts that are lacking in the social relationships of
English-speaking people.
The term "punalua" comes from the idea of two
heads. In Hawaiian culture before the arrival of the missionaries it was
permissible to have multiple partners, for men and women alike. The raising of
children did not take place in a nuclear family construct. If a woman had two
lovers at about the same time and a child was born then, then the child was
considered to have two fathers. Another type of relationship was known as
ho`ao, daylight: if a man slept with a woman until daylight they were married.
That was the declaration of their union: they didn't go in front of a judge or
a priest. Religion was not involved in determining what was a marriage and what
was not. Sometimes no words were said. There were no requirements for sexual
abstinence before marriage; often couples tried living together before forming
a union. The most common way was for the male to go and live with his wife's
family. With that type of arrangement, the room for physical abuse or verbal
abuse is taken away because that man is going to face his wife's brother.
Traditionally, relationships of lifelong love and commitment
did not include economic support and did not necessarily include sexual
involvement. Those involved might have sex outside this union. Another term is
aikane, which has had many meanings at different times of history.
"Ai" means sex and "kane" means male, but this word is
actually used to describe relationships between two people of the same sex.
Such a relationship may have included sex or it may not; the main focus is the
relationship itself.
When I first read all of this about our culture it opened up
my eyes to realize that sex is resistance. The conflict of cultures is also
experienced as sexual conflict. If you really feel Hawaiian you experience sex
as enjoyable, natural, fulfilling, and lots of fun. . . .
Noenoe Silva
It's very beautiful to be here in the Center for Hawaiian
Studies, but I'm going to talk about an event that happened two years ago in
Hilo in which I felt very different than I do tonight. I am a cofounder of a
group of lesbian and gay Kanaka Maoli. We formed in 1993 with the purpose of
attending the hearings on same-sex marriage and talking about traditional
Hawaiian practices. In 1996 there were a series of puwalu or conventions of
different sovereignty groups, with the intention of finding common ground, and
we decided to go. Our intention was to be in on the formation of a new Hawaiian
nation. We believed that we need to think carefully about what kind of nation
we are building: we don't want to live in a new nation that is just as
oppressive to us as the old one. At the time I was inspired by the constitution
created for South Africa after apartheid was dismantled, which included a
clause prohibiting discrimination on the basis of sexual
orientation. The theme for that particular puwalu was aloha
ʻāina, malama ʻāina. These puwalu normally lasted about three days and we were
there the whole time. It was a full weekend of workshops seeking to find some
common ground about what "aloha ʻāina" means. On the last morning, a
Sunday morning, just before the closing, we intervened. I was the one who stood
up and read our statement, which said that we are Hawaiian, we belong to
Hawaiʻi. Our ʻāina permeates every part of us: the land is our ancestor, it is
in our bones. It is our link to our past, our history, and our future
well-being. All are linked to our relationship with our ʻāina.
We said that aloha ʻāina is a familial relationship; that
means that we resist all attempts to further separate any of us from our ʻāina.
Our freedom to live in our land is linked to our freedom to determine how we
live in our bodies, our freedom to live in relationships that may be different
from American culture. Before colonization we lived in a society that accepted
diversity, and now we want to propose support for ending discrimination against
lesbians, gays, and bisexuals. The first reaction to our proposal was that this
isn't the right time; we have to get the land back and establish our own
government, and then we can talk about your problem. Another person said, we
don't need to say this because there is no discrimination in our Hawaiian
community, you are part of our families. Another said, our people are not going
to accept this, this is too controversial. When we pointed out the
contradictions between these last two statements, people got very stuck.
Our freedom to live in our land is linked to our freedom to
determine how we live in our bodies. Then this wonderful man stood up, a
country guy, speaking in Pidgin. He said, look at us, this is Sunday morning,
none of us are at church. Why? Because most of us have fled from a church that
is oppressive to us. He began talking about missionaries and colonialism, and
he broke through. He said, we need something that says we are not going to
discriminate against people who are poor, or ill, or disabled, and we agreed
with that. Then people turned around. We drafted a statement, and the whole
puwalu approved it. Afterwards women kept coming up to us, crying, saying, my
sister is gay, or my daughter had to go and live in California. They wept many
tears after the decision to support our statement. Many of them came up to us
and said, I'm so glad you're doing this. Despite the decision, the statement
from that puwalu never came out publicly. That is why I'm really glad to be
here tonight where people like Kaleikoa are ready to talk about our rights in
the context of Hawaiian sovereignty.
Kuʻumeaaloha Gomes
A seed was planted a long time ago when we took the step in
1993 of deciding that we would come out publicly as gay Kanaka Maoli. That seed
has needed some extra nurturing. We cannot do this work alone, making sure that
our community does not become our oppressor. When I learned of Kaleikoa's work
I realized that we are on the path together, paving the way so our Kanaka Maoli
community can move forward together as we claim our sovereignty and
independence. We cannot allow a nation to be built that will impose the same
kinds of oppression.
As a Kanaka Maoli woman and a gay woman this question of
sexuality and spirituality is a passionate one for me. As I grew up I was
surrounded by stories from my mother and my grandmothers that affirmed
sexuality. One of these stories tells of the night my mom and dad were married.
My Auntie `Io disappeared from the luau. My parents left for their honeymoon
place, and when they opened the door there was Auntie `Io, jumping on the bed.
My mom said, "what are you doing?" She answered, "I'm making the
bed soft for you so you have an easy time tonight!" Before she left she
said a blessing for them, talking about my father's prowess and my mother's
beauty. Today we are confronted with the Māhele of our body. Our bodies are
appropriated and commodified for tourism. We have to be wary of circumstances
that attempt to make us invisible and invalidate who we are.
When I was little my grandmother used to talk about Papa and
Wakea, the earth mother and sky father. There are many sexual stories in our
mythology. Later on in my adult life I used those same kinds of stories when I
worked with Kanaka Maoli children in a farm project. I used them to restore
pride in these children who had been rejected by their schoolteachers and by
the Department of Education. They were labeled as failures, but I understood
them as creative children for whom the schools were not providing any
nurturing.
I brought them the stories of how Papa supports us every day
of our lives and gives us the food from the land, how Wakea sends us the air we
breathe all the time. When you go to the mountains on the windward side they
look like a vulva, that is their name in Hawaiian, because they are very deep
and very dark inside. They look like a woman's maʻi. I grew up with that kind
of story. I remember the thrill one day of learning that the coconut
represented the man's scrotum, and so women were forbidden to eat that because
it's too dangerous. The same with the banana, which women sometimes were
forbidden to eat. Growing up in Hawaiʻi we cannot escape the maʻi inoa, the
sexual nicknames describing our genitals that children are given when they are
born. Our famous rulers were given names like these, King Kalākaua and Queen
Liliʻuokalani. This was celebrated and respected, you had dances where people
celebrated their ma`i names. This is historical in our culture, it is not
something we create today. We may write about it today, but it comes from our
past.
Our culture has many songs and dances with double meanings,
about a rocking chair, about the squid in the sand. I can remember my
excitement as a child, not about the words, but about understanding the sexual
feeling. This is who we are as Kanaka Maoli, who we traditionally have been,
what we celebrate.
The impact of supremacist Christianity has been to take that
away from us. This is why we are here to reclaim who we are as Kanaka Maoli. We
need to claim every part of it: our sexuality is part of what makes us strong.
Not all Christians have the same attitude, but supremacist Christianity is
related historically to white male supremacy, which perpetuates racism, class
oppression, and heterosexism. It is part of the same history through which the
missionaries imposed things like the Māhele and became part of the plantation
elite.
Today we are confronted with the Māhele of our body. Our
bodies are appropriated and commodified for tourism. The colonization of our
bodies and privatization of our relationships is expressed through marriage,
which perpetuates private property and the ownership of people. Think of words
like "Mr." or "Mrs.," which means mister's property. Many
women are no longer using such terms but we still need to confront them and
deconstruct them. The Western Christian idea of marriage has imposed on Kanaka
Maoli a certain model of the family. We had other models of family, such as fostering,
in which children were lovingly shared with other families, but each child
always knew its own genealogy. These were hānai families, like our child who we
have taken on to be raised by us.
Today as we look at same-sex marriage it is really important
for us to look at our state constitution, which speaks to the state's
responsibility to preserve and protect Native Hawaiian customary rights. This
includes things like the protection of the hānai family. Today that article is
being threatened with a constitutional amendment. We as Kanaka Maoli have a
responsibility to speak up and protest that. If we are going to protect our
rights we have to be wary of circumstances that attempt to make us invisible
and invalidate who we are.
With the little girl who we are raising, we want her to be
proud of who she is as Kanaka Maoli. We want her to know her history, to know
that her people support her and both her families, her biological family and
her hānai family. We want her to grow up in a culture that celebrates who she
is at all levels.
Awesome, Noe...mahalo for introducing the link via FB....
ReplyDeleteSo glad you found it, Haupu! Ke aloha no...
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