Uploaded November 2025 | Updated September 2026, 1 day ago
Host Kaʻimi Kahikina sits with scholar Lani Teves to unpack how 19th- and 20th-century laws in Hawaiʻi sought to regulate Kanaka sexuality, criminalizing the act of moe pū to become moe kolohe, a crime. Together, they examine how these laws reshaped Kanaka understandings of desire, morality, and belonging—and how these frameworks continue to influence our relationships today in coercive ways, urging us to recenter and celebrate our sexuality as the life force of our people since time immemorial.
Host: Kaʻiminaʻauao Kahikina (Host, PhD student, Scholar & Artist)
Guest: Lani Teves (Scholar, Educator, Musician)
Work Featured: Regulating Hawaiian Sexualities: Challenging Colonial Imposition to Reclaim Autonomy
Theme: How colonial legal frameworks constrict pilina and desire
Description:
Listen & Learn:
How embedded are colonial laws in our relationships today—and what would it take to reimagine our pilina beyond laws made to constrain our populace, presence, and pulapula?
*This episode engages Hawaiian worldviews and social contexts, and explores themes of sexuality, gender, and erotics. Some language and content may be considered strong or triggering. Viewer/listener discretion is advised.
Art concept: Kaʻiminaʻauao Kahikina @mahucha_art
Art design: Sara Saffery @sarasaffery
Music: “Pua Līlīlehua,” Mokihana Flood, Tree of Life
Follow the podcast on IG: @kukakikipodcast
Host Kaʻimi Kahikina sits with scholar Lani Teves to unpack how 19th- and 20th-century laws in Hawaiʻi sought to regulate Kanaka sexuality, criminalizing the act of moe pū to become moe kolohe, a crime. Together, they examine how these laws reshaped Kanaka understandings of desire, morality, and belonging—and how these frameworks continue to influence our relationships today in coercive ways, urging us to recenter and celebrate our sexuality as the life force of our people since time immemorial.
Host: Kaʻiminaʻauao Kahikina (Host, PhD student, Scholar & Artist)
Guest: Lani Teves (Scholar, Educator, Musician)
Work Featured: Regulating Hawaiian Sexualities: Challenging Colonial Imposition to Reclaim Autonomy
Theme: How colonial legal frameworks constrict pilina and desire
Description:
Listen & Learn:
How embedded are colonial laws in our relationships today—and what would it take to reimagine our pilina beyond laws made to constrain our populace, presence, and pulapula?
*This episode engages Hawaiian worldviews and social contexts, and explores themes of sexuality, gender, and erotics. Some language and content may be considered strong or triggering. Viewer/listener discretion is advised.
Art concept: Kaʻiminaʻauao Kahikina @mahucha_art
Art design: Sara Saffery @sarasaffery
Music: “Pua Līlīlehua,” Mokihana Flood, Tree of Life
Follow the podcast on IG: @kukakikipodcast
