Since several years it belongs to our routines to drive to the summit of Mauna Kea, this magic and sacred mountain on the Big Island. You climb up round about 4200m from sea level, quite a demanding trip for your body and mind.
This year I didn’t want to choose the easy option of a vehicle but take the Humu’ula foot trail up to the summit, but about this adventure in my next post.
Last Friday, October 3, 2014, a plan by California and Canadian universities to build the world’s largest telescope at the summit of Hawaii’s Mauna Kea volcano won approval from the state Board of Land and Natural Resources. The decision clears the way for the group managing the Thirty Meter Telescope project to negotiate a sublease for land with the University of Hawaii.
Some native Hawaiian groups had petitioned against the project. For Hawaiians the mountain is sacred and so is high altitude. In their tradition high altitudes are a gateway to heaven. In the past, only high chiefs and priests were allowed at Mauna Kea’s summit. The mountain is home to one confirmed burial site and perhaps four more.
Yesterday the Hawaiian groups occupied the territory where the ground-breaking ceremony for the observatory should take place. They had barred the road for quite some time. But not only on this sacred place people had gathered, all the way up to Mauna Kea people silently expressed their protest against this enterprise. We ran right into this rally. It was very impressing to see how calm and friendly everything was, not a slight touch of aggression was in the air.
Unfortunately, we are not very optimistic that this enterprise will be stopped. Maybe we shall be surprised one day, hopefully so. We are very grateful to have made this experience.
Coming on this Island you are usually so far away from its traditions and native people. The whole event is another proof for how far we Westerners are from nature and how disrupted is our respect for other peoples’ traditions and beliefs.
Why does our western rationale community spent billions and billions of $ for all those telescopes all over the world and in outer space? What do we learn? Does it give us a better future? No! it’s just for the satisfaction of a few so called scientists…
The mauna looks like a used car lot-with telescopes not in use. Enough desecration. Money is the driving force behind all the desecration. I’personally, do not believe it is the right of man to see what Akua sees. Our people have used the stars to navigate, farm,many more things without the use of great telescopes. Perhaps our world is experiencing havoc and encountering the prophecy of the last days because man has become so arrogant to think they should see what Akua sees.
I cannot agree more. This incident on Mauna Kea and walking up the mountain myself opened my eyes for your culture, so wise, so inspiring, thanks! We Westerners have no reason to be so arrogant, to learn humbleness and respect should be our aim…