“You can’t be late,” said aunty Janet Kahaleokomo Friday during the Prince Kuhio Celebration at the Grand Hyatt Kauai Resort &Spa. “You can’t just attend. You need to be here early. Look at that one. She came late so got her ears pulled.”
Kahalekomo was participating in the cultural demonstrations that followed the protocol service celebrating Prince Jonah Kuhio Kalanianaole’s birth March 26, 1871, at a location near the site that is the Prince Kuhio Park.
With three generations of the Kahalekomo ohana in tow, Janet Kahalekomo not only had her children doing cultural demonstrations, they had to participate in the protocol service ,where ho‘okupu were offered by the dignitaries.
“They (the mo‘opuna) are lucky we are busy today,” Kahalekomo said. “They are occupied with their work. Otherwise, they’d be asking to play in the ocean, or eating something. And, they’re not done yet. Once we finish today, we go back to the room and sew the lei for the service hosted by The Royal Order of Kamehameha at the Prince Kuhio Park.”
Kahalekomo said the grandchildren also had to get their attire ready.
“We can’t be doing everything last minute,” she said. “We can’t be late.”
Known as Hawaii’s last reigning prince and the celebrator of traditional Hawaiian arts, Kuhio was described as a “man of commendable sincerity and strong convictions who always stood for what was right, and not yielding to weakness.”
“I’m glad we made it here before the protocol service started,” said Patria Pacis of New York. “We’re here to celebrate our golden anniversary, and are so lucky we happened to be here at this time. We are planning to attend the service at the Prince Kuhio Park because we missed the one at the Marriott’s Waiohai Beach Club and Troy Lazaro. We like coming here during Prince Kuhio. I have the mu‘umu‘u to prove it.”
Julie Souza of the Alu Like program said the kupuna from Alu Like also celebrated Prince Kuhio during their appearance at Nawiliwili Harbor to greet the arriving cruise ship.
Moani Tolentino, Hawaiian culture director at the Grand Hyatt Kauai Resort &Spa, said the Prince Kuhio Celebration is one of the big events on her calendar.
“This is something that aunty Stella Burgess started when she was the Hawaiian culture director here,” Tolentino said.
The Royal Order of Kamehameha, formed by Kuhio in 1903, is hosting their commemorative service at the Prince Kuhio Park today, where they serve as the site caretakers. The processional of Hawaiian organizations and groups begins at 10 a.m.
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Dennis Fujimoto, staff writer and photographer, can be reached at 245-0453 or dfujimoto@thegardenisland.com.
