KAIMANA LEE photo
Hawaiian Canoe Club members help assemble a 25-foot-high ‘oloke‘a, or scaffolding, recently on the club grounds in Kahului. The club is building a traditional Native Hawaiian hale, or structure, under the guidance of master hale builder Frank Palani Sinenci of Hana. The ‘oloke‘a will serve as a ladder to aid in construction of the roof of the hale, which will be the state’s largest at 50 feet long by 30 feet wide by 30 feet high, club Executive Director Kaimana Lee said. More than 40 club members and supporters made the ‘oloke‘a of ironwood and bamboo poles tied with 550-pound-test twine. “We hope it will be an intergenerational gathering place for Hawaiians and non-Hawaiians for traditional uses, such as ceremonies, hula, anything and everything,” Lee said of the hale, which has 24 kukulu, or posts, made of ohia from the Big Isle. “We really don’t have a Hawaiian cultural center, especially in Central Maui, so it’s great.” The target to finish the project is by the end of this year, in time for the club’s 50th-anniversary activities in 2010.
Hawaiian Canoe Club members help assemble a 25-foot-high ‘oloke‘a, or scaffolding, recently on the club grounds in Kahului. The club is building a traditional Native Hawaiian hale, or structure, under the guidance of master hale builder Frank Palani Sinenci of Hana. The ‘oloke‘a will serve as a ladder to aid in construction of the roof of the hale, which will be the state’s largest at 50 feet long by 30 feet wide by 30 feet high, club Executive Director Kaimana Lee said. More than 40 club members and supporters made the ‘oloke‘a of ironwood and bamboo poles tied with 550-pound-test twine. “We hope it will be an intergenerational gathering place for Hawaiians and non-Hawaiians for traditional uses, such as ceremonies, hula, anything and everything,” Lee said of the hale, which has 24 kukulu, or posts, made of ohia from the Big Isle. “We really don’t have a Hawaiian cultural center, especially in Central Maui, so it’s great.” The target to finish the project is by the end of this year, in time for the club’s 50th-anniversary activities in 2010.
