Category Archives: hawaii

Culture, Family, hawaii

Kilauea volcano, fertility and miscarriage

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It’s a sight in Hilo as regular as evening rain: groups of Japanese women wearing colored tour badges and clutching small bags board buses at the airport bound for Kilauea volcano. While their husbands in Honolulu play golf, these women journey to Hilo for the day. Men play for par while some women seek fertility.

Kilauea volcano lava flow
Lava forming new land at Kilauea volcano on Hawaii's Big Island

Pele is the Hawaiian goddess of fire. She rules volcanos, and consequently, the birth of new land. As such she is viewed by many as a powerful symbol or fertility. Women seeking to conceive or who wish for a child of a particular gender have sought Pele’s help. The story goes that if a woman makes a precious offering to Pele, she may receive help conceiving a child. The small bags carried by many of the Japanese women to the Big Island contain gold and silver coins, which they throw directly into the hot lava, before it has cooled to stone, as an offering to her.

If pregnancy does ensure, but goes awry and results in miscarriage, the Japanese recognize the importance of the event. They offer a cultural view of the aborted fetus, called “mizuko”, which literally translates as “water child”, as a being who has not fully solidified yet, according to Daddytypes.com. The Bhudda takes a special form, called “jizo”, to watch over these lost creatures and help them find their way into life through another form.

In American culture, we have few words or concepts to help mothers grieve their lost children who were not fully formed. Perhaps we can adopt the concepts of mizuko and jizo, just as some Japanese women have adopted Pele.

Culture, humor, maui

Makawao still paniolo country…for dogs

In Makawao, Maui’s historic cowboy (or paniolo) town, it’s 6 pm, the sun is setting and there’s pau hana traffic along two-lane Makawao Avenue. I’m out for a long evening walk with my two dogs, Poky and Mishu. We’ve been frolicking in Eddie Tam park, chasing wild chickens in the rain. I notice the wild-salmon colored clouds begin to turn indigo and decide it’s getting late. We head up to Makawao Avenue to walk the short stretch of sidewalk that will lead us Rodeo General, where I’ll buy butter and bread.

Mishu satisfied on the grass

We’re almost to the HNU housing development, where the sign boasts or warns “only 2 units left”. That was out of 5 since last year. But who’s counting. Looking away from the sign, I notice Mishu, my malamute husky, crouching and slowly inching forward into some lady’s driveway. He’s on his leash and can’t spring. I follow his stare into her grassy, manicured yard where a flock of wild chickens has just landed. Continue reading Makawao still paniolo country…for dogs →

Culture, humor, maui, Science

Maui students explore the universe through fun and radio

Students at the Paia Youth and Cultural Center (PYCC) in Paia, Maui, teamed up with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and started a new radio show for the low-power radio station, Radiopio. The show, called “Astrofacts“, explores questions about the universe and creatively reports findings on air in short, highly entertaining spots. The kids at PYCC produced each segment of the show, now numbering about 30, together with the Laura Civitello, the program director for Radiopio at PYCC, and Adam Burgasser, assistant professor of physics at MIT (and full disclosure, my husband).

The spots take a fresh look at some important questions about the universe. If you’ve ever wondered what black holes colliding and duking it out might sound like, Michelle and Mason, PYCC members, re-enact such a scene in their segment “Black Hole Showdown“. (If you have no idea what a black hole is, not to worry, the kids will make you laugh anyway.)

In another fun spot, Charae and Mekena sing “Happy Birthday” to the universe, only to realize that 13.7 billion candles will never fit on a cake. Even intergalactic weather gets its due with a series of spots that humorously report the local (and bizarre) weather conditions around the Milky Way.

The show also includes interviews with scientists, such as Roy Gal and Robert Jedicke, both assistant professors of astronomy at the University of Hawaii. Charae reached out to Maui phenom Harriet Witt, the official astronomer of the Maui Film Festival.  In her interview with Witt, Charae finds out how one person of science can embrace both astronomy and astrology and explain it all in a way that most people can understand easily.

When the program first started in March 2009, the kids recorded the spots using scripts. But after a few segments, the PYCC members really took off running with their own ideas, according to Civitello. Thanks to PYCC’s mission of providing a forum for fun–not more school work–for its members, the program has stayed true to its core mission of recreation. The program has evolved accordingly into something much more creative and innovative than originally envisioned, says Burgasser.

The stated purpose of Astrofacts, as posted on the blog, is to “touch on all aspects of astronomy and space science, as well as science-related topics relevant to the Maui community…guided by the principals of ‘oli ‘oli (fun and enjoyment), kipaipai (encouragement and inspiration) and akamai (good old smarts!).”

You can listen online to Radiopio and try to catch the spots when aired. Alternately, you can hear the spots on demand on the Astrofacts blog. Either way, the spots are likely to make you laugh out loud. Listening may alter your view of our universe, at least temporarily, through the lens of kids having fun.