Families Pay Tribute To Ehime Maru Victims
Flowers Spread Over Accident Site
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Six relatives of five of the victims watched tearfully Sunday morning as a Native Hawaiian group offered traditional prayers and songs for those missing and presumed dead in the Ehime Maru tragedy.
Each of the family members held a floral lei during the emotional healing ceremony at Maunalua Bay in Hawaii Kai. The mother of one of the victims sobbed as ukulele master Jake Shimabukuro played an original composition in honor of the nine missing after their fishing vessel was rammed and sunk by a U.S. submarine on Feb. 9.
The purpose of the ceremony was to call upon guardian forces of the sea to bring comfort and guidance to those who remain lost.
"The ceremony symbolizes the people of Hawaii's unified expression of Aloha to affirm our humanity," master of ceremonies Poka Laenui said.
After the Japanese and Hawaii anthems were played, the families presented their leis and boarded a boat to take the leis to the site of the accident and spread them on the water.
Many of the approximately 200 people attending the ceremony wrote messages to the victims in English and Japanese on a banner placed on the lawn at the waterfront park.
The families are expected to watch the Navy's Court of Inquiry that begins Monday at Pearl Harbor (click here for that story).
Each of the family members held a floral lei during the emotional healing ceremony at Maunalua Bay in Hawaii Kai. The mother of one of the victims sobbed as ukulele master Jake Shimabukuro played an original composition in honor of the nine missing after their fishing vessel was rammed and sunk by a U.S. submarine on Feb. 9.
The purpose of the ceremony was to call upon guardian forces of the sea to bring comfort and guidance to those who remain lost.
"The ceremony symbolizes the people of Hawaii's unified expression of Aloha to affirm our humanity," master of ceremonies Poka Laenui said.
After the Japanese and Hawaii anthems were played, the families presented their leis and boarded a boat to take the leis to the site of the accident and spread them on the water.
Many of the approximately 200 people attending the ceremony wrote messages to the victims in English and Japanese on a banner placed on the lawn at the waterfront park.
The families are expected to watch the Navy's Court of Inquiry that begins Monday at Pearl Harbor (click here for that story).Copyright 2002 by TheHawaiiChannel.com. The Associated Press contributed to this report. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
