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s a filmmaker and storyteller, I have been blessed with the gift of sharing the mana‘o (knowledge) of more than 60 of Hawai‘i’s most revered kūpuna in spirited conversation exploring the cultural legacy they carry in their memory. Each conversation has been a journey back in time into the world they inhabited, through their eyes, and expressed in their words. I first got to know Kumu Raylene in February 1999 in Kohala on the day I was to unload a 45-foot shipping container filled with my worldly possessions and all my film and television production equipment from the mainland. Out of nowhere, this impressive woman with her two handsome, strong sons showed up at my house and announced, “We come to kōkua (help).” Sensing my surprise, she beamed this warm smile with a twinkle in her eye, hugged me, and whispered, “Welcome home.” And then she looked at me right in the eyes and said very seriously, “You were brought here for a reason.” Little did I know that this would be the beginning of a 14-year friendship that would change the course of my life. Kumu would become one of my dearest friends,
Cinephotography and CGI filmstrip by Keith Nealy
Kūpuna Talk Story: Kumu Raylene Ha‘alelea Kawaiae‘a Native Hawaiian Cultural Practitioner
Kumu: We have a variety of programs that we utilize as tools to connect the participants with cultural practices and these values to be able to take it and utilize it in their everyday lives. Keith: Can you give me an example of the kind teaching you do that is outside the normal school curriculum? Kumu: For Hawaiians, one very important area to develop is our inner ‘ike or something you might call intuition. So with students I might have a discussion about what do you feel? Do you have trust in your feeling? Which links us back to the capacity and knowledge of our ancestors—they knew those things. They knew what it felt like. They knew that sense that
KeOlaMagazine.com | March/April 2014
spiritual guide, cultural advisor, and storyteller for many of the films I made about the Hawaiian culture. I affectionately called her my “Pono Meter” as we endless lengthy discussions aboutLeft theatculture, Road fromhad Queen Ka‘ahumanu Hwy (190). Turn Mamalahoa Hwy (180), theshops kaona (hidden meaning), and historical and os and local now occupy historic buildings from Hawai‘i’s past. philosophical perspectives in my quest to learn. rely stroll through our quaint village . . .You’ll be glad you did. She taught me not to let my physical Caucasian “package” get in the way of my storytelling because my heart, my aloha, and my ‘aumakua (spiritual ancestors) would guide me. And she taught me the essence of what was to become my personal mission here on Hawai‘i Island— the importance of building cultural bridges and helping Hawai‘i and the world become a better place. The following is part of a conversation I had with her during the filming of Huliau—Turning Point. We were talking about the kind of work she did at the Queen Lili‘uokalani Children’s Center in Kailua-Kona. Kumu Raylene and Keith Keith: Kumu, tell me about the kind of work you do at the center and how it is different from traditional learning methods.
| By Keith Nealy
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