Moananuiākea | Unisex Tee - lime green

Over thousands of years of island life and an untold number of voyages, the peoples of Moananuiākea (what some call the “Pacific” Ocean) have been building a database of knowledge on stars, clouds, winds, birds, currents, waves, weather and more. It’s the brilliant hoʻoilina (legacy) of kūpuna like Hawaiʻiloa, Makaliʻi, Moikeha, Kamahualele, Kila, Laʻamaikahiki, Kahaʻi, Mau Piailug, and Sir Hekenukumaingāiwi (aka Hector) Busby, to name a few. It’s a vital body of information still LIVING in people today, and we add to it when we continue these practices. The Kai Nui, Kai Iki (Big Sea, Small Sea) designs speak to knowing one’s nearshore waters and the wider moana we all belong to. It is also a play on the ʻōlelo noʻeau (wise saying) “ʻIke i ke au nui me ke au iki” (Know the large and small currents), which means to learn the details of something in order to become well versed in it. This concept is central to navigation, where knowledge of currents both big and small is essential. These strands of knowing are not isolated, but woven together in practice. For example, Hawaiian navigators knew there were certain times of the year when conditions were optimal to leave Kealaikahiki (west Kahoʻolawe) on the current by the same name to travel on the aweawe (tentacles) of Kanaloa and reach Tahiti, where chiefs of different island groups would convene at Taputapuātea, Raiatea. These are the legacies we step into when we enter the kai (ocean) to swim, dive, fish, paddle, surf, and more. Let us honor those who boldly traveled these ocean pathways so we could live in our beautiful island homes today.