Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 26, Number 11, 1 November 2009 — Kawaihoʻouluohaʻao: Her plaee among the ancestors [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

Kawaihoʻouluohaʻao: Her plaee among the ancestors

Aloha e nā 'ōiwi 'ōlino nā pulapula a Hāloa mai Hawai'i a Ni'ihau a puni ke ao mālamalama. On Saturday, Oct. 3, 2009, Aunty Malia Kawaiho'ouluoha'ao left us to join her kūpuna to take her plaee among the ancestors. All who knew and loved Aunty feel a tremendous loss, but she is at peaee, without pain, and is asleep with the sleep that lasts the summers and winters, "moe i ka moe kau a ho'oilo." Aunty Malia, born June 18, 1927, to James Francis Akoni and Harriet Pua'alao'ainahau Oliwa Adam, at 2 weeks old, was given in "hānai" to her paternal grandparents, Manu andMalia Kama; and paternal aunt and unele, Annie and John Kauwe of Ho'okena, South Kona, Hawai'i, where she was nurtured and raised until high school. Of her kahu hānai and kūpuna, Aunty says: "They were loving, extremely nurturing in raising me since birth. My kūpunas' wish was to raise me with 'ōlelo Hawai'i, the culture - in both spiritual and Hawaiian ways. My 'ohana thought of me as a new blooming leader of their 'ohana and I am forever grateful for them supporting me to the fullest." Following the passing of her kūpuna, and in her late teens, Aunty left Ho'okena for the Big City, O'ahu, and worked for the Federal Civil Service in Lualualei beginning in the mid-'40s. In the summer of 1946 another milestone occurred in her life when at a friend's home on Liholiho Street at a Sunday pā'ina Malia met William Harrison Craver whom she married two years later in 1948, ultimately sharing 46 years of marriage. In 1950, Malia and Bill celebrated the birth of their only

child, Kahaunaniomaunaloa, and she noted as her fondest memory, "the raising of my daughter, Haunani." At 23 years of age, this kupa 'āina of "Ho'okena I Ka La'i" was well on her way as wife and mother for her family. In the six decades that followed, Aunty eontinued to approach life's milestones with courage and vigor. She continued to enjoy and celebrate her Hawaiian culture with dignity and respect; she would break new ground, lead the way and achieve some "firsts." She encouraged and empowered people to strive for the highest, to work for excellence in order to do good, to promote peaee and harmony, to stay focused and never give up seeking guidance from our kūpuna and the Higher Power eaeh day. In the 1960s, while working at QLCC, Aunty Malia reconnected with her 'ohana of Ka'ū - Tūtū Kawena Puku'i. Tūtū bestowed on Aunty the name "Kawaiho'ouluoha'ao" - in honor and commemoration of the freshwater spring in Ka'ū that unceasingly provided nurturing, life-giving water to the people of Ka'ū, even during times of drought. Tūtū Puku'i's support and encouragement embraced Aunty with aloha mueh like that of Aunty's kahu hānai of Ho'okena, and Aunty llourished as a result of their relationship. Aunty Malia's self-confidence peaked in her first composition, Pu 'uhonua Nani, inspired by Queen Lili'uokalani and the legacy of her mission to serve Hawaiian children. There was an abundance of future mele and oli, numerous compositions that gushed forth as gifts and recollections for the people and places she loved and honored. Tūtū's name empowered Aunty Malia Kawaiho'ouluoha'ao to be that freshwater spring of cultural and spiritual nourishment throughout her life to all who sought her counsel and guidance. Rachel Nahale'elua Mahuiki served as a second mentor to Aunty Malia, training and encouraging her to further advance in the practice and teaching of Ho'oponopono. In turn, Aunty Malia trained nearly 1,000 practitioners of peaee and problem solving throughout Hawai'i since 1997. 11/48 (Part I) ■

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Haunani Apuliuna, MSW Chairpersūn, Trustee, At-larga