No’u Revilla’s poetic dedication to a sacred figure of the Hawaiian deity Kihawahine. 

Hawaiian author No’u Revilla was led to Berlin by a clear desire: to meet the ki’i (sacred figure) of Kihawahine, one of the most powerful deities in Hawaiian history. After the devastating Lahaina wildfires in 2023, calls were renewed to return Kihawahine to Mokuhinia, the freshwater pond in Lahaina where her mana (spiritual power) is physically linked to the political sovereignty of Hawai’i. Recently, the Office of Hawaiian Affairs ordered that the ki’i be removed from display at the Ethnologisches Museum in Berlin. Her name, too, is no longer to be mentioned. The ki’i is now referred to as Kahiluhilu. In honor of Kahiluhilu, No’u Revilla will present a heroic crown of sonnets, which meditates on issues of beauty, return, and healing on Indigenous terms.