Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 14, Number 6, 1 June 1997 — "Aunty Nāmahana" honored for decades of service perpetuating Hawaiian heritage [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

"Aunty Nāmahana" honored for decades of service perpetuating Hawaiian heritage

By Barbra An Pleadwell For nearly 30 years, Lydia Nāmahana Taylor Maioho cared for the bones of Hawai'i's ali'i. "Aunty Nāmahana" was named kahu (caretaker) of Mauna 'Ala, the Royal Mausoleum of Hawai'i in 1966. She retired in 1995. A testimonial dinner was held for Maioho on

iviay Dy rne ivianaio iNamahana Committee — Hawaiian civic clubs and royal societies members. "This (honor) is long overdue," said Jalna Keala, Mahalo Nāmahana Committee chairwoman. "Onee the word got out, response was overwhelming." Maioho's parents, William Bishop Taylor and Emily Kekaula, had previously served as Mauna 'Ala curators. Perpetuating the family tradition of caring for the bones of the ali'i, Maioho's son William Kahe'ekai Maioho now serves as kahu. During Maioho's tenure, Mauna 'Ala has become more accessible to Hawaiians and key to the Hawaiian spiritual renaissance. "Among many other things, she instituted a program of lectures on the ali'i of Mauna 'Ala, and tours of the grounds and ehapel," said Kenneth

Brown, chairman of the board for Queen's Health Systems, and honorary chairman of the Mahalo Nāmahana Committee. "These have become a valuable tradition in passing on to all Hawai'i the wisdom and inspiration of the ali'i." "I remember my first school," Maioho said, "Princess Ka'iulani School is the first tour that I had." She also recalls when Kame hameha Schools

Principal Diana Lord escorted seventh and eighth graders to Mauna 'Ala in the sixties. Maioho remembers when younger Hawai'i school children began eoming for her Mauna 'Ala tours, when school curricula incorporated Hawaiian history for fourth graders in the seventies. "Children are so important — you want to teach them right," she said. Tourists from all over the world have been educated by Maioho about Hawai'i's ali'i. "I tell them, 'leave here with my love and have a safe trip home from wherever you eome from.'" From 1989 to 1994 Maioho served as chair of the Native Hawaiian Historic Preservation Council. She was a charter member of the eouneil in 1988. Those hon-

oring her say she enabled the council's growth from a task force to a multi-faceted advisory group. Maioho was instrumental in recovering iwi (bones) from the Smithsonian Institution in Washington D.C. and escorting them back to the islands. She testified before Congress in support of legislation to mandate the repatriation of human remains of native peoples. Native Hawaiians were the first indigenous people to recover human remains under this legislation. Maioho remembers returning the iwi to Kaua'i. "During the reburial ceremony there were flashes of lightening, then thunder and a sprinkle — we knew that they were happy to eome back." Maioho was one of the original members of the State's Burial Councils, established in 1990 to address the inadvertent discovery of burials. She has been involved with the repatriation of more than 1,000 bones removed by the Navy at Kāne'ohe. "She has a heart that is directly attached to Hawai'i's culture and land," said Miehael Wilson, Department of Land and Natural Resources Chair. "She sets an example of caring and leading without ego." "Aunty Namahana exemplifies the fundamental Hawaiian value of ha'aha'a, humility — she is our role model," Keala said.

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Lydia Nāmahana Taylor Maioho in front of Mauna 'ala where she cared for the iwi of Hawai'i's ali'i for nearly 30 years.

"Aunty Namahana" holding the Hawaiian flag. In the photo behind the inset, is the the top of Mauna 'Ala.