Polynesian Cultural Center
PCC opens new home for BYUH's Iosepa
October 11, 2008
It was a classic Laie event on June 25 when a small party of Polynesian Cultural Center board of director members, Presidents' Leadership Council donors and special guests, community kupuna and employees gathered for the private dedication of Halau Wa'a O Iosepa - the new 85-foot-long, 43-feet-wide and almost 40-feet-high home for BYU-Hawaii's iconic voyaging canoe, the 57-foot traditional twin-hulled Iosepa:
William K. "Uncle Bill" Wallace ('72, History), Director of the BYUH Hawaiian Studies program - who earlier in the afternoon underwent a chemotherapy treatment for his lymphoma cancer and quipped that he was "radioactive" - offered a deeply significant Hawaiian chant and his optimism for the future. Then Mark Willes - Chairman of the PCC Board, former president of the Hawaii-Honolulu Mission, and a major donor for the project - delivered a touching spiritual message before he dedicated the distinctive A-shaped structure and surrounding grounds, under special permission of President Thomas S. Monson.
The chant from his birth island of Moloka'i, Wallace explained, referred to a rare bird leaving Pelekunu Valley "because changes were coming," and a Hawaii kahuna who told it, "The day will come when you shall be called back to your home. Things will change. Things will not be the same, but your song will continue."
"It's a great metaphor for us to look at who we are and the things we do," Wallace said, expressing "deep appreciation" to the many who made the event possible. "This will be the canoe's home, and we're excited about that. We're excited about having our students here and running some of their classes with the Iosepa, and sharing with the visitors who come to the Center. This is a joint effort between BYU-Hawaii and the PCC. The things that we do will strengthen each other, and more people need to know about what's happening here."
Willes described the new canoe compound, which includes star compass and knot-tying activities, as a "stunning addition to a very special place" and said it was "evidence of the critical and necessary connection between BYU-Hawaii and the Polynesian Cultural Center."
He also said, "I hope you know how much I love you. You are in our lives and in our hearts. We are better because of our association with you. I hope you know how much we love this place. When we walk onto the grounds of the Polynesian Cultural Center, we feel like we have come home. We feel like we have come back to family."
Willes drew several lessons from the Iosepa, including:
• "The logs were turned into something of utility and beauty by the hands of the master carver. It helps me to understand how, if we will, turn our lives over to the Master."
• "I admire the courage of those long-ago people who set out on the seas to travel through treacherous water and sometimes unknown places, but found their way by looking to the stars to guide their way. It helps me to understand that if we, too, will look heavenward to Heavenly Father and His Son, Jesus Christ, They will make sure we get where we need to go."
• "When I think of the Iosepa coming to be nestled in this sacred place out of the way of the winds and the swells, I think of our voyage: The Lord has promised us that we, too, can be saved in His mansion on High."
In his dedicatory prayer, Willes said, "We pray, Heavenly Father, that Thou will bring millions to see, hear and feel what Thou has in store for them, that they might be touched in their minds and in their hearts, that they might feel the brotherhood of those around them and recognize that they are all Thy children."
