Eight elite contenders from across the islands faced off in the grand Hawaiian Hall at the Bishop Museum to vie for first place in the inaugural Ka Makou Kōnane Invitational Tournament.
They had come together Friday evening from all around the islands following qualifying matches — two each from Molokaʻi, Kauaʻi, Hawaiʻi island and Oʻahu
“Kōnane is a game of pattern making and pattern recognition,” said Kapena Baptista, co-organizer of the tournament. “It tests your ability to move with and around your opponent in a manner reminiscent of lua, our Hawaiian martial arts, and hula, our traditional dance.
“It is no coincidence that many surviving terms describing Kōnane plays are identical to terms used in lua and hula.”
The quarterfinals were played on Kōnane boards with the more common 8-by-11 game pieces setup. But the semifinals and finals were played on 12-by-15 boards to match the Papamū Kūpuna. The championship match would be played on the historic koa wood board itself.
The Papamū Kūpuna was donated to Bishop Museum in 1923 by Princess Elizabeth Kahanu as part of the Kalanianaʻole-Kapiʻolani Collection. According to the Bishop Museum’s website about the tournament, it is one of only six around the world, three of which are in the museum’s own collection, one at ʻIolani Palace, one at Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park, and another, it notes, “in a private collection in France.”
Kōnane is a game with black and white stones — actually basalt and coral — that resembles chess and Go, albeit with fewer rules and exceptions, Baptista said. But he said its simplicity hides the depth of complexity it can offer, which can take a lifetime to fully learn.
Baptista called the tournament “a massive leap forward” that “brought many talented players out from isolation.”
“Since playing ‘guerilla Kōnane’ around O’ahu in 2024,” he said. “I’ve noticed that familiarity and proficiency vary greatly among our community. There are some very talented players out there, but rarely do we have the spaces to congregate and play each other.”
Maile Naehu, emcee and co-organizer of the tournament, agreed: “The resurgence of Kōnane is a powerful step toward embracing who we are as Kanaka Maoli … The deeper learning, however, comes through practice, through making mistakes, adjusting and returning stronger each time.”
Kōnane, Naehu said, “is more than a game. It is a movement, a reclaiming of knowledge, identity and the discipline to step fully into our best selves.”
Akau Boards craftsman Wallace Akau was commissioned by the museum to make a replica board for the winner of the tournament. He says the game can “inspire younger generations to appreciate their cultural roots while developing important cognitive skills through game play.”
“Sometimes I close my eyes and see Kōnane stones moving in my head.”
Kapena Baptista
“Our next Great Hawaiian Leader is going to be a Kōnane player,” said John Kaohelaulii, co-organizer of the tournament and founder of Hawaiiancheckers.com. “Kōnane was one of the training methods used to teach Ali’i how to manage resources for long-term sustainability. It developed critical thinking skills, strategic planning and the ability to implement actions.”
For Baptista, the game is a constantly unfolding lesson that could take a lifetime to fully absorb. It can also be all-consuming, he said, noting that, “Sometimes I close my eyes and see Kōnane stones moving in my head.”
“Sometimes Kōnane can be cruel, other times, it can be triumphant.”
Kapena Baptista
Overflow crowds saw the championship game via a wide-screen television set up on the museum lawn, where spectators watched raptly from white folding chairs as two Oʻahu competitors faced off: co-sponsor Baptista and Kahekili Yung. This game was played on an historic board, one of those in the care of the Bishop Museum Ethnology Collection, which the museum noted had “not felt stones leap across its surface in well over 100 years.”
Baptista went on to win the tournament he co-sponsored, taking home the replica board crafted by Akau.
“There are no ties in Kōnane; There is always a definitive winner and loser,” he said. “It teaches us that our actions have consequences, and that every choice we make compounds into a final outcome that is of our own making. Sometimes Kōnane can be cruel, other times, it can be triumphant.”
CORRECTION: This story has been updated to correct the spelling of Wallace Akau’s last name and to properly identify the ki‘i, which are traditional Hawaiian carved images.
