Kauila Poaha Reyes

Uncle George Naope, among others, told us about this wonderful Kumu on Molokai who we should talk with, so we sought her out. Auntie Kauila was in her 80s by the time we met her and still actively teaching children Hawaiian language, values, music, and hula, and she also had her kūpuna dancers in hālau. Even in her senior years she was youthful and energetic, singing with her ʻukulele seamlessly and beating her ipu down on the floor with ease! Auntie invited us to her home along the shore at Kalamaula, as well as her classes in Kaunakakai. She was the reason HPS taught a year-long program on Molokai focused on Hula Papa Hehi (Treadleboard Dance). She told us she wanted to learn the “slipper dance” as she called it, because it greatly intrigued her! We thoroughly enjoyed Auntie’s sweet, down-to-earth ways.