Wednesday, January 2, 2013

Aloha to the Waimea Valley


Last week we visited Waimea Valley.  From its website (at this link),

Waimea Valley illuminates the rich traditions of a living Native Hawaiian culture in an unparalleled natural setting. 


The Valley has rich pre-contact history and remains significant to the Hawaiian people. For more than 700 years, Waimea was marked as a sacred place because of its priestly associations. 


Often called “the Valley of the Priests,” Waimea gained this title when the ruler of O‘ahu awarded the land to the kāhuna nui in 1090.    Waimea Valley’s mission is to preserve and perpetuate the human, cultural and natural resources of Waimea for generations through education and stewardship

  
Above is the heiau (temple) to Lono, the god of fertility, agriculture, rainfall, and music.


These flowers look like bumlebees!


The anthurium is always beautiful!


The highlight of the valley is the Waimea Falls ..... 


.. giving kids hours of entertainment!
  

We enjoyed watching Tutu making kapa (fabric) from tree bark ....


... and Tutu teaching games to my children.  Tutu is a term of endearment for wise women!   The water was cold at the Waimea Falls - would you have jumped in the pool?   Made tapa?  Played games?  Or ordered shave ice?  One randomly selected commenter from this week's blogs wins a book choice from my convention stash.  Comments are open through Saturday, January 5, 10 pm in Hawaii.  I'll post the winner on Sunday, January 6 on SOS Aloha.

Mahalo,

Kim in Hawaii

David and Andrew enjoy shave ice!

14 comments:

  1. I would have tried everything I can. Life is short. You need to take advantage.

    ReplyDelete
  2. it would have been the shaved ice and games for me.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Yes, I would have jumped in the water and then later on eaten some shaved ice.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Probably eat shaved ice... That sounds yummy.

    ReplyDelete
  5. I would have played games while eating shaved ice.

    ReplyDelete
  6. I probably would have done everything but jump into the cold water lol. Everything else sounds very enjoyable.

    ReplyDelete
  7. How wonderful Kim you know it is these kind of places that I enjoy more than the big tourist places.
    I am going to have a full book of places & things I want to do when I visit maybe 2014, My Luck you will have moved by then.
    Have a good one Ann/alba

    ReplyDelete
  8. Looks like fun. I would have done all of the above.

    ReplyDelete
  9. Gorgeous pictures - love the bumble bee flowers! Would NOT jump into the cold water in the Falls, but would try everything else. Really interested in the fabric making from tree bark!

    ReplyDelete
  10. Great pics thanks
    Kimh

    ReplyDelete
  11. I haven't seen a falls in real life. :( I'm so envious right now.

    ReplyDelete
  12. I would althought I can't swim, sounds so fun :)

    ReplyDelete
  13. Hi Kim -

    It looks like you and the boys had a wonderful time at Waimea Valley!

    While I'm shivering her in New England the weather there looks warm and inviting and I can picture myself walking and looking at Waimea Falls and can almost hear the soothing sound of the water rushing down to meet the water below.

    I would love to have the honor of watching Tutu at her craft of making transforming tree bark into fabric and I'm wondering if the tradition is passed down from mothers to daughters or if any men also make any creations from the bark.

    What a fascinating world you live in and what memories you're making that will last a lifetime!

    ReplyDelete