Imiloa Astronomy Center at UH-Hilo
Aloha mai kakou,It is "Aloha Monday" today here in Hilo, the Big Island, HI.As you probably know, I used to work at Imiloa Astronomy Center as a student assistant before I graduated from UH-Hilo.Most of my work was translation, both from English into Japanese and Hawaiian,creating some brochures in English and Japanese, leading a tour in English and Japanese, etc.Imiloa is a Hawaiian word, which means "To seek far, explore; distant traveler, explorer."It is a bilingual (Hawaiian & English ) museum with a focus on Hawaiian Culture and Astronomy.If you come to Imiloa, you will know about the origin of life from a perspective of Native Hawaiians and of science.Since I am specialized in Hawaiian Studies, I would like to write a little bit about the exhibits on Hawaiian Culture at Imiloa!You can explore four areas in Hawaiian culture at Imiloa: Voyaging, Hawaiian Music, Hula and Hawaiian Language.In the Voyaging section, you will know that how ancient Polynesians navigate with their knowledge on stars, the sun, waves, etc.They traveled freely on their canoes in a vast area of so-called the Polynesian Triangle, which encompasses Hawaii, New Zealand and Rapa Nui (Easter Island).It is really amazing to know that they traveled such a vast area without a map or high technology!As you might know, Hokulea went sailing all the way to Japan last year.It is to celebrate the historical and cultural connection between Hawaii and Japan.In 1881, King Kalakaua went to Japan and asked the Meiji Emperor to send immigrants to work at sugar plantations in Hawaii.Thus, we have many descendants of such immigrants from Japan in Hawaii. For Hawaiian Music and Hula, it has been very popular in Japan these days!There are more hula schools in Japan than in Hawaii!For Hawaiian language, the usage of Hawaiian language was banned for 100 years at public schools in Hawaii.During that period, the number of native speakers of Hawaiian language had dropped so quickly.However, there now are Hawaiian language immersion preschools, Hawaiian language immersion K-12 schools on all major islands of Hawaii.It is said that about 2,000 students are educated in Hawaiian language every year.Now, there are not only a B.A. program in Hawaiian Studies, but also a teacher certificate program in Hawaiian language immersion education "Kahuawaiola", a M.A. in Hawaiian Language and Literature, a M.A. in Indigenous Language and Culture Education, a Ph.D. in Indigenous Language and Culture Revitalization at UH-Hilo.The College of Hawaiian Language at UH-Hilo is the leader in the revitalization movement of Hawaiian Language and Culture!At Imiloa, you can see a Hawaiian language classroom and know the history of the Hawaiian language education!Imiloa has so many exciting things, and it is a wonderful place to visit if you have a chance to visit Hilo, the Big Island!Mahalo & Aloha!na Pilialoha