A PLACE IN THE MIDDLE Card: In the Hawaiian language, kāne means male and wahine means female. But ancient Hawaiians recognized that some people are not simply one or the other. Ho'onani: Sometimes teacher says I have more boy inside than most of the boys. And some boys have more girl than the girls. Some people don't accept it – they tease about it. But I don't care. Because Iʻm myself, other people are theirselves. (animation) Ho'onani: My name is Ho'onani Kamai . I was born in Hawaii eleven years ago, but my ancestors have been here for centuries. They came on big voyaging canoes over thousands of miles of ocean. Despite their isolation, they built up an amazing civilization with its own language and culture and philosophy. Hawaii’s changed a lot since then, and many of the old ways have been forgotten, but there are still a few places that are trying to keep the ancient traditions alive. This is one of them, my school. I know it doesn't look like much, but for me, it's a very special place. That's me, and that's our teacher, Kumu Hina. Kumu Hina: Middle line step up. Middle line, step up. Can you help me put these lei on the haumana? Yellow to the kane. Kane get all of the yellow lei. You’re happy? You’re in boy lei? Hoʻonani: I want to just wear both. Kumu Hina: See, you get both cause she’s both. (animation) Card: A PLACE IN THE MIDDLE Card: The True Meaning of Aloha Kumu Hina: Before the coming of foreigners to our islands, we Hawaiians lived in aloha, in harmony with the land and with one another. Every person had their role in society, whether male, female, or māhu, those who embrace both the feminine and masculine traits that are embodied within each and every one of us. Māhu were valued and respected as caretakers, healers, and teachers of ancient traditions. We passed on sacred knowledge from one generation to the next through hula, chant, and other forms of wisdom. When American missionaries arrived in the 1800s, they were shocked and infuriated by these practices and did everything they could to abolish them. They condemned our hula and chant as immoral. They outlawed our language, and they imposed their religious strictures across our lands. But, we Hawaiians are a steadfast and resilient people. And so, despite 200 years of colonization and repression, we are still here. Card: Elementary School Hula Class (children chanting) Kumu Hina: Stop! If you expect me to be nice to you people, kāne-wahine, wahine-kāne, your words need to improve. I'll do it once for you. (Kumu chants) Kumu Hina: I have coined the terms kāne-wahine and wahine-kāne to address my students whom exude both kāne and wahine. So, when the kāne stand up, and when the wahine stand up, they also know that thereʻs a place in the middle for the kāne-wahine and the wahine-kāne. (Kumu chants) Kumu Hina: And anything less than that, and you're demoted from your rank and stature as wahine-kāne, kāne-wahine and you just go back and, oh, back to the regular old riff-raff. Huki the crown off the head. Sit down. Male: This is Ho'onani, one of the chiefs. Us four are warriors in the play, we are the warriors. Male 2: No, we aren't warriors Hoʻonani: Yeah, but we don't fight in the scene. Filmmaker: Wait, three guys and one girl? Male: She's actually considered a boy. Male: Yeah. Female Tomboy, tomboy, tomboy. Female: Ho'onani is a mixture of a girl and a boy. She's a good hula dancer, she plays ukulele, she sings. Female: Everybody accepts it. It's not a big thing. (children sing) Ho'onani: See, when you first look at me, o yeah, are you a boy? I'm like, "Um, no". And then they give me a look, but it's all a natural thing. Kumu's in the middle too. Everybody know that, and it's not a secret to everybody. What middle means is, a rare person. A rare. Female: Peace out. Female: Bye. Card: The Story of Kumu Hinaʻs Evolution Kumu Hina: This is from 1997, I started to make this. Lot of the pictures are faded because it got exposed to the light. That's the old me, before the transition. Card: Collin Wong Card: 1990 Kamehameha High School Song Contest Card: three years before transitioning to Hina Kumu Hina: When I was in high school, I had a very rough time. I was teased and tormented for being too girlish. But I found refuge in being Hawaiian, being Kanaka Maoli. My purpose in this lifetime is to pass on the true meaning of aloha - love, honor and respect. It's a responsibility that I take very seriously. (Hoʻonani plays ukelele and sings) Kumu Hina: Ho'onani asked me to be involved with the high school boys. I knew that she would want to be in any of the numbers that I taught to the high school boys, because she always asks me to be in every boy number. (Assume this position. Good job.) I was going to tell her no, but once she gets it in her that she's gonna do something, she will do it. Ho'onani: Got to go, let's go. Kumu Hina: Ready? Go. Male: She heard us. Kumu Hina: How did you know? Ho'onani: I just know, okay? Male: We loud, yeah? Kumu Hina: All right. Ready, push. Hanahou, hanahou, hanahou (Again, again, again) . You have been the kāne of the class that have struggled from the beginning of the year, but this is the time for a new you. This is the time for a different you, that your family has never ever seen. This is a time for strength. This is the time of kū. We are out of the time of lono, this is the time of kū. You have a biological wahine, standing over here in front of you, because she has more kū than everybody else around here, even though she lacks the main essential parts of kū. But in her mind and in her heart, she has kū. So, in your mind and in your naʻau – In your noʻonoʻo and in your na'au. Olelo mai (say with me): Noʻonoʻo. Students: Noʻonoʻo. Kumu Hina: Naʻau. Students: Naʻau. Kumu Hina: In your noʻonoʻo - in your thoughts - and in your naʻau - in your gut, in your heart, the Hawaiian heart, down here - you got to have kū. All right, here we go, love you all. Aihaʻa! Feel the tension. (children chant) Card: JOZIE KAMAI, Ho'onani's mom Jozie Kamai: I really like what Kumu Hina’s doing with the kids, so any time she asked, I always made sure that they were present and accounted for. Can you stop doing that before something flies off? You always do that. Thank you. I’m going to put this away so you don’t hurt yourself. Sing something, please. Ho’onani: Oh, God. Jozie Kamai: Look can you just start from the beginning? You know, the pronunciation and stuff. (Sings) Family … Ho’onani: OK. (Sings: “Family, thatʻs the important thing to me...”) Jozie Kamai: Ho’onani’s the youngest out of 5 children: 3 boys and 2 girls. I want my children, my girls to learn the hula and learn Hawaiian culture because I never did. That’s what they gain from Halau Lokahi, is the confidence to just stand up in front of other people and do your best. Ho’onani: (Sings: “So donʻt you blame you mom and dad, some times you gotta blame the man). (family laughs) (Phone rings) Ho’onani: Wow! Oh, man. That just messed me up. Okay. Jozie Kamai: It’s okay. You’re doing good. (Answers phone) Hello. Card: Two months later Kumu Hina: If I put you in a position of leadership, your eye has to see what I see. Your ears have to hear what I hear. You got to be able to talk to your people. So ready, go. (children chant) Kumu Hina: Anybody else? (Hoʻonani shrugs) Hoʻonani: Aihaʻa! (Hoʻonani chants loudly, boys follow) Hoʻonani: Jermy, switch with Sage. The way I learned hula was, I watched first, and then I try. No, I think you guys are good this time, though. Most people don't do that, because they're afraid or ashamed of what they do and what they produce. The thing is to get better, not to be judged on the way that somebody else does it. (Children chant. Boys laugh.) Card: LAARA ALLBRET, Halau Lokahi Principal Laara : So, the reason you have me this morning is because I had a phone call from Kumu Hina last night. Kumu Hina was more upset than she has been in a while. I’m going to ask the young kids. Over here at pualu (daily assembly), do you folks notice sometimes that not everybody participates in pualu? Children: Yes. Laara: Okay. So, with a honest answer, who is that group? Children: High school. Laara: Turn around and say it. Children: High school. Laara: Okay. Turn back around. (points to Kumu Hina) This is a cultural icon in Hawaii. Do you guys all understand? Children: Yes. Laara: Hina is trying to hold on to what is left of Hawaiian culture. To say the word “kumu” means what? Children: Teacher. Laara: But, what does it mean? If you say “aloha” to anybody, where is it coming from? Your mouth? Children: Your heart. Laara: Supposed to be … or don’t say the word. When you sing Hawaii Pono’i, what flag do you have on your chest? Children: Hawaii. Laara: Hae Hawai’i (flag of Hawaiʻi). We didn’t get to sing that stuff in our schools. We had to pledge allegiance to the flag that took over Hawaii. Do you get it? There’s a reason you were born in Hawaii or came home to Hawaii. There’s some reason. It’s a divine energy that runs up through the lava. Do you guys get it? You are the warriors of today. (Everyone sings Hawai’i Pono’i. Children hug Kumu Hina.) Card: Final rehearsal for end-of-year performance Kumu Hina: The next day, the islands shook violently. Tutu Pele erupted. Okay, can we not? This is not a funeral, can we please walk normally back? Off the stage. This is taking too long. You guys got to hurry up. Tutu Pele erupted from the depths. Time check. It's just about 12:30. For me to have students stand in the middle can be one of the biggest challenges. There's potential backfire from parents and families who may look at this and say that I should encourage a girl to go stand with the girls and a boy to stand with the boys. But that's not my role. My role is to take their young person and to help mold them into the best that they can be. (Kumu Hina sitting with Ho'onani) Kumu Hina: Sometimes I feel like I might be setting you up for some disappointment. I know that you like to go stand with all the boys and I know that's where you like to go. Kumu's okay with that. But when you work with other people, they may expect you to stand in the girl's line, okay? So, for as long as you stay a young person, you just roll with it, you know? When you get to be my age, you're not going to have to move for anybody else. Okay? Ho'onani: To think about Kumu Hina's perspective, back then, people intimidated her of being that way. Nobody respected the middle people. But I talk the truth all the time. I don't like to lie, so yeah. We both are in the middle and nobody teases us for it. Kumu Hina: Go eat lunch with your friends. Card: End of Year Public Performance Ho'onani: Kumu Hina, come on. We have to go. Kumu Hina: I'm extremely proud of all of you, because I see you here on the night of delivery. You all get your A. Children: Mahalo. Kumu Hina: Thought you was one boy but... Male: He is. Kumu Hina: He is. All right, okay, inducted in. You guys better bring it. Bring the house down. Female voice: The next day, the island shook violently. Tutu Pele erupted from the depths. (Performance of Ai Ke Mumu Keke. Audience applauds.) Jozie Kamai: Ho'o you did awesome. When Ho'onani did that number, I was so proud. I'm so proud of you. You made me cry. Love is the biggest thing, you know, that we should always teach our children. To love anybody no matter what race, no matter what creed, no matter what sex, no matter what gender. If you love a person for who they are, and let them be who they are, then that's whole circle right? I mean love is a surrounding circle of everything that goes around comes around. Watch out now, that head gonna be too big for the body. Kumu Hina: I want every student to know that if you are my student, you have a place to be – Ho'onani: In the middle. Kumu Hina: In the middle. In the middle. Male: I just give Ho'o props. She's got more guts than all of us. Male: She's a real good teacher. She's a good kumu, taught all us boys. Male: She's like the shadow, but now she's sticking up now. Male: She does have more laho (balls) than all of us here, and that's the bottom line. Ho'onani: I'd like to thank you all for giving me this opportunity. I'd like to thank Kumu Hina and I hope you guys like me for your leader. Mahalo. ( Animation) Ho'onani: Well, that's the end of the story, at least for now. It's time to say, aloha, which can either mean hello, or goodbye, or the most important meaning of all, which is to have love, honor and respect for everyone. Aloha. (Credits) MORE INFORMATION: APlaceintheMiddle.org CONTACT: Dean Hamer, deanhamer@aol.com, +1 808 629 9895, Haleiwa Hawai'i