Aka & Judith Lynne
Written September 7, 2022
Remembering dear Aka on her earthly birthday. Haleaka Iolani Pule was a force of nature, touching so many of us who found ourselves dwelling in the area of Kealakekua Bay and Honaunau on the Big Island of Hawaii. Images that arise from the depths of my consciousness are alive with colorful, sacred, ancient Hawaiian mana. I remember standing next to her on the shoreline at Honaunau, calling to the humpback whales and jumping joyously as one swirled into the bay very close to us. Often when I'd go to the bay for my morning swim, she would be there. Sometimes when she needed to raise some cash, she would have a picnic table covered with her specially made bamboo trumpets (called pu'ohe), that she would decorate with etchings of dolphins, whales, turtles. Sometimes she would have jewelry, made of shells or kukui nuts. You just never knew. She might be chanting, strumming her ukulele, weaving haku leis. Whatever she was up to, I would watch as she stirred the energy, moved the mana and brought in the cash she needed for her family.
One year she agreed to do a special class for one of my sound healing intensives. She met us in a picnic area just outside Volcano Village. She was late and I was nervous she might not come, then I saw the ball of dust rising as she barreled her island hopper up the gravel road. She guided us in gathering materials and weaving our own haku leis. In that area, the ground is mostly a system of connected lava tubes. She had us lay in meditation as she played the earth with her bamboo tubes as percussion instruments. The experience was indescribable.
When I left the island, I had two huge moving sales and was guided to sell almost everything. She heard on the coconut wireless that I had boxes of music to go so late in the day she appeared and asked to take a look at it. She was blown away by the broad selection including some ancient books of arias that my mother handed down to me for my opera studies. Aka got really excited remarking how she wanted to get these books for her mother, who was an accomplished local musician. I hadn't planned on selling these since they were my mother's, but as I watched Aka pouring over the contents of the books, I knew it was a special kahuna blessing on the mother/daughter relationship and on my personal musical journey.
As Aka gathered her items, much to my surprise, she reached into her bag and pulled out a $50 bill. Historically, with Aka, the money flow usually went in the opposite direction. I was struck by the power and blessing of the exchange as the energy flowed towards my purse to fund my movement from the Big Island to Portland.
I learned so much from Aka. It was with such sadness that I learned that on her Aloha tour to Switzerland, she had a massive heart attack and passed through the veils. On my next visit to Hawaii, I found myself searching for Aka as I drove to our usual spots. But she was gone.