WAIMEA — Lono had to have been proud.
Some 450 competitors and 14 schools gave the traditional Makahiki games their all on Saturday morning in Waimea. Never mind the heat and a sun that wouldn’t go away. Young children lying on their bellies fought hard to best each other in friendly competitions of uma — or arm wrestling with one arm behind the back — as a circle of onlookers and proud parents roared their approval and snapped photos.
Young eyes and minds pondered konane boards and hands large and small moved quickly to shape lumps of poi. Good for strength needed for the games.
For Julie Camarillo, a parent of a fifth grader at Hawaii Preparatory Academy and an English teacher there herself, the Ka Moku o Keawe Makahiki was a great way to pay homage to Lono, the Hawaiian god of peace, fertility and agriculture, to whom the games are dedicated.
Camarillo and her ohana have been coming to the games for six years.
“They love it,” she said, watching her daughter trying to jostle her opponent out of the ring in a game of chicken fight. “The weather is always beautiful. You can hear the yelling.”
That volume of cheering was probably a decibel or two higher than at previous games. This particular celebration is now in its 10th year. Last Makahiki season, the games had 300 competitors, said Keala Kahuanui, coordinator and director of the competitions. This year, participation is again that number.
“It’s an islandwide championship; they bring the best of the best,” said Kahuanui.
The games had a strong showing from the island’s charter schools, and adults had a chance to try their hand in the afternoon. The John A. Burns School of Medicine conducted blood pressure and obesity screening, and participants learned to pound poi and about traditional Hawaiian healing practices, among numerous offerings related to health and Hawaiian tradition.
Elliana DeRego, a fifth grader from HPA, won the hakamoa, or chicken fight, for her division. then shaped a lump of poi, adding water until the traditional food was just the right consistency. She practices the game at her school each Tuesday, and said chicken fight is tricky mix of strength and balance.
Kaonohi Johnson, an eighth grader at Ke Kula o Ehunuikaimalino charter school in Konawaena, threw in with a team of six in a hukihuki competion, or tug-of-war. But she favored the arm wrestling.
“I practice on the boys in my class,” she said.
Luakoa Fruean, of the same school and grade level, favored the hooikaika, a game where the players heave a large rock as far as they can. The game is part strategy and adaption. Those with strong leg muscles might choose a scooping motion from down low. A player with a lot of upper body strength might hurl the rock from shoulder level.
Fruean preferred the former method.
“It’s a fun experience to come out here and compete with the other schools,” he said.