Kumu Carolee ‘AUNTY DOLL’ Aricayos; Aunty is a Maui Hawaii Kumu Hula+ a 100% Hawaiian. This is a first in a series of interviews sharing Aunty and her life, perspectives, and honoring life blessings immersed in authentic Hawaiian culture, New York trip in her teenage years, Japan experience and the sharing of Hawaiian dance, culture and traditions and the Spirit of Aloha. 2-8-2016… .. Airielle & Aunty Doll
Summary & Timestamped Transcript Below…
Introduction and Background of Auntie Doll
The video opens with a warm introduction to Auntie Doll, described as a pure Hawaiian kumu (teacher) of hula, ukulele, and Hawaiian culture.
Auntie Doll is recognized as a precious cultural resource on Maui, deeply involved in teaching and preserving Hawaiian traditions, especially hula, to elders and the wider community.
She shares her Hawaiian lineage: born and raised on Maui, from a family with strong ties to Hawaiian traditions. Her father, Albert Naiolikia, was originally from Kauai, and her mother was from Maui.
Auntie Doll highlights her upbringing in Haiku and Honokua (now Kapalua), where her family home still stands near a red sculpting landmark.
A significant cultural role in her family was her grandmother’s position as konahiki — a caretaker of family land and resources, appointed by Hawaiian royalty, a role passed down through generations.
Auntie Doll emphasizes the rarity of pure Hawaiians remaining in Hawaii today and the beauty of cultural mixing in contemporary Hawaiian families, including her own, where her children and grandchildren are of mixed heritage.
Hawaiian culture is described as deeply tied to nature, food, language, music, and traditions, and Auntie Doll stresses the importance of respect and learning from each culture’s uniqueness.
She and her hula group are kupuna (elders, 55+), dedicated to passing down wisdom and keeping Hawaiian culture alive through example and teaching.
Key Insights:
Hawaiian culture is more than just dance or language; it is deeply connected to the environment and daily life.
The role of kupuna is vital in cultural preservation and education.
Hawaiian identity today embraces both purity and multiculturalism, reflecting Hawaii’s diverse heritage.
[05:42 → 18:24]
The Authenticity of Hawaiian Culture and Hula
Auntie Doll contrasts living culture with book knowledge, emphasizing that true Hawaiian culture is learned through experience and storytelling, not just texts or movies.
She explains that hula is an expressive dance that tells stories, where every motion, gesture, and expression conveys meaning.
The connection between words and movement is fundamental; understanding the Hawaiian language and stories behind hula songs is essential to truly appreciate the dance.
Auntie Doll shares that if hula dies, so does the Hawaiian people’s story and identity.
She teaches her students (mana, meaning students) not only the dance but also the history and meaning behind the songs, often sharing background information about composers and the cultural context.
Hawaiian culture today faces challenges due to its status as the 50th state of the USA and the dilution of native Hawaiian population, but efforts continue to maintain identity.
Auntie Doll stresses the importance of malama— the Hawaiian concept of caring and stewardship — so future generations can enjoy Hawaiian culture as they do now.
Key Concept Table:
Hawaiian Term
Meaning/Description
Kumu
Teacher
Kupuna
Elders (age 55+)
Mana
Student
Malama
To care for, to protect, stewardship
Hula
Traditional Hawaiian dance telling stories
Konahiki
Caretaker of land/resources, appointed by royalty
[18:24 → 28:43]
Early Life and Dance Career: New York City Experience
Auntie Doll recounts being part of a prestigious hula group that performed in New York City during Hawaii’s statehood era (after 1959).
At age 14, she traveled with her hula halau (school) led by kumu John P. Lonnie Watkins to perform in a show called Paradise Island at Jones Beach, produced by Guy Lombardo and choreographed by June Taylor.
The group performed for two years, which was typical to recoup production costs.
Auntie Doll describes the emotional moment when her father tearfully let her go, as it was her first time traveling away from home.
In New York, she experienced a family-like atmosphere with other Hawaiian dancers, chaperones, and sponsors.
She recalls the cultural shock of New York’s tall buildings and busy city life, but also the kindness and hospitality of local people, including singers and dancers who hosted them.
June Taylor was a strict but fabulous choreographer, and the dancers exchanged cultural knowledge—Auntie Doll and her group taught Hawaiian and Polynesian dances while learning hip-hop styles from their New York counterparts.
Auntie Doll also reminisces about the coldness and pollution of New York beaches compared to Maui’s pristine ocean waters, highlighting the natural beauty of Hawaii.
Key Insights:
The New York experience was formative, exposing Auntie Doll to a multicultural environment and professional performance standards.
Despite the challenges, the trip strengthened the Hawaiian cultural identity among the dancers and promoted hula on the mainland.
[28:43 → 40:54]
Teaching and Performing Career: Worldwide Travels and Family Legacy
Auntie Doll’s career expanded internationally, especially in Japan starting in the 1970s, when she performed and taught hula and Hawaiian culture across various cities including Tokyo, Osaka, and Fukuoka.
She toured with Hawaiian Airlines promotions, Hilton hotels, and police department cultural exchanges.
A notable highlight was dancing on the Matsonia, a famous cruise ship, performing for tourists.
The influence of hula in Japan grew significantly, leading to movies and resort areas dedicated to hula and Hawaiian music.
Auntie Doll lived in Japan for a time, celebrating her 50th birthday there while teaching Hawaiian culture.
Returning to Hawaii, she continued teaching locally, emphasizing that hula opens doors worldwide but requires a good heart and openness to other cultures.
Family is central to Auntie Doll’s life: she has a large family with 11 siblings, many involved in Hawaiian dance and music.
Her children are active in music and dance:
Oldest son, Keppa, is a well-known dancer and teacher.
Daughter is a singer, dance teacher, and luau organizer.
Son in Colorado led a college Hawaiian music group and recently ran for office.
The grandchildren are also involved in Hawaiian cultural arts, carrying the legacy forward through drumming, dancing, and music.
Auntie Doll emphasizes the importance of family support, shared childcare, and homeschooling to nurture cultural and personal growth.
Family Structure Summary:
Family Member
Role/Activity
Siblings (11 total)
Many involved in hula and music
Oldest Brother
Former hula dancer
Children (3)
All active in music, dance, and teaching
Son (Colorado)
Led Hawaiian music group, political candidate
Daughter
Singer, dance teacher, luau organizer
Grandchildren
Learning drumming, dancing, and Hawaiian arts
Great-grandchildren
Beginning cultural involvement
[40:54 → 44:33]
Philosophy on Life, Giving, and Hawaiian Culture Preservation
Auntie Doll shares a philosophy of giving back: she volunteers to teach to give back to her community that has supported her family.
She stresses the balance of giving and receivingas essential for sustainability—like breathing in and out.
She expresses deep gratitude for the health and opportunity to share Hawaiian culture and stories with younger generations.
Auntie Doll humbly credits many people, including family and community, for her journey and success.
The interview closes with a hopeful outlook, focusing on taking life one step at a time and appreciating accomplishments and relationships.
Overall Key Insights and Conclusions
Auntie Doll is a living repository of authentic Hawaiian culture, embodying the role of kumu through teaching hula, language, and cultural values with deep respect for nature and history.
Her life story bridges traditional Hawaiian heritage and global cultural exchange, highlighting hula’s power to connect people across continents.
The intergenerational transmission of Hawaiian culture is vital; Auntie Doll’s family exemplifies this through active participation in music, dance, and education.
Hawaiian culture is not static; it thrives through personal experience, storytelling, and community involvement, not just textbooks.
The concept of malama (to care for) is crucial for preserving culture and environment for future generations.
Auntie Doll’s experiences—from Maui to New York to Japan—highlight the importance of open hearts and respect when sharing culture globally.
Her commitment to volunteering and teaching elders demonstrates that age is not a barrier but an asset in cultural preservation.
Summary Timeline of Auntie Doll’s Life and Career
Period
Event/Activity
Childhood (Maui)
Born and raised in Haiku and Honokua (Kapalua)
Teenage Years (1950s)
Performed in New York with hula halau (age 14-16)
Early Adult (1970s)
Toured Japan promoting Hawaiian culture
Mid Adult
Lived in Japan teaching hula; traveled globally
Later Years
Teaching seniors and community on Maui; family legacy active
Present
Volunteer teacher, cultural ambassador, kupuna leader
This summary comprehensively captures Auntie Doll’s life, teachings, cultural philosophy, and contributions, grounded exclusively on the video transcript content.
00:01
aloha well i’m so so happy that you’re here to join us today because we have a very special treat for you i am very greatly honored to bring to you my dear auntie Doll and he is my hulu kumu my ukulele kumu my hawaii kumu she’s my kumu kumu means teacher by the way in case you haven’t gotten that part so auntie jaw yay thank you so much for being here with us today aloha hello it is my pleasure and an honor to be here with you today oh yeah thank you i’m really grateful i’ve been
00:45
trying to talk auntie Doll into doing this with me it’s at least two years already i think so i’m so glad she’s finally consented she’s such a busy lady and she gives so much time to others and that’s part of what keeps her so busy because she’s always giving so she’s a blessing to our island and that’s for sure all of us who do hula with her we know so so auntie doll tell me and tell these people out here you are pure hawaiian yeah so they’re not very many pure hawaiians
01:24
left on this island to begin with greetings to all of you i am hawaiian born and raised on the island of maui i was born to wonderful parents my dad was albert naiokia my mother was elizabeth my dad originally kept born and raised in kauai then uprooted when his family came to maui maybe home up in haiku and my mother always been on maui out in honokua today honokuhua area is called kapalua i born and raised there also in fact a building where i was burdened is still there and it’s close to the red sculpting so i
02:14
grew up there before my grandfather passed away then i had to go back to oahu but my parents was on maui first but had to go to because that’s where the jobs were and my dad raised a big family he adopted two children before he had 10 of his own so he needed to to make more money to take care of his family and then while i was here on maui i grew up out there in guanajuato my grandma used to be the konahiki or the caregiver taker of the the value called and it was known for tarot so i had my experience in the tarot
02:59
patches was that like kona kahiki of the person or the families they were assigned by the aliyah the king to take care of that and they passed on from generation to generation and my grandma was the last of her generation before everything changed but you know it’s a family thing and when it’s passed on to the generations you it’s a high position for a family because you represent the family so you want to do a good job oh that’s so beautiful you know i i didn’t really have any kind
03:39
of family ties like that so for me the tradition and the beauty of it touches me very deeply yes and your question really was stated about being hawaiian is there’s not many of us left yeah and so i didn’t marry a hawaiian my husband joe ari kaios is hawaiian caucasian you know so my children uh and then now they married and they didn’t marry to hawaiians okay so their children are all chops but that’s the beauty of hawaii is the mixture of the culture and you see it in their children the generations
04:20
to come and of course we all love to eat so the so the fun part about being all mixed is to enjoy each other’s food and the traditions and even if we didn’t understand we respect it and we honored it just by watching and learning and not saying anything bad but learn from it because we all know it’s always room to learn new things as we get older well you keep teaching us that auntie doll every time we think that you know okay she comes up with another one flowers shells really ladies we have such a good time
05:00
and our hula group is a kupuna group so you know for those of you that SDoll’t know that means over 55 over 55 of the elders you know good as female and uh male we all call kupunas kupunas is the elders of our place where we live and our job is to pass on wisdom to the next generation right as examples as well as words well i took you away from that background i really didn’t want to do that because i loved where you were at you know because so the reason that i love doing this show is because so few people out there
05:42
have this information available to them and she’s the real thing well you know there’s a lot of information in books but it’s nothing like coming from a true uh story or growing up experience you know because you’re not making up no story you’re sharing something that is life to you and you grew up with it and that’s the part we SDoll’t have it anymore we have to learn from books and you want you know human nature you want to see them touch them feel them you know and so it’s not real if it’s just
06:16
from a book or a movie that’s right yeah and so the life experience that we we have if we SDoll’t share it with others we’ll lose that and that’s the whole idea about the culture part and in hawaii we have so many different cultures you know and it’s good to learn about each other and it’s very life-giving it’s still being used today oh absolutely well you know i started out chop suey before i came to hawaii but i’m even more chop soon now because i know there’s part of me that is
06:48
hawaiian yeah i’ve been on the island for 34 years and but you know when you were sharing about two to the audience about the flowers and everything hawaiian is not just music it’s not just language it’s not just food you know it’s nature around us trees the mountains the flowers and you know it’s such a beautiful creation here in the islands that you can look at a tree and see a different shape in it or see it moving in the wind and then the more you watch it you get so intrigued with it like
07:23
life and so for me as a hawaiian like you about would make flower lays to make feathers with all the nothing is wasted you know the very the hawaiian people are very resourceful yes i love that they use everything so great that’s so true they use every part of everything for something else yes right and it’s been such a learning experience to do this with auntie and i really thank you so much for sharing your wisdom with us you know i know we SDoll’t often get the opportunity to really thank you publicly
08:02
that way but she’s truly a blessing and if you get the opportunity come play with us i’m sorry with that anyway auntie going back again because i love this now and then you were one of those beautiful dancers who went to new york city as a teenager right yes i have was given such a privilege um when hawaii became the state in 1959 um you know hawaii was known all over the world and so my group that we were dancing with my kumu or my teacher was john p lonnie watkins who was very knowledgeable of the culture and the
08:49
music and the dance so with with his group or his halau we were called the hulu studios back then halal means school hula means to dance and so back then it was just known as hula studios where we got together to dance and so the group auditioned to go to new york and they did a play at jones beach produced and directed produced by mr guy lombardo choreographer choreographer was june taylor of the famous june taylor dancers and i was just 14 years old back then so we left we went up the first year we went up
09:32
we had to have a tutor because we were still in school and then the second year we went up we didn’t need a tutor because it started in the summer well i was told back then that they have to do it for two years because they spend so much money to set up the stage the choreography that whatever they have to do that they always run it for two years to make money back and so the the play was called paradise island and mr arthur treacher who was very famous when shirley temple black was you know acting
10:07
as a little child he was the um the butler and he had had a main part in the play also in the show and of course june taylor’s so famous and my dad i remember taking me to the airport with all my brothers and sisters back in the old honolulu international airport did he have a drought my dad was in tears because he said to me because there were so many of us children it was he would never thought of any one of us going to travel and so to get this opportunity and they didn’t have to pay anything
10:53
and um my dad in tears let me go of course my first time so i come home sit and miss them i miss my mom so i would call home sometimes and my mom i would ask my mom for my dad and she said what’s wrong i said i just miss my dad it’s miss dad so he’s missing me and mom over there said be strong dad said oh i wish you could come home mom said be strong so my mother was a strong person up front but very soft inside but my experience there then i went we went back to second year i made my 15th
11:30
birthday and my 16th birthday oh my gosh auntie what was that like for you i mean here’s this real hawaiian girl you know who’s never been off the islands and to go to new york city a lot of fears i was afraid yes because didn’t know what to expect you know and being away from home and you always but the good part about it we went as a group so we still had that family kind of atmosphere i would still think that would be totally overwhelming though and we had some wonderful sponsors up there wonderful people that
12:10
took good care of us we all were situated in a big house it was three stories the guys the boys were on the top and all the girls and then of course the little ones with their mother or the chaperone whoever whatever they were little girls girls how old were they the youngest i came she was five there was a couple of them and then we had teenagers and then we had some older ones too because it it was like sharing a family a pure family atmosphere in new york and um like i said it was my first time in new
12:44
york so like wow all these tall buildings walking around sour um guy or escort yourself hold on to your bags hold on two bags because we’re so amazed with everything out there we’re not watching that right here at all but we learned and people are really nice i’m obsessed with singers and dancers on weekends when we didn’t perform they would take us to sleep over their houses and learn about them yeah and you know i found new york a lot of mixtures just like hawaii there were a lot of different
13:20
nationality we placed it and they took us to where they would travel i mean they would go shopping a restaurant they would take us to where they would go like everyday people and so we just fell in love with all of them and they treated us like we were their children and some of the singers and had their own family some were husbands and wives in the show so they would take us home to their house and meet their young ones right but most of them had young children so we were like teenagers but it was a wonderful experience
13:56
and june taylor she was really strict was that’s foreign she was so that’s why she was so fabulous yeah and um and her uh lead dancers they were the ones that you know worked with us every day and then we in turn taught them hawaiian of polynesian dancing and they taught us like hip-hop and all that other kind that they were doing back then i really didn’t know what it was called but it was dancing but it was so much fun i still have memories of it in fact a friend of mine who was from new york and
14:32
gave me a book written about jones speech you know and i never knew the real story we went back to in the 50s you know when it started then the jones beach into the broad walk and we went there too but we SDoll’t know the background it’s a big difference that beach to the maui beaches oh yeah it’s very cold if that’s clean you know you can’t see the bottle all right like hawaii the the water is so nice and clean and you can see a beak auntie we were sitting at mckenna the other day and the water was so turquoise
15:11
at the shore break at the what’s the word moana moana at the moana that’s the water near the shore bridge near the shore where the the color is the light green i knew the show yeah and then for the hours deep blue it’s the moana where all the fishes i’m practicing it and practicing anyway so the water that was breaking it’s actually near the shore because mckenna is such a short break there but the waves were the way they used to be to me where you could see through them that’s right
15:52
right and you could just see through them they were so beautiful i was thinking about you i was talking to my friend and telling her that i was trying to remember auntie’s really doing a great job of attempting to teach us seniors who are forgetting english but for me when i teach the ruler because i’m hawaiian i want my students to know it correctly and i want them to learn and and be very um appreciative of and understand so so we say malama to take care of it so the next generation can enjoy it also
16:29
like how we are enjoying it today and so for the hawaii people in the dance the words are shared with the motion because hula actually is expressing what’s going on inside and you’re bringing it outside with your your hands and your gestures and your expressions so for us hawaiian people if hula die we die as a people because tells our story and that’s what we are doing and hula is telling a story and so when the mana mana means student when i’m working with the hau mana i want them to
17:12
understand the words so i would repeat it and i will give them the basics and a little background story of what the song is about and if i know the composer or know a little bit about the composer i will share that information also with them so when they go and dance somewhere or go home to the mainland and they say well you live in hawaii you should do a hula and so you she can stand up and do a hula and then she in turn tells them what her story is about and then they would understand and then
17:45
they would appreciate what you’re doing because like i shared about this in hawaii being on hawaiian there’s not too many of us left as hawaiian people and the hawaii people are trying very hard you know um to to get themselves established and all these years is very difficult because we are part of the united states now and we are a state we are the 50th thing and sometimes people forget that we are a state and sometimes they even ask me do you need a passport to come to your place no because you’re part of
18:24
america is that the justice thing for we have real houses now but we sing the song my little grandchild oh that’s funny they really ask that because they’re from hawaii and the first thing they say and what are you doing here well i want to see how the rest of the world looks like too you know i read about that when i was little my favorite book was the encyclopedia and the dictionary me too indeed because that’s my traveling yeah i could sit for hours yeah right read about all the places
19:11
the other book i really like was because my grandmother lives in the countryside we had the serious catalogue the catalog and we find some for christmas we like something we tear the page put it on our pillow under our pillow and we sleep and dream about it you know you might have looked at me because when i was a kid i was modeling in that serious and robot kettle i put all the christmas stuff with the flannel my hands wow so maybe you put my picture under your pillow i love that idea we start we got connected way back then
19:54
who would have guessed yeah amazing life is good life is so good and and like i’ve said i i am so blessed you know and i’ve i’ve really pulled a couple people into auntie doll’s class that told me that they couldn’t do it and that happened because auntie doll did that to me because when i first started dancing hula with anti-draw i had broken my leg and have metal in my foot and everything and we were playing ukulele and she said to me so why aren’t you in my hula class i was like oh
20:31
auntie i can’t do that and she said oh yes you can next you can and i just want to encourage like you do to get up and move and enjoy all this beauty that is around us because we have so many opportunities to do that here on maui we have fantastic teachers like auntie who well we have now we have a wonderful senior program and uh that’s almoa and they’re my boss and they have wonderful programs for people all age you know about kupuna’s because a lot of people think just because we’re older that we’re not
21:07
useful anymore we may be over we’re not dead we’re still alive and well and to me at this age we earned it we earned this we worked hard now we retired we did things before for the kids or for the husband or for somebody else but now we’re able to do something for ourselves what we how we feel you make us like i always wanted i hear people always say why did i always wanted to dance but i was so busy oh i always wanted to do that but you know my i couldn’t drive and then now we have buses that would
21:46
pick you up and even the teacher would drive over there to be near you you know i tell my students we’re so blessed because i’m in key for them i used to go lahaina and teach i used to go for ear and teach and also kihei but then gas got expensive car maintenance expensive so i asked to be centralized because i live here and they worked it out really well so i always have to remind my students if you have the times stop by coming and say thank you thank you for the services that they’re
22:23
doing in the county of maui because everything is donation you know you’re not said to pay thirty dollars a month or five dollars a month is whatever you can give sometimes you have nothing to give that’s okay too you know well not only that but auntie has people that come from really all over the world to study with her and we are so blessed that she’s right here for us that’s so true she’s also beside having gone to new york and i was listening to her the other day oh by the way you should see
22:58
this picture of her from her high school reunion oh well did she look beautiful very smelt with this long tail it’s it’s you know to me in the area as i share with the students it’s not the color of your hair it’s not the color of your skin or the color of your eyes it’s the condition of your heart you make wherever you go if you SDoll’t meet the people you will never go back with a lot of information you only went on vacation you didn’t meet people and it’s like a
23:40
meal when you’re all by yourself even if it’s taken lobster it doesn’t taste good yeah you have somebody sitting down next to you and and even if it’s just hot dogs right you know it’ll taste like steak and lobster steak lobster hot dog because of the company you have but that’s what we were never meant to be all alone you know and i have the opportunity to share with others and i can lean clean and get just lean off of others who i talk to me and share with me and i can sit there not my head
24:19
because i understand sometimes it’s because i’ve been there myself and i understand what they’re going through sometimes we just need a listening ear or hand to hold and then you walk away like your heart is always so compassionate i always feel that empty thank you for being such a beautiful teacher see not only she teaches everything spirit and when she said that kel noah was her boss i kind of laughed at that because as far as i know auntie SDoll only has one boss and that’s the big guy upstairs
25:05
can’t do anything thank you thank you that’s your boss right my boss that’s your boss so when you said count now i’m like no i SDoll’t think you know i know like my boss said give credit to an honor to where it belongs okay so and you did that yeah because i know what i am it took a lot of people to help me to get here you know yeah and even my own family like the other night was the uh ram that um talent show well that was so funny my daughter-in-law won last year and my son was a judge i was there but i
25:47
was called late my son said mommy what you doing and i was just relaxing he said can you go pick up my son i said where is he he was at home he wasn’t feeling well that day so he was just relaxing so i went there and i forgot the key to the house so i’m yelling at him everything looks so dark i called him and said are you sure somebody’s home yes he’s in his room i’m by the window with my my my cell phone and the light and then he opens his eyes split the light he said tutu i said
26:21
your dad said to me you pick you up well we did a performance in the intermission right well you did it no well intermission in the middle and so we got five girls there really yeah and everything worked out good my granddaughter dance set to marry up my daughter takes care of the grand valley of luau after their work they picked my daughter picked up my granddaughter they joined in so we had a nice show now that was finished my daughter-in-law dance because she was the winner and you’re all such fabulous dancers if you want a
26:55
treat i’ll tell you it just worked out what a treat it’s just worked out and he didn’t he text me mommy thank you thank you jesus thank god i said yes thank god everybody was there for you he said he was so nervous but last minute they checked the time but everything worked out perfect okay you know and because we live on this beautiful island you just can call and then get on the car and come on down it’s always in control all was in control he’s awesome so you know there’s more that we need to
27:29
share with you with auntie so i told her she can’t get away with just one interview because then she has to tell you about teaching in japan do i really have and living in honolulu and there’s just so much of charity you know i love doing ukulele especially with auntie because when she starts talking story well you know music is music takes us back to to time when maybe we have gone through something or remind us of something in our life and so when the opportunity comes you to me is the time to share it
28:07
because maybe somebody needs to hear it that’s in the clue you SDoll’t know and sometimes you SDoll’t know why they’re there sometimes then we just to get out of something and then when they you start to talk story after class they come up to you and say i needed to hear that i’m glad you shared that right you said well just for me yeah it’s an on-time thing so i always feel that you’re just sharing it just for me thank you well thank you so much for being here today and i really there’s so much more i want
28:43
to talk with you about and you know that we just have such peace rolling her eyes it only took me two years to get her hair started well then why SDoll’t you continue and i’m going to take a second break here again why SDoll’t you just decide to now we’re pal here you think so what do you think okay the magic of television and we’re back just like that and we are ready to travel to japan with auntie of teaching abroad and it started off actually back in 70s when i used to do promotion for
29:29
hawaiian airlines pan-american the hilton hotel wow you used to send me out and come some right in fact right after high school because i made my um 18th birthday in japan and we stayed there for a month and the prince hotel the prince line that chain of hotels in japan we were sent to all the different hotels and different areas like tokyo osaka fukuoka you know all down um down the line till we went down to mikimoto pearl island but it started that time and i went with the honolulu police department and they
30:12
did their promotion because they shared a lot with the government and the police department in japan and i think they shared some of the classes that they did so we performed at the hilton hotels i mean the prince hotels and every area in japan that had a hotel there and they even took us up to the mountains to a real japanese hotel and to experience the japanese style but it started off flying into tokyo and with the hotel as one of our sponsors they took care of all our expenses and i went with two other girls their fa
30:56
their parents were part of the honolulu horror group so they were very active parents in the police department and i was uh actually the outsider never learned anything and they treated you great good and in fact i learned after we came back two years after that japan made a movie called the hulu girl and because of the influence of dancing over there in japan they pick it up and they took it to a a town i forgot the name but the town was had a cold business cold um you know in the cave and uh underground
31:39
yet mine calling and then they were going to close it up so they needed something where the city could make money so they brought in a gula teacher and she really didn’t want to but she came with a little bit she knew and today they have a beautiful it’s like a resort area um where they have water dancing and they made a movie about it and so the experience that i’ve had i thought about it that we made a it made a mark there you know for us to take hula and if the japanese today the women and the young women and
32:19
even the men are really into hula dancing and the ukulele very very famous now in japan well then i went in japan and traveled first to japan but i danced on the matsonia and the learning before i even or when i came back so before i could get a job a real job a real job i was still dancing wait what is the what is the maxonia where sonia is the uh the uh is that the boat line the big big yeah but it went out of business out but it was very famous back then and we used to go on a boat and come in and dance
33:03
and they used to throw money in the ocean and my brother there was a dive for money and we danced we came off the ball with the tugboat took us out meet the learling or the matsonia we got on it came in with them and we danced at the shoreline oh that must have been sad and the ladies they lay sellers walked around with delays and i forget and then i danced over at the uh the kodak bushel which was down in waikiki and i was still a young teenager to me and but my travels also after i got married more so because i settled down i
33:42
really i got to travel again went to guam went to hong kong went to canada in fact i could take my husband to hong kong we dance just took our husbands the musicians took their wives and that was continental airlines and the houston hotel and the hawaiian hotel i mean the airlines so they were our responses and they took care of us oh crazy spending money everything what a wonderful experience so today i tell the young pool of dancers that hula can take you a lot of places and so can anybody who has a beautiful heart
34:27
like aunties yes you have to have a good heart that’s right because you have to accept them right because you’re the stranger here exactly so you have to go there with an open heart and learn from them and so and then i lived in japan for a little while to teach and i made my 50th birthday there wow so when i sit back and think about it i made my teenage years and then my glorious years new york japan where else were your birthdays auntie they’re so beautiful and the memories that i had that you said i could share
35:07
with my grandchildren i could tell a little bit about the grandchildren too they didn’t want to listen when when the grand folks talk so when they were little especially my granddaughters that i would say about this experience i was talking we were at the beach gathered and i was talking about my youth where i was born and what i went through and my granddaughter was sitting on the table and when her brother was two years younger i said tahani jay honey let’s go let’s go play let’s go down to the beach let’s go play
35:37
and she said no i want to sit here and listen to tutu i was so shocked i was amazed she want to listen to tutu i want to listen to tutu she’s telling about when she was a little girl and that’s true i was talking about when i was young that’s okay and and it’s so important that they hear it how wonderful that she wants to jen and she was still in high school and she’s going to graduate this year she called me i said tutu can we can i make a date with you and i said what do you want she said i wanna record you
36:15
so she had a little tape recorder and she had some questions on her paper and she looked at her paper and she talked to me and she said i want to be called you to do because i want to um keep this so that i can write down what you said that is and this is what you’re doing too today absolutely that exactly we can pass it on so we can pass it on and auntie’s family i know has been bugging her too for this information right well they just know that i’m not getting any younger and you know that the kids are not getting
36:54
any younger too they’re getting older so they SDoll’t want to lose it give us just a kind of a little picture of that big family that you have auntie i love this my well i have a big i mean my brothers and sisters and they’re all dancers and uh singers also is that 11 of them that was 12 of us and then nine still living yeah we lost what hula dancer our oldest sister see my dad adopted two a boy and a girl the girl just passed away last year my oldest brother he’s just made 79. and then um after him that’s my adopted
37:36
one then we had 10 after that so my oldest brother from the 10 he passed away and then another sister who was also with a dancer and a sister about me at birth so but there we have about nine eight or nine and then how many children did you i have three children and they’re all active in music and dance right they all can play instruments ukulele drummers their singers my even my son in colorado he had a group of college and they named the name of the group was called hawaiian soul and was local local boys and girls that
38:17
that they got together to play hawaiian you said and my oldest son keppa he’s uh he’s a talented dancer i bet a lot of you out there know keppa he is like he was cats liz misreal um miss saigon he’s such a fabulous person he he loves to be on stage uh live you know and he’s he was also he is a bullet dancer and he also a teacher he’s a television teacher he has his own group called and he used to always be in tourism but he finally got tired of it now he works as a vet assistant to a vet
39:05
and he loves his job because he loves animals and me too and his dad we all love animals and then my daughter she’s very active in the singer she’s also singer teacher of the dance she also lived in japan and taught uh hula in japan she takes care of the luau at the grand wailea she’s a great good answer to you she takes my place and i take a vacation to teach the ladies and so she’s very loving and she loves music good good personality she gets along really nicely with everybody
39:43
and then my grandchildren she’s also got a son who just ran for office in college oh yeah that’s my colorado son he lost by 800 votes so that’s you know well that’s really good for the first time so i um he’s coming home and his whole family is coming home this june because my granddaughter will be graduating from maui high school so i’m going to have all my children home with me this summer and i’m so excited so excited and all the grandkids and all the grandkids and the great
40:17
grandparents and the great grand her great grandkids we bring this joe joe is the official uh babysitter the papa and joe maybe sits there maybe three times out of the week and he looks forward to go he gets disappointed disappointed when he he’s not needed and he said oh how come oh mommy got a day off or mommy’s hours or less so she can stay home with us and so i said you missed them he said yes but you know that’s what keeps the family together is because there’s always a need
40:54
when there’s a need in the family the first person you know the first people you go to is your family and when we were younger we didn’t have a babysitter my husband and i we work shifts where somebody will be home i even homeschooled my children for a little while and i think that’s the best thing i ever did in my life i SDoll’t regret it but you know the social security is not as big as you would want it because you had to stop working but you know money is in everything yes money is good to have but
41:26
the experience and opportunity that you have to grow with your children there’s no price tag there’s no price on there and so i’m so thankful that i can share i my children sometimes call me mom well what did you do when we did this and what did you do when you do that so you know giving them an ideas and what the you have you dealt with helps them to raise their children and now my son is a grandfather he got two so i have two great grandsons and they’re beautiful little guys and
42:03
they they drum too they dance and they get so they’re gonna be we’re gonna be passing on that legacy of hawaiian culture and dance to them also because we want them to carry on to carry on with them of course it’s so important it’s so wonderful that you have that in your family and your back it is and it’s also very rewarding because you can still see it because sometimes people something happen and you SDoll’t get to see it they move away then you only hear about it you know
42:41
you’re still happy but it’s nothing like seeing it exactly mine you’re way over in florida and you missed it i do and she can just play with her and that little boy the little one i think he started drumming when he was about six months old as soon as they walk in if the drums are set up they know where they go they know where they belong they just go right there but you know every day is a new day so every time you wake up you just get so thankful because you can’t wait to see what the day holds for you
43:19
and it is such a blessing to be have a fresh new day on hawaii here and it’s been such a blessing to be with you today and thank you for joining us here and i loved having my kumu auntie doll here to share with you because she’s magical well i want to thank eliot we’ve been trying to do this for a long time but with my business schedule because i live in this a beautiful community i volunteered first when i was still working i volunteered to teach classes to give back in the class you
43:54
know because i felt this way i need to give back i need to give back to a community that has been very good to me and my children my family you know we cannot be takers all the time a lot of people we know they are just takers they come to just take what they could get but we have to learn that giving and receiving goes hand in hand you cannot only give you’re going to run out you can’t only take you’re going to get choked you have to learn to give and to be seen they go hand in hand it’s like breathing
44:33
in and breathing out it’s needed and so i just sort of thank Airielle and jason running that that camera over there for taking this opportunity to spend time with me and thank the good lord that we have time together today and it gave me the good health to wake up and come and join Airielle and maybe we’ll have other times like this we SDoll’t know we SDoll’t know what the future holds we just have to take one step at a time and be thankful that when we get accomplished alone two beautiful girls is easy for me
We use cookies to improve your experience on our site. By using our site, you consent to cookies.
This website uses cookies
Websites store cookies to enhance functionality and personalise your experience. You can manage your preferences, but blocking some cookies may impact site performance and services.
Essential cookies enable basic functions and are necessary for the proper function of the website.
Name
Description
Duration
Cookie Preferences
This cookie is used to store the user's cookie consent preferences.
30 days
These cookies are needed for adding comments on this website.
Name
Description
Duration
comment_author
Used to track the user across multiple sessions.
Session
comment_author_email
Used to track the user across multiple sessions.
Session
comment_author_url
Used to track the user across multiple sessions.
Session
Google Tag Manager simplifies the management of marketing tags on your website without code changes.
Name
Description
Duration
cookiePreferences
Registers cookie preferences of a user
2 years
td
Registers statistical data on users' behaviour on the website. Used for internal analytics by the website operator.
session
Statistics cookies collect information anonymously. This information helps us understand how visitors use our website.
Google Analytics is a powerful tool that tracks and analyzes website traffic for informed marketing decisions.
Contains information related to marketing campaigns of the user. These are shared with Google AdWords / Google Ads when the Google Ads and Google Analytics accounts are linked together.
90 days
__utma
ID used to identify users and sessions
2 years after last activity
__utmt
Used to monitor number of Google Analytics server requests
10 minutes
__utmb
Used to distinguish new sessions and visits. This cookie is set when the GA.js javascript library is loaded and there is no existing __utmb cookie. The cookie is updated every time data is sent to the Google Analytics server.
30 minutes after last activity
__utmc
Used only with old Urchin versions of Google Analytics and not with GA.js. Was used to distinguish between new sessions and visits at the end of a session.
End of session (browser)
__utmz
Contains information about the traffic source or campaign that directed user to the website. The cookie is set when the GA.js javascript is loaded and updated when data is sent to the Google Anaytics server
6 months after last activity
__utmv
Contains custom information set by the web developer via the _setCustomVar method in Google Analytics. This cookie is updated every time new data is sent to the Google Analytics server.
2 years after last activity
__utmx
Used to determine whether a user is included in an A / B or Multivariate test.
18 months
_ga
ID used to identify users
2 years
_gali
Used by Google Analytics to determine which links on a page are being clicked
30 seconds
_ga_
ID used to identify users
2 years
_gid
ID used to identify users for 24 hours after last activity
24 hours
_gat
Used to monitor number of Google Analytics server requests when using Google Tag Manager