In 2015, the ‘Aimalama conference sessions were held at the Keoni Auditorium at the East-West Center on the University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa campus in Honolulu.

The ʻAimalama Lunar Conference brought together peoples of Hawaiʻi and the Pacific who are revitalizing lunar practices to share lunar methodologies with one another and build a regional community of practice.

The two goals for this gathering were:

• To empower the Pacific peoples with tools to note changes within their environments, adding solutions for survival and adaptability.
• To publish a paper of our findings, highlighting the Kaulana Mahina methodologies used to identify changes occurring in the Pacific, the natural indicators of changing climate, and the adaptive measures to prepare for the change with intention. This paper will be a native peoples of the Pacific’s response to climate change. It is envisioned that the paper will be published and presented at the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) World Conservation Congress, scheduled to be held in Honolulu in 2016, as well as various pertinent international meetings like the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), and the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).

Hoʻokuʻi leo: He mai, he mai e nā ʻōiwi o ke kihi a ke kihi o ka Moananuiākea. Eō mai.

A call has gone out to the people of Hawaiʻi and the Pacific who are currently reviving and reconnecting traditional lunar calendar wisdom to daily practices. Practitioners are again learning how to efficiently use the traditional lunar calendar today to restore wisdom of agriculture productivity, marine and forest gathering, resource management, health and healing, and daily practices that provide sustenance for the health and well-being of a community.

A small group of Kaulana Mahina (Hawaiian lunar calendar) practitioners gathered in 2014 to examine ancestral methodologies. Following the gathering, a small symposium was created to invite elders, practitioners, and local scientists to learn how the Kaulana Mahina was being utilized in daily activities. Participants noted that the Kaulana Mahina is a proficient tool to note baselines for healthy environments followed by tracking changes that are occuring daily, seasonaly, annually, and episodically. The Kaulana Mahina is an ancient tool that indigenous ancestors used to track changes by observing and recording migrational patterns, nesting or spawning cycles, and weather changes. This ancient wisdom is pertinent for identifying previously observed natural indicators that have historically conveyed signs that environmental degradation or change would ensue. The group believes that the Kaulana Mahina can be the process in which changes are recorded and preparation to adaptive changes for survival can be considered. Subsequently, the symposium was successful in that the information gleaned from the gathering was seen as valuable knowledge that should be shared through a larger venue such as a conference. With that, the ʻAimalama Lunar Conference was born. We hope you will join us in this endeavor.