Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 36, Number 8, 1 March 2019 — He lei poina 'ole ke keiki [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

He lei poina 'ole ke keiki

j HE HO'OMANA'O v > IN MEMORIAM f~

A beloved child is a lei never forsotten

By Senator Kaiali'i Kahele Hawaiians use proverbs to teach kuana 'ike Hawai'i or the Hawaiian way of thinking. In this proverb, "He lei poina 'ole ke keiki" speaks of a child that is so beloved, she is never forgotten. Aunty Diana Puakini Aki is indeed a beloved child of Hawai 'i who will never be forgotten. As a child growing up in Miloli'i, I would observe after a kūpuna had passed how the elders in the village would gather specific flowers, shells and items that recognized and honored the life of the deceased. The first item was the liko. The liko represents foundation, the beginning stages of the life of a lehua. The liko teaches us to remember the beginnings. Aunty Diana was ahead of her time, An incredible singer and amazing storyteller. She learned how to sing the old songs the "old way" from her aunties in Miloli'i, Tutu Melekule, Lokelani and Ukuli'i. She would imitate these voices until she mastered them and then she would adopt her own style of singing and the "Songbird of Miloli'i was born. The second item was the Hala whieh are used to represent the passing from one realm into the next. Hala in 'ōlelo Hawai'i means "to pass." It is used in funerals to promote passing from this physical realm into the next where Aunty Diana will be reunited with her loved ones, her husband Fidelis and her Creator. The third item was the wood roses whieh are used to represent an everlasting impression. The wood rose grows on a vine and starts off as a soft yellow flower, bright and bold, and when it reaches maturity, it

turns into wood and ean last forever if properly maintained. Just like her songs, the impression is everlasting. Aunty Diana touched thousands of lives throughout Hawai'i and the world, and her music will be forever considered amongst the classics of Hawaiian music. The fourth item is the oeean

shells whieh represent our kūpuna. When a shell washes ashore, it is evidence of what grew in it and

its design, color and shape reflect the kind of life and environment it lived in.

As we reflect on th many of our kūpuna who have done great things and have passed, we add Aunty

Diana to those rare treasures of the vast oeean of kūpuna of who's knowledge we

ean access because of the imprint that they have made on their shell of life.

The fifth item is the bright colored tropical flowers

whieh represent growth. When kūpuna like Aunty Diana plant seeds in our communities, they grow into a new generation of new bright and bold colored flowers that reflect the beauty of knowledge and DNA that she passes down. Today, a new generation of musicians emulate Aunty Diana and her style of Hawaiian music that all of us were so privileged to be able to hear, feel and experience. Finally is the 'upena or fishing net. The significance of the 'upena are in the maka or the eye of the net, the fish it traps, and the nutrition it delivers. The eye of our kūpuna reminds us that we are a product of them and the lens of whieh we view the world must eome from a foundational perspective. The fish that are caught in the 'upena represent the nutritional qualities of our kūpuna that we want to intellectually digest and remember forever. He Lei Poina 'Ole Ke Keiki A beloved child is a lei never forgotten. A hui hou, Aunty Diana Aki. You will always be remembered. ■ Diana Aki's "Kalihi" album. ■ lllustra1ion: Courtesy ofSongbird Productions

Musician Aunty Diana Aki, "The Songbird of Miloli'i". ■ Photo: Ola Jenkins

Enjoy this video that captures Aunty Diana in Miloli'i in the mid 1980s. https://vimeo.com/40483435