Makua "A Creation Story"

Abstract

I remember the first night, the sharp air filling my lungs, po forcing me to trust voices without faces, a calm fear entered my body and i did not sleep, i rose early the next morning chanting e ala e greeting the sun, surrounded by ancestors, the consecration took place later that day: a pu'uhonua was born, that night i fell ill, a headache weighed me down, chills shook my body, was this a test before the standoff? again, e ala e was chanted and ceremony was conducted every hour on the hour, a much-needed grounding.