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Ka Mano Wai is dedicated to the mo'olelo (stories) of fourteen esteemed kumu loea (expert teachers) who are knowledge keepers of cultural ways. Kamana'opono M. Crabbe, Linda Kaleo'okalani Paik, Eric Michael Enos, Claire Ku'uleilani Hughes, Sarah Patricia 'Ilialoha Ayat Keahi, Jonathan Kay Kamakawiwo'ole Osorio, Lynette Ka'opuiki Paglinawan, Sharon Leina'ala Bright, Keola Kawai'ula'iliahi Chan, Charles "Sonny" Kaulukukui III, Jerry Walker, Gordon "'Umi" Kai, Melody Kapilialoha MacKenzie, and Kekuni Blaisdell are renowned authorities in specialty areas of cultural practice that draw from ancestral 'ike (knowledge). They are also our mentors, colleagues, friends, and family. Their stories educate us about maintaining and enhancing our well-being through ancestral cosmography and practices such as mana (spiritual, supernatural, or divine power), malama kupuna (care for elders and ancestors), 'aina momona (fruitful land and ocean), 'olelo Hawai'i (Hawaiian language), ho'oponopono (conflict resolution), la'au lapa'au (Hawaiian medicinal plants), lomilomi (massage), and lua (Hawaiian art of fighting).