2023 - KĀHULI LEO LE‘A - HO‘ŌLA O KA WAO - Sweet-voiced kāhuli–Savior of the forest.
2022 - KŪ I KE ‘AKI - Stand upon the highest point.
2021 - HE ALOHA MAULI HIWA. HE ALOHA MAULI OLA - Love from a Cherished Heart. A Grace with the Power to Heal.
2020 - COVID-19
2019 - E HO‘I NA WAI, E HO‘I KE ALOH AI KE AO
2018 - E ULU MAU I KE ALOHA ‘ĀINA
2017 - ALOHA KA HO‘I A KA HOLOKAHIKI
2016 - HE KEIKI ALOHA NA MEA KANU - Beloved Children are the Plants.
2015 - OLA KE KAIĀULU I KE ALOHA O LOKO - The Community Thrives When There Is Aloha Within.
2014 - KŪ KE KĀHILI I KE ALO O KE ALOHA - The feathered standard stands amongst the beloved.
2013 - HE NUI A MANO KE ALOHA & ‘O KE ALOHA KAI ‘OI A‘E
2012 - E KUPUOHI I KE ALOHA
Kū i ke ʻAki – Stand Upon the Highest Point ʻO kāne iā Waiʻololī, ʻo ka wahine iā Waiʻololā– Hānau ka ʻakiʻaki noho i kai, Kiaʻi ʻia e ka mānienie ʻakiʻaki noho i uka; He pō uheʻe i ka wawā– He nuku, he wai ka ʻai a ka lāʻau, ʻO ke akua ke komo, ʻaʻoe komo kanaka. Males are conceived through Waiʻololī, females through Waiʻololā– Born was the ʻakiʻaki seaweed which inhabits the sea, It is overseen by the mānienie ʻakiʻaki grass which inhabits the land; It was a sacred realm which slipped away from the tumultuous chaos of creation– Root tips formed, water became the food of plants, It was the akua that filled this realm, not humans. - Kumulipo (Beckwith/Kalākaua), Wā ʻAkahi, Lines 40-45. Diacriticals, punctuation, & English translation by Pueo Pata
This year’s theme – Kū i ke ʻAki (Stand Upon the Highest Point) – is inspired by House Resolution 63 HD1 which declares 2022 to be the “Year of Limu.” Within the resolution, limu is described as “a crucial part of a healthy and productive reef ecosystem,” “the primary producer and, therefore, the base of the nearshore marine food chain,” and “a key indicator of the health and resilience of an ahupuaʻa.” Additionally, limu was “once the third important component, along with fish and poi, of the traditional Native Hawaiian diet,” and it “was used not only for food but also for medicinal purposes as well as for religious and cultural ceremonies.” The first limu species chronicled in the extensive Kumulipo is the ʻakiʻaki (Ahnfeltia concinna), and it is paired with its seashore counterpart, the grass called mānienie ʻakiʻaki (Sporobolus virginicus). In Pukui & Elbert’s Hawaiian Dictionary, the related term “ʻaki (height, tip, top) ” is accompanied by the example “Kū i ke ʻaki, to stand at the top,” which figuratively means “to have success.” Mai uka a kai – from the ʻaki (highest point) of our ahupuaʻa to the limu ʻakiʻaki down below – it is in our best interest to ensure that everything is pono in between. Let us all “Kū i ke ʻAki (Stand Upon the Highest Point)” so that we may achieve success for the health and benefit of future generations to come.
