When I was pregnant with our twin girls, my husband attended an event celebrating the changing of the seasons, at the base of Diamond Head, which is also known as Leahi.  At that time, this celebration was lead by Kumu John Keolamaka'ainana Lake, an esteemed kumu hula and kahu.  My husband listened intently as Kumu Lake made a reference to Diamond Head, calling it "Mahinaona 'o Kakahiaka," and my husband incorporated this reference into the name of one of our twin daughters.  

Upon deciding to open our own medical practice, my husband and I went back and forth to settle on a name.  We had thrown some names around, but nothing felt exactly right.  We knew what type of medicine that we wanted to practice; one that focused strongly on preventive care.  We also knew that the best preventive care involves being a part of a community, something that we felt many people lacked a connection to.  It was the health of a community that helped individuals to stay healthy.  Not individuals simply living and residing side by side, by individuals interacting, connecting and behaving in ways that supported health.  We also knew that ideally we would want to be located in Kaimuki, a community where my husband's grandmother, mother, extended family, as well as he and his sister were raised.  We had also lived in nearby Kapahulu for 6 years, raising our twin girls and son in the same house my husband grew up in; four generations in this one community.  We were so blessed to find the perfect location for our practice, situated in the community we had hoped to come back to; Kaimuki.  One day, I came home from a run and felt that the name of our practice should be called Mahinaona.  I shared this feeling with my husband and he instantly connected with it.  It represented the journey of where we came from and where we wanted to go, and it referenced this very special community that we would begin our medical practice in: Kaimuki.

For the past 5 or 6 years, we have attended the celebration of the changing of the seasons as a family, with Kumu Lake's Halau; a celebration that is open to the public to participate in.   Kumu Lake passed away in 2008, but the changing of the seasons (Huli Kauwela) celebration has been continued by Kumu Lake's former student, Kumu Sam Ohu Gon, who is also one of the leading scientist at Hawaii's Nature Conservancy.

We marked the opening of our practice on May 1, 2017.  On May 2, 2017, we gathered for the celebration of Huli Kauwela, in commemoration of what we hope to achieve with the work that we do: a changing of the seasons in medicine.  No longer do we want to practice medicine in such a way that we are practioners that fix problems, fix the body, after it is broken.  We want to help our patients and their families to be strong in order to decrease the chance of breaking in the first place.  We hope that by focusing on preventive health care from prenatal and infancy stages, we can help our patients and our community live longer and healthier lives.  

Huli Kauwela is a celebration that takes place at the site of the heiau Kupalaha, at the base of Diamond Head, otherwise known as Leahi.  From its altar, Opunaha, the stetting of the sun would be observed by the kahuna, Hawaiian priest, on the day where the sun would set into the bowl of Pu'u 'o Kapolei.  This would make the end of Ho'oilo, the cool wet season of Hawai'i, and the start of Kauwela, the hot dry season of Hawai'i, and the activation of the heiau of Ku. 

During the celebration, the halau (school of hula) of the former Kumu Lake, would chant the exit of Lono, the Hawaiian god of agriculture, and welcome the entrance of Ku.  While Ku is the Hawaiian god famous for the god of war, he is also known as the god who has a responsibility to protect and provide for 'ohana (family) and the community.  For every type of work that a Hawaiian performs, there are forms of Ku that would be worshiped.  Ku is referenced as being a god of strength and healing. 

Kumu Sam Ohu Gon and his haumana (students) share a chant to the setting sun, as it drops into Pu'u 'O Kapolei,  During the changing of the season, the sun sets over Pu'u 'O Kapolei in the mahinaona when observed from the Opunaha at Waikiki. 

Below is the referenced chant:

Ke aui nei ka lā -- Welo! Welo!
Ke mōlehulehu mai nei -- Nakolo! Nakolo!
ʻO ka napoʻo ana i lalo -- I ka mole o Lehua!
Ma ʻalihilani -- E moe! E moe!
Aloha e, kukulu o ka lani
Aloha e kukulu o ka honua
ʻAuē! Anuanu oʻu mau iwi hilo nei --

The sun is lowering -- Setting! Setting!
Dusk approaches -- Crawling! Crawling!
Sinking below -- at the base of Lehua!
On the horizon -- To sleep! To sleep!
Aloha to the foundations of the heavens
Aloha to the foundations of the world
Aue! I am chilled to the core -