E Ola Maui

Maui Lives!

My history with Maui is complicated. If you follow my “Whales in My Backyard” Substack, you know that I did a lot of living there. That living included amazing encounters with critters on both land and sea as well as a lot of self-discovery and healing. But there were disturbing things as well.

Experiencing the daily burning of sugar cane fields that poured clouds of toxic black smoke into the air and rained pieces of burnt cane (referred to locally as “Maui Snow”) from March to December infuriated me. The practice was finally stopped in 2017, but the fact that it was allowed to continue for so long is a testament to the power big agricultural businesses wield in the islands. The same is true of real estate development and the tourist industries, which target the wealthy and make living on Maui unaffordable for many native Hawaiians. I can go on, but you get the picture. When a place on the planet becomes my home, I care. So when news of the fire that destroyed Lahaina hit the news I was shocked.

My relationship to Lahaina itself has always been conflicted since it reflects much of Maui’s violent and troubled past. Conquered by Kamehameha in 1795, Lahaina was once the capitol of the Kingdom of Hawaii. Hawaiian kings and queens royalty routinely visited the town and attended Waine‘e Church (now Waiola Church). Many are evevn buried in the graveyard there.

Later, Lhaina became a whaling port and fishing town, making it a global trade destination. In my opinion, whaling (along with animal farming) is one of the most barbaric, cruel, and inhumane practices ever devised by homo sapiens. Roger Payne’s chapter (pages 253-301) on whaling in his groundbreaking book, Among Whales can still make me cry. In it he writes:

“The most telling evidence of how utterly our perceptions fall short when dealing with whales concerns the uses to which we put them. To look at such an animal as a source of meat is a little like thinking of hummingbirds as hors d’oeuvres. I have no doubt on could come up with several quite tasty ways to prepare hummingbird hors d’oeuvres, ,and if we put our best battery of farmers on the task, we could probably raise as many tons of hummingbird meat as the tons we can get from the whales, but is that the most valuable kind of interaction humans can have with hummingbirds?

“It is because whales are such grand and glowing creatrues that their destruction for commerce degrades us so.”

All of the above aside, I came to love and respect both Maui and its people. So when this new song, E Ola Maui was recently released, celebrating the enduring strength and spirit of Maui, I was grateful. The song was written, performed, and produced by some of Maui’s most talented artists including Henry Kapono, Brother Noland, Amy Hanaiali’i, Tavana, Kala’e Parish, Kimie, Kalenaku, Josh Kahula, and Cody Pueo Pata. As the E Ola Mau website says, “E Ola Maui serves as a reminder of the unbreakable spirit of this cherished community, offering a story of resilience and a ray of hope.”

Please join me in celebratintg Maui’s aloha and ohana by singing and sharing E Ola Maui.

P.S. If you have any memories of spending time on Maui, I hope you will share them with me and our Maui Ohana in the comments below. Mahalo!

Copyright 2023 by Jena Ball. All Rights Reserved.

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