THE BREEDING STONES

FIELD NOTES FROM THE BISHOP MUSEUM

The Breeding Stones*   

            "MAKA 'AINANA were the fixed residents

of the land. The chiefs were the ones who moved about

from place to place. It was the maka 'ainana who did

all the work on the land, yet all they produced from

the soil belonged to the chief. the people were divided

into farmers, fishermen, housebuilders, canoe makers,

and so on." David Malo 1835-36

            *Breeding Stones

Collection 1889

From Koala, Ka'u, basalt

J. S. Emerson Collection 1889

Ku' u ewe, Ku' u Piko, Ku 'u iwi Ku' u koko

My umbilical chord, my navel, my bones, my blood.

            Said of a very close relative

Beyond found

Origin-source

These are the stones

arresting me

in the Bishop Museum

located in a boxed assemblage--

A Shadow Box

like the ones

of Joseph Cornell

working with found objects

let them back you back

earlier and sturdier

until the stones

archived here become

the universe

this one

you're apprehending

time-flooded

gathered grateful gatha

teared-proof

tiny-papered exactly

Cosmic accuracy

Placed waiting

Stoned DreamBody

observable

absorbable

Jim Bodeen

22-25 August 2019

Honolulu/Yakama