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Jason Schwartz spends an hour with KAHU LYONS NAONE. Native Hawaiian born and raised in Hana, Maui, Hawaii, Lyons has been sharing and teaching Hawaiian traditions and culture as well as La’au Lapa’au: Healing with Spirituality and Herbs … Sharing Aloha from an Indigenous People’s perspective. Join us..1-28-2019
Summary & Transcript Below…
- [00:00 → 01:23]
Introduction and Guest Background
Jason Schwartz introduces his guest, Kahu Lyons Naone from Hana, a longtime acquaintance and respected figure in Hawaiian healing and culture. Lyons is introduced as someone deeply connected to Hawaiian herbal medicine and plant life, a teacher of these traditions dating back nearly 30 years. The segment sets the tone for a discussion about Hawaiian healing, culture, and the importance of indigenous knowledge. - [01:23 → 05:06]
Early Life and Hawaiian Healing Traditions
Lyons speaks about his upbringing in Hana, where he was raised by his grandmother who taught him traditional Hawaiian healing methods. From a young age, he helped with treatments and learned about native plants and their medicinal properties. He reflects on how awareness of Hawaiian plants, once seen as weeds, has diminished due to modern agricultural practices involving pesticides and herbicides. Lyons emphasizes that many of the medicines in Hawaiian culture grow naturally and are difficult to cultivate artificially, underscoring the importance of connecting with these plants in their natural environment. - [05:06 → 08:52]
Medicinal Plants and Spiritual Connection
Lyons explains the significance of naturally occurring medicinal plants, such as noni, highlighting that the most potent plants often grow wild rather than in cultivated gardens. He describes the spiritual relationship with these plants, noting that each person may have a specific plant that resonates uniquely with them, often tied to their birthplace. Lyons shares a story about finding a native spiritual plant, Popolo, growing unexpectedly in Austria, illustrating the deep spiritual connection and the universality of Hawaiian healing philosophies. He also mentions plans to expand his teaching, aiming to educate both practitioners and the general public on Hawaiian healing. - [08:52 → 14:41]
Healing Practices and Western Medicine Collaboration
Lyons discusses his interactions with Western medical practitioners on Maui who consult him for advice on patients they cannot fully help with Western medicine. He highlights the growing recognition of Hawaiian healing methods and the importance of honoring local culture in healthcare. Lyons also touches on the role of animals and insects in identifying medicinal plants, as they react instinctively to the plants’ properties. He stresses that plants are sensitive to environmental factors such as sound, light, and human interference, which affects their healing energy. This segment emphasizes the holistic and relational nature of Hawaiian healing — it is not merely about the plant but about respecting its environment and spirit. - [14:41 → 24:53]
Lyons elaborates on the meaning of “Aloha,” explaining that it has three distinct but interconnected forms:
- The way Hawaiians greet and interact with visitors and outsiders, often seen as a friendly, welcoming gesture.
- The deeper, more intimate form of Aloha practiced among native Hawaiians themselves, which encompasses family, respect, and community.
- The universal Aloha, which predates humanity and is a spiritual force existing throughout nature and the universe.
He shares words he uses in ceremonies to capture the essence of Aloha: peace, happiness, compassion, contentment, energy, sexuality, and ecstasy. Lyons explains how these elements are essential parts of life and healing, highlighting that sexuality, often misunderstood, is a natural and vital force within indigenous worldviews.
- [24:53 → 33:59]
Aloha as Indigenous Spirituality and Healing
The discussion continues with Lyons pointing out that in Hawaiian healing, the practitioner is not the true healer but rather a facilitator who brings together the plant, spirituality, and the patient. The patient’s own will to heal is central to the process. Lyons reflects on the drastic changes Maui has undergone over his lifetime, noting how development has transformed the landscape and communities, especially Hana. Despite these changes, he believes the Hawaiian culture and its aloha spirit persist, adapting but holding onto its core values. - [33:59 → 41:53]
Lyons shares the complex feelings about Hawaiian sovereignty, recounting how his grandmother lost hope for Hawaiian independence after Hawaii became a U.S. state in 1959. He respects the movement for sovereignty but recognizes the immense challenges ahead. He emphasizes the importance of cultural preservation—language, traditions, land stewardship—and talks about “kuleana,” a Hawaiian concept of responsibility and care for the future generations, culture, and land. Lyons underscores that understanding one’s roots and cultural identity is crucial for maintaining this kuleana. - [41:53 → 45:14]
Global Interest in Indigenous Culture and Spirituality
Lyons describes how indigenous cultures, including Hawaiian, are gaining global attention for their spiritual depth and resilience. He recounts his experience being invited to Munich, Germany, to consult with a museum on Polynesian artifacts and cultural representation. This illustrates the respect indigenous knowledge is increasingly receiving internationally. Lyons highlights how indigenous cultures have survived despite historic oppression and cultural loss, becoming sources of guidance in a world facing spiritual and environmental crises. 
Maintaining Aloha Amid Global Challenges
Lyons asserts that Aloha is a gift from ancestors and the earth, a force that sustains individuals and communities even in difficult times. He connects this to a universal human need for peace and compassion, emphasizing that carrying aloha in one’s heart can counteract negativity encountered in daily life. Jason shares a personal anecdote about growing up in a diverse environment where love and respect transcended racial divides, illustrating aloha as a natural way of living and relating to others.- [48:43 → 53:45]
Changes in Hana and Environmental Concerns
Lyons reflects on Hana’s changes, noting that while the physical landscape and buildings evolve, the spirit and character of the people remain constant. He expresses concern about the impact of tourism and development, especially traffic and overcrowding at natural sites like waterfalls and national parks. Lyons advocates for sustainable tourism solutions that minimize environmental damage, such as reducing car traffic and promoting alternative transportation methods. 
Community Leadership and Hope for the Future
The conversation turns to local governance, with Lyons expressing cautious optimism about new leadership in Maui. He hopes the mayor and council will address issues such as overdevelopment and environmental preservation. Lyons stresses that while government plays a role, ultimate responsibility lies with the people to protect their culture and environment. He highlights the importance of integrating Hawaiian cultural values into policy and community life.- [56:22 → 57:07]
Closing Remarks
Jason Schwartz thanks Lyons for sharing his insights and wishes him well on his upcoming trip to Europe to continue teaching and spreading aloha. The segment closes with acknowledgments to sponsors and the radio station supporting the program.
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- Key Themes and Concepts
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- Hawaiian Healing and Herbal Medicine: Rooted in natural, wild plants with spiritual connections; importance of environment and plant spirit.
- Aloha: A multi-faceted concept encompassing greeting, cultural identity, and universal spiritual force.
- Cultural Preservation: Language, traditions, and kuleana (responsibility) are crucial to maintaining Hawaiian identity.
- Challenges of Modernity: Development, tourism, and statehood have transformed Maui and Hawaiian society but have not erased cultural resilience.
- Community and Leadership: Hope for local governance that respects Hawaiian values and promotes sustainable futures.
00:00
[Music] good morning I’ve been around for so many man sold away [Music] [Music] what his hand [Applause] please [Music] all these buttons good morning this is Jason Schwartz I am here it’s Oh January 28th 2019 that’s funny when I say those those numbers 2019 I have a wonderful guest here today with us you know we’re on every week and we talk about all kinds of things art music ideas water power I have a guest who is here Caju Lyons Naone who is from Hana welcome to our show Aloha Jason I have
known Lyons a long time ago I remember when you were teaching Wow uh-huh oh god I don’t even know I was very much younger at the time probably something music yeah almost 30 years ago I think quite a while ago it was a very go I mean and I always thought that this was a wonderful gentleman who we learned about a Hawaiian herbs and Hawaiian plant life and just really felt a lot for you and you were doing other kind of stuff at the time but now over these years I’ve seen how you’ve really got
02:04
out there you’re now Kahu lyons Naone the other thing in Hana what do you do out there I know you had well you know I was born and raised there so uh okay so and you know all about that I learned and all the Hawaiian healing that I do that I learned my grandmother and I was raised by my grandmother I didn’t keep a hula actually and you know my whole youthful life from about 6 or 7 until 14 when I went away to cominius schools was basically I was helping my grandmother and learning and and actually doing some
02:42
all of our treatments and some of the coop wound over there and so that’s kind of how it started and you know going for that long you know it stucks and it stuck good yeah remember is that you told us and I’m like I say I that was 25 years ago when you were teaching us what these things were and how we might see them and think of them as just a weed lion air in it it actually was amazing to see that the things that were around us and how many things were right there in the Hawaiian culture are already embraced it
03:22
and was using it and we just plow them down and spray them with Roundup yeah you know you know it’s you know the what we call the NA Haley Haley now Haley Haley means to grow all over the place those were the actual medicines now it’s hard to find because you know there are pesticides most of the places are you know they they’re so particular in how they grow their things and around and and things like that that you don’t find those natural it’s hard to find those natural medicines and if you do you have
04:03
to be very careful when you pick them up from well you know I I remember when I first became a non profit Bruce BB was here he had Maui epicenter and when you’d go to his house he lived in keyonnah Kai Heights and chier all his neighbors had manicured houses but he had a house where he let things grow naturally he may have planted things but they grew naturally and he became you know the one that the neighborhood didn’t particularly like but he was doing the same thing yeah you know you know that’s interesting because
04:34
recently about a year or so ago I was talking about coming back and and teaching the hall up now again and things like that and somebody tried to persuade me to hook up with with the hunter ranch and that we could make a medicinal garden and things like that and they said no you know the medicines I need are the ones that are naturally up there you know it’s not the ones that we’re going to plant and cultivate and and you know manicure no they’re the ones that are naturally up there and we
05:06
it’s up to us to go up there and and find them and connect with them one of the things that I remember I remember when we talking about Nonie and I can have a whole grove of Nonie one that has the most power is the one that’s growing off by itself right that was like you know besides that you know it just isn’t you know like say you looking for noni is just not noni is not just Nani there’s a noni for Jason and it’s up to me to find that one that particular no need for Jason
05:42
swats that I need to get is is there and I gotta connect with it I can drive down the road and see noni all over the place but that’s not the one and 
06:17
is from and get that medicine from that place because it is 402 that person if not then I’ll go to my place okay and get it Brooklyn New York does I don’t think they had much known well let me tell you sorry I was up in Linz Austria and I was going to give a la Ola per hour it was called actually a healing Hawaiian healing philosophies and part of it was hoping upon our spiritual healing Ilona RA and herbal but I thought God I just don’t have medicines up here you know and I said the basic spiritual medicines
07:06
is la e which is the green tea leaf and then also Popolo and okay those are like the three spiritual ones we use for spiritual things and where am I gonna find that it’s no way and one day I was walking in a hark up there it’s kind of exercising and for some reason I got drawn into the bushes and I went in the bushes and guess what I found I found a polar plant yeah a polar plan which I thought only grew in the Pacific yeah and I said Wow and about week later when I had the lecture I went there I asked the plant can I
07:49
08:23
you know things like that amazing well you know I I’m so glad to hear that you’re thinking to be I don’t know if you’ve been teaching it all along probably some but you’re gonna be doing it even more now that’ll be really good I’d like to yes and I’m looking at different venues to do some teaching and things like that more for education rather than for practitioners or practitioners you got to be very selective you gotta be careful and who you get then there’s got to be a
08:52
commitment and they have to be able to to follow that discipline so but more generally able to introduce it to practitioners of the Western variety have you seen any embraces well to be honest with you there are some doctors on Maui that I consult with and they are asking me some things about about that and what they can do they have a lot of local patients that they can’t really help in in a sense they don’t really know what to do and so they all call me and say you know I have this patient and
it’s Annette and you know what can we do even had one one doctor asked me for some money for his mother and so yeah it was interesting yes sir I hope that you know just gave him some advice on it and well you know I I know that everyone needs to learn it or an honoring of our local culture it is so much that we can learn from the Hawaiian culture and some of us know that and you’re always looking to learn but you have so much wealth in this culture well there’s so much we can learn from the
10:08
plants and animals because a lot of times we don’t know the medicine the animals will tell us well they’ll show us something that’s it oh my god you know I don’t know if you hurt you remember Uncle Harry Mitchell oh yeah from Kenai okay Cooney his name is Kenichi Mitchell Kahlo come Wow who was Papa colicare and I used to be like partners we kind of went around and did lectures and did stuff like that but Uncle Harry Mitchell was one of the experts on me on being able to see a foreign medicine a foreign plant an
10:47
unfamiliar plant and pick it up taste it and watch how the insects reacted to it and he said he will tell you okay this is good for diabetes things like that and and so if we listen to the plants and the animals they’ll tell us what they can do you know when you mention that it when you talked about you know you could look at them see how the insects react there are new things going on in the world where it’s really always amazing to me that plants are incredibly sensitive to what’s going on around them
11:24
just like you say it can look identical but there really is a big difference and the insect and some of these little creatures that are really close to really do know the difference where we were all blind to it you know that people don’t realize that the plants react to us you know humans we are the ones that interrupt their well-being their aloha their their whole being and you know for instance if I pick up a plan and keep the same plant will be different if I get it from Lahaina and the reason is because sound
effects that light effect said energy affects it you know the noise of the busses going back and forth and stuff like that will change the dynamic of the plant and so you know the easiest way to tell is watch mango season mango season is different in the town areas where there’s a lot of light and the country areas where there’s no light even officials are different because they react the light and the things that we do as humans we don’t realize that we do things that are we think a natural
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normal right but they affect all the natural normal plants and animals around us and so in in la la that’s very important for me to understand okay is this noni tree in the middle of Lahaina or Kihei well is it in people big difference so you not only are teaching about the errors you probably teaching people to be a lot more sensitive and aware just in general because like you say you have to know but they have to also be aware of that stuff that’s a yeah a new level of sensitivity yeah do you find that they get interest
13:24
from non-hawaiians a lot yeah however when you see non-hawaiians I’m talking about modern people yeah they look at medicines like a pharmacy you know they go there what I need for this ok I’ll go get it I’ll put it in the bottle I put it on the shelf for you and you know they know these these type of things and and for us it’s different it’s Ohana there’s a relationship between between that and so in teaching that it’s it’s hard each non-native people about relationships that the plant is actually
14:05
family and we need to we need to bond together and and become partners and you know I always say that in jalapao there’s the physical the plant there’s the spiritual and there’s a practitioner right the practitioners job is not the healer he’s to bring them all together you know to the to to to make it work to bring the patient back to balance and and so it’s there’s a whole different concept and the concept that the the person is involved in their own healing rather than someone outside
14:41
doing it to them yes the the spirituality the plan and the practitioner are just here to assist the real healer which is the patient right if the patient isn’t going to heal himself it’s not gonna happen no matter what practitioner and what medicine or what spirituality you use it’s not gonna happen when you grow up here you grew up in Hana and you learned all this and then I guess I don’t want to use the word invasion cuz it already had happened but you’ve been assaulted as
15:13
you leave Hana forever probably and you’ve seen this island develop to me it looks like New York City I flew in from Molokai into now I haven’t been off I haven’t been off Maui in 13 or 14 years and so when I went away and then flew back I was just in shock that’s from Molokai Molokai he’s got like three stores I think they’re down to one gas station or maybe to one town well on a similar right well you know 1944 I was born right and from there you know at that time even the road to Hana was dirt
16:00
dirt road all the way and it was too rainy muddy you just can’t make it that’s it you can go back side couple but we’re wooden bridges so it’s like a good and good and you know stuff like that there was no car nepali the road to Lahaina was gravel you know and and then you know growing up and watching these changes you know just dairy road when it was it was a dirt road at one time and then now it’s a high road with a lake yeah and a big sand hill over there you know and stuff like that and and you
16:39
know in that industrial everything it was that was a swamp right and you know the plantation we used to go over there and get tilapia you know and we used to watch that and you know and now what is Maui Wow Oh you know and my grandfather lived in Kihei and he and my grandmother had a place called auntie Becky stavarin right he’s smiling have you heard about that you know and at that time my grandfather said to me you know who the heck wants to live in key you know the only thing you have in key is good fishing and well
17:25
the only thing we don’t have in gain always good fishing and but you know Kihei like impossible right how do I mean when we were talking about doing this show and we’re gonna get to it we’re talking about Aloha from an indigenous people’s perspective as someone who’s been here indigenous all this time to see the changes in Maui how has how has the culture survived it’s almost like they’re trying to keep this culture going on is this massive thing that’s come on well you have to understand that my
18:10
perspective you know from here into the ages and things like that there’s three types of Aloha one type of Aloha is how we interact with people and when I say people I’m talking about visitors people that come from different places people from around the world that’s one type of Aloha the second type of Aloha we have is from the native people and that’s the Molly and of Aloha when we greet and and say Aloha is a different Aloha not the way we greet the tourists and and everyone else on the street we come and
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we honey and we do that and there’s a third way of Aloha you know Aloha exists billlions of years before humanity right and Aloha will exist long after humanity is gone it’s us – it’s up to us as humanity to understand that understand that kind of Aloha and the more we understand that Aloha the better chance humanity was surviving you know otherwise you know when we don’t start becoming Aloha how are they the fun thing as a general definition I mean cuz when we talk about wanting to share Aloha around the world
19:39
which I know you’re already going to Europe and sharing about the concept do you how do you define it to them or how do you give it some form for them to understand you know the key thing in these said is for them to understand it that’s the hardest part because every you know I’ve traveled a lot I travel a lot I travel a lot now I you know and in four days I’m going to Europe for six weeks and and and I’ve been to in so many different places and Aloha seems to be the most known word out there and everybody knows
20:19
Aloha is from somewhere in the Pacific most of the noise from Hawaii you know and what is Aloha you know everybody has a different idea about Aloha they say well Aloha should be this should be that and you know it’s difficult because as a native person from where the word originated from but you know Aloha is the word alone you know it’s in all Polynesian nations there’s that same type of greeting you know fellow far your honor you know kia ora you know you know it me if you break it down it may say
21:02
different things but it also it always means the same thing it means that you know there’s a way of being there’s a way you have to be and there’s a way of preserving I was gonna say protecting but it’s more preserving what what we are and who we are and what we need to be like and you know how can you define Aloha well you know when I think of Aloha you know I’m I came there and I had to I heard the word like everybody else but it’s a spirit I think of it as representative of the Hawaiian culture
21:45
where the family structure is different and much more loving auntie’s and uncles are growing up and helping raise the kids it’s not very isolated and separated as in Western they still have families but they’re much more family oriented and yeah you know like I said there were three types of law yeah one is how we interact Aloha and share a law with the outside world with the world at large the other one is how we do it within our Ohana within our native people along our native people
22:21
and the other one is how we are as we walk mother and the Aloha that most people understand is how we interact with the tourists you know how we are on Hana Highway when we’re driving you know Aloha and you know things like that what happens in the native culture that Aloha is a lot deeper so different different how we shared that and basically the Aloha that I was talking about in that’s part of existence you know every tree every animal they all understand and live a sense of Allah the one who has a
23:21
problem is of course humans we read other live alone and you know if you don’t mind I came down you know I have some words that I use that reminds me what Aloha should be you know one is peace it’s gotta be peace you know I say um a lot of times in ceremonies especially up in Europe or in foreign countries and sit down our ceremonies a lot of it and I’ll say Makemake Oh in Malou here Allah Connie and I have an interpreter my wife who has a German accent even which is misaligned and she’ll she’ll interpret
24:03
it it’s a very simple way of saying my greatest desire to be at peace to be at peace within myself Allah is peace Dalai Lama his greatest thing is what happy that’s his greatest thing the second word in Aloha is that I live by is happiness any peace happiness next word is compassion next word is contentment and then you have energy passion ecstasy lust it goes from here all the way up to there and it’s important you know you know I’m starting to go into the sexuality part but you know everything
24:53
started everything natural in existence is because of some kind of sexuality yeah there’s a a male or female they bond and things like that we look at sexuality sometimes in the negative sense but in the indigenous sense we look at okay well this is necessary if you change this you change that too much we’re our dolphin watching is gonna stop dolphins from sexuality because it interrupts their cycle right and so the dolphin population gets slower you know and things like that and so those words
25:31
that I use you know peace happiness compassion contentment you know energy sexuality ecstasy you know all these things from from just peace up to the sexuality to do energy you know you know those those all represent the necessary parts of Aloha and that’s the Aloha from the indigenous point of view when I say indigenous is how we live within our mother earth how we live here that’s indigenous cultural is how we live among each other as Hawaiian people I was just gonna say we’re gonna take a break here I’m with
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ion’s may oniy I’m Jason Schwartz we’re gonna take a break for our our underwriters and then we’ll be coming back and talking more with lyons about Aloha and some more so hang on and stay with us well and while you’re staying with us I’m gonna see if I can see the button it’s fine trills own with me Jason Schwartz would like to thank Naoko motors maui car rentals for their support located at 181 dairy Road across from the fire station in Kailua they’ve served the Maui community for more than
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have a voice and you can call it and be part of our show even today if you’d like 808 8 7 3 3 4 3 5 is our call-in number we are sitting at 3 3 3 dairy Road in Kahului right at the edge of the old swamp lions remember when it was I mean I remember going down dairy road and I’m only here since 88 so I’m a relative newcomer that’s only 30 years ago but it was when it rained you knew if you were going that way you had to sort of figure out how to avoid the lake that for over here yeah that’s you know such a
30:59
massive change I remember when there was no queer Leni highway that cut right across to you know on the way to Lahaina and because dairy road was just a dirt road it was nothing you know and and now it’s it turned into a major corridor and then it it now there’s another bigger one you know that goes from the airport out there and Wow it’s just so much trouble hawaiians I mean you know what people ask me there’s someone asked me last night with all the changes you know this mahi pono buying 40,000 acres plus blah blah
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blah lands is there I guess I know that there’s things going on to try to get the Kingdom of Hawaii re-established as long as I’m here um how do people react I mean how do you deal with that kind of thing and well you know we go through phases and you know we we understand that we may not like everything but some these things I hear there’s some things I’m here to stay we can we can try to hold on to there are those cultural things that we that we hold dear to we can we can try to get
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some form of sovereignty but the reality is that you know once we became a state our chances of becoming an independent nation again you know got less and less and let me tell you something you know my grandmother you know she lived with the idea that some day we were going to be our Hawaiian nation free and independent clear again and in August 1959 when we became a state you know she sat down with me and you know we talked a lot and she said there is no hope we the Hawaiian nation is gone once we become a
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state that’s it and she said but the white people are not gone you know and she was very disappointed because she was very strong about us becoming a nation again and you know I inherited that but also I inherited her her idea that you know what changes happened we’re not always in control of it we can maintain who we are as Hawaiian people as being Aloha and things like that you know we could live our life being angry you know we have to make a decision on how and who we are going to be and I
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support all of those that that are pushing to protect our culture and try to bring back our Hawaiian sovereignty our nation again and things like that but that I don’t get actively involved but I also understand that that’s a tough road it’s gonna be a very tough road well what you said in there that I think is the one that I remember is that the Hawaiian culture needs to be respected and shared because of the richness of how that culture really has so much to give to the world you know
34:38
taking more of a leadership road because here out here 3,000 miles from another land mass was a fully functioning wonderful people that you know when I hear that in Hana they had 50,000 I’m huge numbers of people being supported off the land and now you know we’re worried about food scarcity we only have a small percent that’s just crazy so is that part of what you teach when you’re teaching about medicine or is that that’s a whole different subject you know I you know the culture is who we are you know we
35:19
teach that but the culture also reminds us where we came from and well we know where we came from then of course we know who we are and then of course it teaches us a sense of kuleana we need to be sure that our youngsters in our future the more needs to understand that they know who they are kuleana give our audience so kuleana means it’s that sense of responsibility you know our ancestors at kuleana too for us to be in a law we have a sense of kuleana for our people to be in for our future to be in in Aloha but it Aloha is
36:12
great you know but also we need to understand our culture understand our language understand who we come from you know maintain our you know land ownerships you know land ownership was not that important before and now it’s like you got nothing you don’t have land if you don’t own the land you live on and and things like that kuleana is to be sure that the the connection the cultural connection is not lost and our kuleana to be sure that our future understands this is where you came from not just me but you know
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behind me and all the way to the beginning of time the beginning of existence who we are and we’re lucky because you know I teach in Europe a lot now and most people there do not understand who they are or their culture beyond their great-grandfather they say you know yeah I know my culture my grandfather was this and he came from Poland and he what happened for that we’re not about as funny as I know myself yeah yeah you know for us we have the calippo we have other forms of connecting all the way
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back Wow – you know one of the first things my grandmother taught me it was okay okay Konica poked away neha no Michael acaba cool Kailua geekycon you know and every so often should tell me that it means okay okay Connie light was male darkness was female I know Michael our barn was existence they came together and they had a child talk about cool Kailua and it was male child hey cake Akane No and from then on everything is born born born all the way down to the Sun the Moon the plants all the way down
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you mentioned cool Ipoh that’s like a lineage story fantastic and and also wasn’t really a written language right no so we share on orally through all these generations mm-hmm and you know unfortunately which is it’s good that people have different versions of cumin able the cumin Lipa that is written is a commonly people that came you know to connect with Lilly or Kalani and that but people had their own forums off when the beginning started and it goes down you know down the line and there’s only
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actually two communities written one is by Beckwith I think and the other one is my Leo Kalani but they’re more ku Malik was out there that are not yet written and you know they might be a little bit different but they sell the same story all the way down the details might be a little bit different but they tell the same story all the way down and as always whenever I hear anything from Hawaiian and I’ve been I went to the college over here and I took a course I think everyone should take Hawaii the center of Pacific where
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we got to really get closer to the history and when we get into the culture every aspect seems to always show respect always honoring of the elders honoring of things that really I think should be leading all over the world I I really hope that the you as an ambassador of Aloha we hope to do some more stuff like that the music and culture and be able to be showing it to the world and let them see really a wonderful culture and I feel very blessed to be here and I just hope that everyone can take a
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little time and really learn to respect that Hawaiian culture here you know I music when I got here in 1988 I saw music everywhere and Hawaiian music and other music and it just keeps getting less and less and less what a where do you get to celebrate a chair I guess in families people play family gatherings music more uh-huh but the music is out there you know you know nowadays this my competition is local hano hano awards and this and that everybody’s kind of competing in there but you know it
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really it really lives really there and you’d be surprised some of the great ambassadors that we had because like say is come on come Eva only sure you know he is one of the most popular persons it’s music in Europe everybody knows is I mean you know that’s what stories you go in and is and things like that and the other thing is that you know modern people are starting to look more and more at indigenous people or native people for guidance in spirituality yeah things in the modern
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world are not working haywire and they see that the native cultures a softer they continue to exist even though they’re they dominated by these these big nations and cultures and things like that somehow they continue to exist and one of the reasons I’m up there is because not because I went up looking it’s because I was asked to go up and do something and things like that I don’t know can I show you the story of how I started sure okay I was on a boat in Tahiti with some friends drinking beer and I got a
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message that there was a museum in munching that what it means to come up to there and help with the museum and I said munching what the heck is munching eventually I found I was wanting you to come up and help us with our museum we’re gonna do this whole Oceania thing and but we need a cultural person expert to me expert you know I mean I said I got no time to go to munching you know up there and said no you know and it goes back oh whatever you want you know you can and I started to get really
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cocky yeah first class and I want a limousine and all these kind of things like that okay this is it okay and my friends are like yeah local boy he gave you word now what you would do oh shoot I said I would come if they did that they said yeah you know so I wrote back and I said you know what forget forget all that first-class stuff I’ll come up and help you out and I found out it was Munich it was a State Museum of knowledge and they wanted to put on this exhibit and they asked me to come up and help
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them and do that you know and um you know and I said you have a doctor the person with doctor in the front a name that’s supposed to be the expert on Oceania why do you need me well you know basically they knew and I needed to that there’s a lot of gaps in there that needed to be filled on the most important gaps was the spiritual the rituals the you know ceremonies that I needed you know because all of those artifacts that were taking by Captain Cook and all these other people that are
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now owned by the museum right those artifacts are actually our ancestors and your feeling is in things that you have to be treated properly and things like that you know so I went up there and we did our ceremonies and things like that I helped them you know you know this feather cape does not belong it doesn’t does not hang with this white dress over here and it needs to be here and it’s to me you know all these type of things and you know they’re starting to look at the indigenous cultures and and and and
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realize that there’s something special about them and makes them survive no matter what happens you know especially the german-speaking countries really went downhill after the Second World War because of the defeat and Russia treated them this way America treated him that way and they became almost like nothing and they’re not as bad as what native people go through you know losing their language and things right yeah yet the native people continue to strive and become strong they continue and foreign
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people I know though the german-speaking countries that I go to is this Austria Germany and Switzerland you know they’re like fascinated on this culture and how can these people continue Aloha how can they continue to sing and things like that and smile and say hey you know stuff like that go after going through much worse things in the winter so you know yeah that’s something well I I am when I hear about that kind of stuff that’s one again that’s where Aloha really has so much to teach the world
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and so that’s a great thing that you’re doing the weekend you know it’s really tough right no the world situation the American Scituate all these things are gone is really tough to maintain that that Aloha but if we can maintain Aloha first of all in who we are in our land and if we can maintain Aloha within our Ohana our families along with everybody else in the world is easy it’s easy why because if we if we live a little up in our land and and who we are if we live all over in our families those roots
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you cannot take those boots out right no matter what and you get you can you know go somewhere and I try one of these airports and people are like grumpy as hell I hope I don’t become like that and carrier you carry who you are with you shining example well you know Oh ancestors give us that gift they gave us the gift of Aloha you know actually but the earth gave us that gift our ancestors you know reinforce that in us among each other and so no matter what happens we’re not gonna lose it not
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gonna lose it no matter what people do to us attitude to each other you know things like that at some point I’m gonna have to get along is a good point I know I remember I know just my own little statement I remember I looked back at my high school yearbook and my quote in my yearbook was you know don’t discriminate goodness comes in many colors I wonder why that was my quote in high school well that’s impressive so I was like I was just aware how the world was when I grew up my father was a
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manager of a department store retail and the first store he got was in Harlem which is in New York which is you know predominantly black and most people thought that you know how could that possibly be it was a different time I felt Aloha everyone in the was store and everyone that I knew when I grew up were black I never had any kind of thoughts about it was only afterwards looking back and people making judgments it’s that you know it’s such a natural thing to love each other if we just allow it
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to be yeah it’s an allowing thing and yet you built it from here from personal and then your community and it should just be a natural thing throughout the world yeah well hopefully we’re at the time where like you say the world is going crazy so something good is an even brighter light so I think you know there’s so much turmoil going on in the United States in the world you just kind of hope that they just kind of wake up and say hey you know what you know we’re running ourselves you know let’s let’s
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you know let’s get along let’s let’s live together and so that’s Aloha do you see many changes in I mean I’m just mentioning in Hana you know I know as Hana changed itself over time and in a big way you know it seems always the same when I go the things are built but it’s still me have quiet different kind of presence I don’t know how to even yeah it’s interesting you know over here you know this changes I mean changes are like building is now on building his up and
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that in Hana yeah maybe a house is built you know I remember once um you know I was giving directions to somebody and I said yeah you go down there right until you get you see the purple house then you turn left and so i hunger person said uncle they painted the house so i said okay you go down there and you go to the house that used to be purple and you don’t know what color is it now and I got no idea what and it’s like you know you and it was painted five years ago five years before it’s that kind of stuff but what doesn’t
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change is that how people are there that doesn’t change yes they get stronger in sovereignty and things like that but when it comes down to greeting a stranger and and and how to interact with their families and things like that that doesn’t change at all and so what happens is that the place doesn’t change it’s the same you know and we don’t really want it to change this talked about maybe a big subdivision coming up you know wealthy subdivision and things like that and stuff like that but you
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know we’re kind of hoping that it’s not going to change too much I mean Hasegawa store is down Hasegawa store you know the house Eagle store right now is in the old movie theater because the old Hasegawa store burned down years ago and they’re talking about building a new house in our store and but you know it’s basically the same and I tell you what the first chance you know I almost never got a little why it’s like landing in LA even worse no and I almost never come out here I
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come out here a couple of one day once a week or something only because I have to and as soon as I can get back to Hana I’m gonna go back and I’m gonna pick the time to travel when the tourist traffic is the least well that turns traffic is something I tell you when will they say when you know yeah I heard people talk about carrying capacity there are is not enough rows enough place to park you go to keep a Hulu to the falls there mm-hmm it’s like city of cars and people it is you know the strategic plan for the
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National Park at one time we’re talking about and I said well we want to enlarge the parking lot and things like that and we were kind of complaining you know why he wanted enlarge a parking lot so way it’s not big enough then there’s another place for cars I said well it’s never gonna be big enough you know you need to bring tourists up there in a different way and and you know you’re just gonna enlarge it large and large and it’s just gonna be the crowd gets bigger and
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bigger bigger it’s over the top you know yeah you know let’s let’s do some quality changes where we can you know we want to minimize the impact of the National Park you know and things like that and you know it do it more and more and more rental cars and is there yeah well I’m do you think we’re gonna have I don’t know I guess it’s just a think now that we have a new mayor and council you know can they draw a line it’s okay no more cars when I Drive between here and
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the airport and I see the fields fill the new cars that a part of a new rental fleet just extraordinary yeah how many vehicles we have what are we doing I don’t know if they can do that you kind of hope that they would I think they’re sensitive to that the new mayor Mike yeah the old frenum I mean longtime friend now now we have tonight mayor you know instead of my cousin that kind of stuff like that I know he’s sensitive to it yes I just hope that we really all of us kind of really relook at this thing
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and stop yeah and start to handle the things that maybe we’re locally I think he makes a good person yeah I think makes a good person I think he’ll you know do good things for the county and you know at least a good person to but Mike’s there now and you know I like Alan well you know we had we had our clashes and I keep thinking that the power is with us the people then the government should as we do they can help us make it better by making laws that will support what we’re doing but I still think it’s up to us
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yeah and I hope that we learn to embrace more of what’s going on with the Hawaiian culture and build and do things based on the more traditional and yeah you know you know I’m in the movie kuleana yeah and Mike show that on his campaign he showed it in Hana and I was with him and they pulled him to the side this is Mike you know it if you ever need help with culture if you think I can help you give me a call I’ll sit on your board I’ll do whatever I can then good and he said you got it right
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can you believe we’re running out of time I got another 30 seconds or so my goodness Lyons they own a car Lyons now from Hana I’m Jason Schwartz we’re gonna have to do this again Lyons have a wonderful trip to Europe thank you for being with us we’ve done already yeah raising click hey take care everyone the neutral zone with me Jason Schwartz would like to thank NoKaOi motors maui car rentals for their support located at 181 dairy road across from the fire station in Kahului they’ve
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served the Maui community for more than 30 years with services and used cars and automobile rentals
