Cultural practitioners who are keeping Hawaiian traditions alive

The past few years have seen a renewed interest in traveling more authentically and learning about indigenous cultures in a more nuanced, respectful way.

Here in the Islands, native Hawaiian cultural practitioners, such as those who work at 3 Four Seasons resorts, are at the forefront of hospitality leaders’ efforts to offer guests hands-on experiences in traditions such as ‘ōlelo Hawai‘i (the Hawaiian language), lauhala weaving, lei making, mele oli (Hawaiian chant), mele hula, and outrigger canoeing. So much more than a tourism catchphrase, the aloha spirit is alive and well because there are ‘ohana who nurture it.

Meet Earl Kamakaonaona Regidor, Pi‘iali‘i Lawson, and Wendy Tuivaioge—cultural ambassadors on Hawai‘i Island, O‘ahu, and Maui, respectively, who are keeping the flame alive.

Until last December, the man affectionally known as Uncle Earl had been a familiar presence at the AAA Five Diamond Four Seasons Resort Hualālai for nearly 3 decades. Guests may have heard his velvety vocals and joyful ‘ukulele in the lobby or witnessed him blowing a pū (conch shell) during a torch-lighting ceremony at sunset. As manager of the resort’s on-site Ka‘ūpūlehu Cultural Center, Regidor helped design cultural activities and programs ranging from feather tying to oli to quilting.

“You can never teach aloha from a book—it comes from within,” he says. “Our guests want to be immersed in the culture, and they want authenticity. Here at the cultural center, we try to show our visitors the real side of Hawai‘i’s culture versus the glitz and glamour of the cellophane hula skirts.”

Regidor’s exposure to Hawaiian culture began at a young age. His father, John, had emigrated from the Philippines to Hawai‘i Island in 1919 to work at the Hamakua Sugar Plantation, where he met and married Mary Mahuna, a full-blooded native Hawaiian. The youngest of 12 children, Regidor was born and raised in Pa‘auilo, a former sugar plantation town on the pristine Hāmākua Coast. He recalls listening at age 10 to his mother talk story about her youth.

In high school, Regidor spent a lot of time with his mother’s brother. “He taught me a lot of Hawaiian values. One of them is, of course, aloha. If one doesn’t have aloha in them, it makes it difficult for them to share true and genuine aloha. Second is ‘ohana—the importance of family, respect, being able to work together, respect of not only a person but the land that we are mere stewards of.”

After high school, Regidor enlisted in the Navy and served 2 tours in Vietnam before returning to Pa‘auilo to work at the sugar plantation. He earned a teaching degree at the University of Hawai‘i at Hilo and taught physical education and Hawaiian culture at Hōnaunau Hale O Ho‘oponopono, the Alternative Learning Center of Kamehameha Schools.

After the center closed in 1996, Regidor applied for a job at the newly developed Hualālai Resort. He hired on as a security guard and was quickly promoted to work as a mea ho‘okipa (hospitality ambassador) at what is now the Ka‘ūpūlehu Cultural Center. Instead of teaching children, Regidor imparted his knowledge of Hawaiian culture to international and domestic visitors of all ages.

After 26 years with Four Seasons, Regidor, 73, passed the torch to Hawai‘i-born Kaaiohelo McAfee-Torco—but his impact on guests will undoubtedly endure. “I would love for the guests to take that aloha spirit back and share it with their family and friends,” he says. “And maybe someday this aloha spirit will encompass this beautiful planet we call Earth.”

“The island of Hawai‘i is still alive. It breathes. The energy here is so different.”
—“Uncle" Earl Kamakaonaona Regidor

Like many Hawaiians who were born after the Second Hawaiian Renaissance, a period

of political and cultural rebirth in the 1960s and ’70s, Lawson knows just how important it is to learn about and preserve Hawaiian culture and traditions.

“My grandmother grew up in the generation where people could get beaten for speaking the Hawaiian language,” he says. “So when she saw me getting into Hawaiian culture, she was so happy because she felt like she wasn’t able to. By me getting deeper into learning about the Hawaiian culture, it also helped bring a little bit of healing to that loss for her, that her grandchild can now continue that.”

Today, as the resident lauhala practitioner at the AAA Four Diamond Four Seasons Resort O‘ahu at Ko Olina, Lawson leads lauhala weaving workshops for hotel guests.

“They’re learning about the plant,” he says. “They’re engaging, and they’re moving their hands. But a lot of my teaching is also diving into the spirituality behind our culture. My ability is to allow people to really get a deeper understanding, appreciation, and respect of our culture.”

“Every part of O‘ahu is like a melting pot, and there are so many opportunities to explore culture.”
—Pi‘iali‘i Lawson

For Tuivaioge, imparting her knowledge of Hawaiian culture in a genuine way is her kuleana (responsibility). Unlike her paternal grandparents, who were forbidden from speaking Hawaiian in public, Tuivaioge, who is half Hawaiian (she also has Chinese and Portuguese ancestry), grew up during the Second Hawaiian Renaissance.

“There was a time in our history when the Hawaiian culture was looked down upon,” says Tuivaioge. “A lot of things were banned because they were thought to be pagan; hula had to go underground. People from that generation passed on all this knowledge to us. If we don’t teach it, if we don’t take the responsibility as kūpuna [keepers of ancestral knowledge], it could fade away again.”

Tuivaioge, 61, has been employed in the tourism industry for more than 3 decades, working her way up from a Four Seasons concierge to director of Hawaiian programs in 2022.

A trained hula dancer and chanter, she sought to dispel the outdated images of dancing girls in cellophane skirts made famous in Elvis Presley movies.

“Hula dancing is more than just pretty movements,” she says. “Every hand motion, every facial expression has a meaning. A lot of guests will tell me that they didn’t realize how much emotion goes into the hula itself, that they can feel it when you’re dancing. When they feel it, that’s something that they carry with them. It makes them remember.”

“Here on the valley isle is where our people dwell and thrive. This is my mana‘o [purpose].”
—“Aunty" Wendy Tuivaioge

Rachel Ng is an award-winning food and travel writer based in Volcano, Hawai‘i.