Ka moolelo o Lilinoe

I come from mixed ancestry - American born Irish, Swedish, Chinese, Japanese, Hawaiian. I get the question “what are you?” Fairly often. And I have love for all of my family. They are my roots, my memories, my people.  

But the song of my Hawaiian ancestors has always called to me -

Ka ʻōlelo, ke mele, ka hulahula, ka meaʻai! -(The language, the music, the dance, the food!) - and when I hear it, it lights that fire , the one deep down, the one that can easily go out in this world that tries to make us forget. 

So, when Covid hit, and we were suddenly teaching our children at home, we used the opportunity to go all in! We took online hula classes, learned about Hawaiian culture (mahalo nui kumukahi), and we started to learn the language.  

Inevitably, every time I used my English name (JoAnne) the kumu (teacher) would say something to the effect of - if you have a Hawaiian name, USE IT, because if we don’t use the language in our every day, that is how it gets lost.

So, as we start this new chapter, I am deciding to make the full switch. It may take us all some time to get comfortable, but that’s ok! We’ll get there. We’ll do the work. We’ll make sure we don’t forget.

To learn more about the history of the Hawaiian Language and how it is being revitalized, click here )