HĀNAU KA PALIHOA, LELE! The story, genealogy, and process of the Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument Native Hawaiian Cultural Working Group Nomenclature Subcommittee. (English)

The Papahānaumokuākea Native Hawaiian Cultural Working Group Nomenclature Subcommittee gives Hawaiian names to spaces, objects, or organisms within the Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument. Our naming process recognizes the intimate genealogical relationship between Kānaka 'Ōiwi (Native Hawaiians) and the environment. This is well-documented in the cosmogonic chant, the Kumulipo, which spans across 16 wā (epochs). Over 2,000 lines breathe life into everything in the Hawaiian Universe that continues today and guides us towards the future. In this contemporary wā, the (re)discovery of new marine species, including limu (algae) and ko'a (coral) in Hawai'i represents a need to name them. This paper documents the subcommittee's naming process that draws upon traditional Hawaiian knowledge and practice. Kānaka 'Ōiwi understand the life-giving potential of names. Thus, the subcommittee draws upon the Kumulipo in the naming of newly discovered species and places found in Hawai'i--recognizing their cultural significance in our genealogy and the need for their study and conservation. This paper is presented primarily in 'ōlelo Hawai'i, the Indigenous language of Native Hawaiians. An English paraphrasing follows. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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