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We often look back into our history to find what is sacred. We look to places that our ancestors used for worship, living and playing. We call them sacred and proceed to explore their secrets. Yet the mark of any time is its creation of new sacred spaces. In the same way, each period in Hawaiian history is demarcated by the structures it erected. For example, one of the first acts Kamehameha I performed after conquering a new district was to restore and rededicate the existing temples to his gods and his religion. If no suitable temples existed, he built new ones. Likewise, the missionaries sought land to build their churches immediately upon arrival in these islands. Today those edifices delineate eras in Hawaiian history.It is time that our society look seriously at our use of space and its divisions. Most Western philosophies divide space along two lines: sacred and secular. The sacred is removed from everyday use, like most modern churches and synagogues. We consider everything else secular, and available for exploitation by humankind. So deeply ingrained in our ethos is this thinking that our entire society is based on it.
I put forward the idea that, in conjunction with all the restoration projects going on, we consider creating new sacred sites for modern times. Our society is crying out for the solace new sacred sites can offer. Each hula halau, each chanter, each cultural practitioner would find a home in these new sacred sites for the cultivation of their art.
The challenge for our time is to create integrated spaces that do not differentiate between sacred and secular. Indeed, the essential challenge is to view the entire world as sacred. And while the active restoration and reactivation of the old sites are vital, the creation and integration of new sites are just as crucial for cultural survival and continuity.
After all, the success of Hawai`i's journey into the next millennium is predicated on our relationship with our environment. Wouldn't it be nice if we are remembered for the places of peace we leave behind?
The preceding article, written by Hui `Aina o Hana Vice President J. Kalani English first appeared in "Lahaina News."
© J. Kalani English 1996.