R. Makana Risser Chai

Students of Hawaiian ways remembered carefully enerything that was taught them.

The kupuna said, "There is no cure for sharp temper."

Mary Kawena Pukui said mana must be used well, or it is lost.

A kahuna must hana ka naau a loihi, make the heart long ...

Kahuna Daddy Bray spoke of the signs a child could be a kahuna.

John Desha, chief of Hui Kamehameha, spoke at the rededication of Keaiwa Heiau in 1951 about the training of a kahuna.

Health is important!

Does this boy have the soul of a kahuna? Who do you know who does? I think of Kumu Dane Silva.

I wonder what certain things might happen upon a child's birth so it was known that the gods had decreed they should become kahuna lapa'au?

Bernice Pauahi Bishop Museum

Hi'iakaikapoliopele by Kāhealani Wilcox, at Capitol Modern state art museum.

How I miss Kekuni!

Does anyone do this today?

Everyone in old Hawai'i gave lomilomi. Are there families where that happens today? I hope so.

What a blessing to see this tradition continue today.

My French grandmother would often give me--the first born--massage, and she taught me massage. Did you receive lomilomi as a child? What do you remember?

The ho’ōla heiau or healing temple of Keaīwa was restored in 1951, before much access to the Hawaiian language newspapers. Keaīwa per Pukui and Elbert, “Lit., the mystery (said to be the name of an early priest and to refer to his mysterious healing powers).” Has anyone researched nupepa for information about Keaīwa that might open the possibility of additional restoration?

I can imagine a whole movie about this person, the kualapehu. This is all we have--not found in Malo, Kamakau, Ii, Kepelino, Pukui or anwhere else. Please note, this was welcomed by all concerned. This does not justify anyone, especially a lomilomi person, from inapproprate touching.

“Among Waikiki beachboys, it was almost as popular as surfing. David Kahanamoku, one of Duke’s brothers, gave lomi lomi all his life and used to work on Duke during his swimming and surfing championship days [about 1910 to 1930]. The beachboys would set up a surfboard on sawhorses and use the hand and elbow method of lomi lomi. The hotels halted the practice in the mid-1950s, complaining that Waikiki was beginning to look more like a sanatorium than a beach.”

Nā Mo‘olelo Lomilomi p. 23-4

Hamohamo is also the name of Queen's Beach. Lili'uokalani wrote in 1898, "Hamohamo is justly considered to be the most life-giving and healthy district in the whole extent of the island of O'ahu..." Have you experienced the "glow of health" there?

Various words were used to describe the lomi practitioner. The research suggests that healing kahuna who used lā'au lapa'au, hāhā, and other treatments used lomilomi, but I was unable to find any historic source that referred to a "kahuna lomilomi." Instead, the one who did lomi was called a servant or kanaka or even kauwa.

Jarves and other early visitors thought that receiving lomilomi had the same effect as exercising. I would love to get a lomi every day to test that hypothesis! How about you?

Coming from a western perspective, I did not understand this when I first learned about lomilomi. But I learned the basis for much of Hawaiian healing was to start by cleaning out the system. In that respect, the lomilomi was essential for good health.

Kumu Dane was the first author I read who talked about all of the old ways as happening in the present. Which of the non-massage lomilomi modalities is your favorite? I like cleansing :-)

What has been your experience with lomilomi for asthma or coughing?

Even when I receive a lomilomi to relax or limber up, so much more is going on! What is your experience?

Ka'onohi Award for Kumu Dane Silva, honoring his contributions to the health and well-being of Native Hawaiians throuh his work in traditional healing.