Date: January 2, 2022

Location: Lehia Grassy Field

Keaukaha, HI

Interviewer: ʻĀina Ioane and Haʻawina Wise

Interviewee: Wayson Ioane

Summary:

In an interview with Wayson Ioane he recalls using the coastline from Lehia to Papa’i to go holoholo. He pounded ‘opihi, picked limu kohu, wana and ‘a’ama and threw net for ‘aholehole and nenue. He commented on the abundance of life in the ocean back then, and that self-sustainability was simple because of the abundance. Wayson described the ocean as pilau, having rogue waves eating two men a year. He explained that there are rogue waves even on calm days. Wayson describes that the best thing about this place is its exclusion from the outside world, “two people on the coastline is crowded”. Wayson ends his interview by explaining that the coastline has the best tasting fresh water, which comes from the mountain filtered through all the rocks down to the coastline attracting the nenue, aholehole and hydrating the kanaka, “ova heah, get da best tasting wattah in da world”.  

Wayson Ioane:

I holoholo from here all the way to Papaʻi, and den in between, ova here get da… when yo faddah first when move hera, ha, in his bay, used to have da nenue and da uhu come to dey used to play with each addah before, so you come on the reef you seeʻem right on da edge, and da uouo had choke, choke, choke uouo and when dey… when da uouo and da uhu disappear kinda funny, cause one year when dive unda water fo new years eve and we neva see nahten, scary, but da, da, da ocean ova heyah, me and him one time I dink what we used to pound ʻōpihi a lot for family to ova here because ova heah get da best ʻōpihi ah. The arch is high, you know cause da one in Kona flat cause no mo rough wattah and our is high and when you pound our ʻōpiho ova heyah you can smell ʻem. You cannot smell em, one time ah.. Aunty Wanda drop me and your faddah Kaloli, we pound all da way to his house, made a killing, we had to stay ova night. But den we, I saw one uwowo school that just was, ohh my god but we only deah for ʻōpihi ah. And den my kids dey holehole freaks and den when I finally caught kole dey neva like ʻem cause I not one diveahh, trow net holehole, dive kole. In fact when I first came ova here live, your faddah he used to crack up we go dive so I neva know dat kole and holehole you dive dey go like dis you stop dey curious like hell dey all come back dah whole school right in front of your speah. So your faddah was nailling ʻem, all I heard was tank, tank dat was mine I had one brand new graft fight speaah, tank, tank, tank, so I can heaah him on the top put his goggles on ha, ha, ha, ha and as we going along he goes Ways, what, come heaah you see dat giant puhi, I goes yah, what happening I missing all da fish I wigging ʻem, I feeding dis faka, voom, eh da real follow me all da way, he no battah me you know, he fow, follow me cause plenty time I jerk out da speahh, den, den he come, dah abundance of fish ova hear be forah, ahh my house, da, da nenue school was so huge, you know had tree yellow nenue swimming in dat pile……. You lucky you get to see one ehh. I no catch dat one I dunno no I feel funny, maybe dasthe queen or someding but ah dah, nenu, dah nenue, holehole, no mo kala now, I no see kala around 

(2:31)

Dat is, now dey get da what dah whawho fish stay killing everyding da one da kine ahh Eʻs talking about, da whawho and dat buggah pilau and but the self sustaining ova here we had before was so simple man, get iʻa, get ʻaʻama, get limu kohu, get allkine limu ahh Skippyʻs house before one time dis old Hawaiian couple, dey went dis much wet, dey wana bottle, das from your faddah bay. 

ʻĀina Ioane: wana?

Wayson Ioane:

Yah cause your faddah bay, where da bolders stay inside, all inside deah so dey neva had to dive in da watah, and ahh, ohh so right a way dis in da bay man, dat one and…….. Uncle Pakaniʻs Bay, you know dey had da holehole ova deahh, in fact was soo competative your fahdah and him, I go early, I go earliahh, I go early, I go early, so one time we go brah, fucken daak still yet, we go, we go, we going we going one time we see he go, shit, he goes what  Bill black you no can see ʻem but he had da white b-b-dʻs, all you could see waswhite b-b-dʻs, he beat us again dat buggah, and das da kine friendly competition had, cause had plenty. Him and Audry used to know choke, choke, choke stuff fo cook with da limu and da fish all da iʻaʻs dey was great survivas off deah own land eh. 

(3:57)

And ova heahh we have da most rogue waves in da world people no understand we get da most and even on a nice day like dis dat rogue wave my friend Russel, we was, I trow net with him your faddahs bay we reach da end and den one time you see da rogue wave I tell, look brah, fuck, he stay about eight, dah wattah would have been above us where we was standing, where dat came from I tell him brahh ova heahh get dah rogue waves and dah wattah soo pilau, but he change cause before when I first came heaahh he eat man two treetimes a year but I dont know maybe das climate change lanina, elnino, no more da bait so dah attah fish move, no mo as much people like beforah, you know beforah my dogs bark all day long piss me off (Wayson makes dog barking noises) but now dey, dey rarely baak, cause I donno know if much guys come like beforaah, beforaah da drugies used to come get deaah drug habits and leave but now dey stop

(5:00)

I dunno know but, you cannot beat da ocean ova heaah… is da bestest, I like going down when I see two people down my beach I go crowded I know can trow net, so I go home, das what I love about heaah, I come out ova heaah I see four guys trowing net one aftaah da attah, ohh get one guy, ohh get one attah guy, da fish not stupid. Dey not stupid, da manini smat. Dey trow net against dem pau you miss, you gottah wait until da next day. Deh no come back dey not like da attah fish and come back like da kole and dahh ahh, what yo fattahʻs favorite one, da papakukui. And dat I miss cause everytime I catch dat I call him cause I know das his favorite ahh….. And das why I love, I still go make kohu, you know I wait fo nice wattah, I make my beforah I used to make choke but a half amount, you know, da guys say ohh you go make plenty what you going do sell ʻem, no I not going sell ʻem I go give ʻem to aunty Pua, Nalani all da guys dat cannot go, das who I give my reef fish to, because dey tired eat ulua and ahi, dey was raised on reef fish.

(6:03)

I went camping one time you know Nalani dem dey eat, dey still eat reef fish so when I catch from ova heaahh I always have abundant, I always usually stop, my friend you going take pictaah, I tell fo what? Show how much you get, I tell ʻem I going show how much I going give my aunty ova heaahh god dam it, or dey happy because dey kids no fish no more like dat. Dey all polling eh…. And its all from in heaahh nenues, giants, one night yo faddah he caught da biggest nenue in da world, da coolahh, about dis wide, sweahh to god, fucken thick like dat, cause we had to go me and him was contest every night da next person go so was his night, hooo, biggest, so we took ʻem to Pilipo, da kine ahh, Kenoi, Kenoi, da kines faddahh, da mayah, what da mayah? 

ʻĀina Ioane:

Billy Kenoi     

Wayson Ioane: 

Billy, Billy, his faddahh and my faddahh best friends, so we took ʻem to his fiftheth party…. Cause his place Skippyʻs place where dafresh wattahh come out meet da salt usually das where dey at, das where dey hang ahh. 

(7:04)

So you could guarantee one spot, cause I know one whole down ahh first park, I trow ova deah fifty times, maybe forty five times scora one nenue at least, you know and dea was when no mora I get kinda nervous ehh, and den dat whole where I when catch da nenue when I trow I look on my ground da feet da paʻa flat like dis, nenues is flying pass me, shit (mumbling) but das da place, now I dunno I neva go long time, still get da kohu doh. I like when get rough wattah, get chance ahh fo grow, and I still go fat a round little bit but I dink I gotta go polling now.

ʻĀina Ioane: 

The  same thing dad said, same thing dad said he like learn pole.

Wayson Ioane:

(makes a pole wheeling sound)

But you know him, him is like me two, three rips no mo nothing, gone, ehh I cannot stay deah four hours, you know like Anthony dem dey fish ulua, I no can, like his place good and plus ova heah, get da best testing wattah in da world, next to Woodland, Woodland get good fucken wattah you know up da kine Kaʻū side, ʻono, even like yo faddah bay when low tide you see ʻem, you go ova deah (makes a drinking noise), sweet da wattah, I guess from draining from all da way up dea true da lava tubes filtering, by da time reach ova heaahh, das why dis whole coast line like dat, da cold wattah always come out, das why we always get nenues, holeholes, and fresh wattah so I know, shit hit da fan I going always have wattah (laughing).

(8:34) 

ʻĀina Ioane:

Yup water and nenue.

Wayson Ioane:

Wattah and nenue. If da world come to an end, naah, I got wattah so living here with in the ocean, humble you cause you cannot get stupid eh, you know he each your ass anytime mama nature…. And dat is da best part because you gottah learn how to pay attention with your surroundings you know get stupid wack, get stupid wack, das what I guess kept us alive, I getting scared get the ninetynine bump by I get lazy den I die of lazyness (laughing) but I, das about it das all I can say about Kingslanding, I love dis place trow net, dive fish, cannot beat. Before da young bucks used to come up my house loaded with uhu, uncle! Use my trail, dey like use my road go inside, who dat, itell ʻem when I see young Hawaiians diving like dat make me happy. Young eighteen, nineteen, twenty, full geah, uhu up da ass, yah you go boys, you go. Das what I like about ova deah I miss dat, I miss seeing Hawaiians being Hawaiian in da ocean, you know not just selling. I catch plenty but I neva, I sold one time kohu, das da only time I eva sold because, shit I had about fifteen gallons (laughing), I sold some so. Das why ova heaah you cannot beat da ocean, cannot beat da life style and da air is wonderful. Thank you.

ʻĀina Ioane:

Thank you uncle. Perfect!