 I'm Marcia Joyner, and we are navigating the journey. And today our journey is into a world that, if you're less than 50 years old, you don't know. We are journeying into the world of traditional Hawaiian music. My guest is Mihanah Aloli Sousa. Aloha. Aloha. Thank you for having me on. It's really nice to be here. It is a real pleasure. Mihanah is, well, she grew up in the old tradition of Hawaiian music. When music was played all the time in the family, wherever you went, and be at a dressy party or family dinner or what have you. And Mihanah was, as her name implies, was born into a musical family, the great Irmgard Farden. We'll get in the Farden, Aloli. So, tell us about Mihanah. Well, I am one of seven children. And from the time that I can remember, my mother gathered the children around and we sang with her. I remember one of my first memories is being in the kitchen and maybe two or three with my sister and she was teaching me how to be an alto with her music. My mother wrote music and her family played music from when they were little. And my brother's, and so we sang a lot. We sang in church. And we mainly sang with my mother. It was a family thing. And my father was a lawyer, so they had many parties. And always the children would come out and sing. And it was a lovely, lovely way to grow up because you're with all your cousins and they're singing and you were surrounded by music in this beautiful place that people call paradise and we get to call home. Well, now your home was Maui. My mummy's home was Maui. She was one of 12 children born to the Farden family. My grandfather was Charles Farden, Keiko Farden. He was married to Annie Shaw and he was the Luna or the manager of the Pioneer Mill. So they had 12 children, well 13, but 12 who lived. And they were a musical family. My father and my grandfather loved to sing. He sang in the choirs. There and all of the children grew up singing. So they were known as the fabulous Fardens. And they all had their parts. And I think that just carried on through all of our families. And they not only sang music, but they wrote music, they played music. I know all the children would come to school in Honolulu after the seventh grade they'd be sent away. And they'd always come home, gather around the piano. And one played the saxophone and the violin and the piano and the guitar and the ukulele. And they would consequently play a lot of music. It was wonderful. So, but your home was in, on Maui, was, what is it, Puamana? Puamana was my mother's, where my mother and her family were raised. When they were young, their father built a home on the seashore in Lahaina. And in the front was a stone wall. And on the stone wall was a name that said Puamana. So in researching it, he found out that Puamana was a chief, a young chief. And so he named the home after this chief because that's where it was on the wall. Puamani flower, mana meaning the spiritual strength. And my grandfather liked to think of their family as the flower. All the petals are the children. And that wonderful thing that comes up in the middle are the parents. Yes. Yeah. And so Puamana was born. And many, many wonderful memories are of that place growing up. Singing on moonlight nights, they'd all gather in the front and they'd take their mats out and they'd sing. You know, that's, of course there was no TV. And their lives revolved around church choirs. And they would always have celebrations with the community. And the farting family would always perform. And their sister, Emma, who was a hula dancer, she would choreograph these elaborate plays that they would put on. Well, when you have 12 children, you have the whole thing. They would have the girls swinging on beautiful, you know, with all the flowers. I mean, they had such fun. And that was carried on throughout our lives, too, because we get together with all of the aunts and uncles. Now, but you still play with your sisters. Yes. So tell us. Now, my first memories of you. The bass. Yeah, the bass. So how is it that you played the bass? Well, I was a young mother. I had two children. And I think I was about 32. And, you know, I remember thinking, well, you have to make some sort of money to help with a family. And so I used to do weddings and make headlays and decorate. And, you know, it's really hard because you have to strap the daughter onto your body and go up and pick all of the la wae and go to floor floors. And it got to the point where my friends didn't want to see me because they knew I would raid their yard for the flowers. And so after this really beautiful wedding that I did, and it was like, because it is something that dies, you have to do it last minute. So I hadn't slept for like two weeks. I went to my mother and I said, what do I have to do to play music? Because there's got to be a better way than this. Although it's wonderful. My mother said, get a bass and we'll play music. So I called my cousin, Kekua Fernandez. He said, get up here. I have a bass for you. I took it home that night. My mother taught me how to play the bass in that evening. And I've never had a free weekend since. And that was maybe 42 years ago. Yes. So then, like I said, my memories, of course, or the bass. What is it about the bass, the stand up bass that is so prevalent in Hawaiian music? It is there in every piece of Hawaiian music. What is that? Well, I like to think the bass is the belly of the music. It really adds the depth. I mean, when we're playing music, you bring a bass in and all of a sudden there's this resonance, this depth. And the bass is big. I mean, I used to feel like I was dancing with that bass. It was just the best. And you'd move with the bass. I mean, there's something really special about that bass. And my mother taught me very, very simply, which I, in turn, have taught many people, to the point where it's almost so... It's like, G is here, boom, boom, boom, boom. C is boom, boom, boom, boom. D, I mean, it's just in 15 minutes. I can teach you everything that I learned because the rest is feel. I mean, it's how you feel the movement. And unfortunately, I really should learn the bass the real way, like how to... But it's just so easy to move with the music and the bass with my mother's method, which is simple. And you just set the rhythm and you stay with the rhythm and you give it... It's the belly. That's what my mother says. Even with things like Mary Monarch and all of the music changes with each halal, but you can hear that it is there. Oh, and they're wonderful bass players. And I look at them and they're like, oh, I really have to go learn. And I've tried to learn. So maybe next year. But that sets the tone. Now, tell us, we need to take a break and we'll hear just a little bit of your music. Oh, and then when we come back, we'll talk some more about traditional Hawaiian music and where we are today in Hawaiian music. We have this crazy thing going on today. I was just walking by and all these DJs and producers are set up all around the city. I just walked by and I said, what's happening, guys? They told me they were making music. I saw it do it. I'm Marcia and we're back with my lovely friend, Nihana Sousa. Thank you. And as you know, we only do lovely friends. So, you know, before we go down this road, tell us what your name, Nihana, it sounds Hawaiian, but it is not Hawaiian. I always thought it was a Hawaiian name. And from the time I was little, Hawaiian women and the aunties would come up and say, your name, something's wrong with your name. It's sort of like you need something in the beginning and you need something in the end and it's just something about your name. It's not right. And auntie Napua finally called and she said, you know, your name is not correct and it's not right. So you really have to be careful because you will take on whatever your name is. And she said, so I have to really finish it because these are the things that will happen to you with a name like that. And she proceeded to tell me my life. I was like, oh my gosh. I mean, you would start things but you can't finish it. You have great ideas. Let me see there. Please. So finally, in my early 20s, she called and she said, come. Come into school and come and be with me as much as you can. And I'll pray that we can finish your name. So for several months, my mother and I would go to her Hawaiian classes. And one day she, I mean, there was a wind that came through the room at dark end and she bellowed. Your name is Kaimihana Noeo, which means the one who searches for wisdom. She said, I saw it coming and I thought it was going to be Kaimihana. I thought you were going to be the one who searches for knowledge. But she said, this is your name. She said, you're so lucky because you're beloved and your ancestors have given you this name. And you know, I walked out of there and I felt complete and I was so grateful because prior to that time, I think there was a lot of questioning. Oh, she's visiting us. So finally I get a name complete that my auntie Peggy Kai calls me. She goes, you know, I've been researching the name. Your name is really Chinese. It's Mi Hun. You were one of five flowers from China. The five sisters who lived on the big island. I am, I lie on and Mi Hun. And it's a Chinese name and it means beautiful, gracious and refined. So I felt triply blessed because after all of that, my birth certificate comes to town of which I didn't have one. And my first name is really Irmgard. So, hooray! Hurray. But I like the five. Mi Hun. I like the five. Mi Hun. Yes, Mi Hun. It's so wonderful. So tell us about... So all the bases are covered. Yes. We, here we are in the 21st century in Hawaii, the heart chakra of the world. Oh, really? But we don't hear traditional Hawaiian music. We don't see the loveliness of... Tell us about the music of Hawaii, the old traditional music. Well, I have to say that Puamana is very, very happy to carry on the tradition of traditional music. It's bass guitar and ukulele. Right. And it's three-part harmony. And we've been singing with our... We started maybe, as I say, 42 years ago. So we know all the old songs. And it's just really lovely. We're a family and we're a trio of girls. I also have to share that I think we're in good hands because I have seen many young people sing. And boy, are they good. They know music. They read music. They play music. They speak Hawaiian. Yes. My mother came and she said, I am so amazed that they're speaking Hawaiian. She thought she would never see the language come back in her lifetime. She was not only stunned, but so happy that she saw Hawai'iana come back. She just didn't think that would come. So I really think that it's there because I see so many young people playing. It's just not in Waikiki. I mean, I don't go to Waikiki. Yeah. And I love Waikiki. Waikiki welcomes everybody. But my memory of Waikiki was we would always go down to have breakfast after church. And we would always go for special occasions. You could walk the promenade. You start at the clean surf and then walk down. Yes. I mean, it was the playground of the Pacific. I remember. Member. Yes. I remember that at sunset, you could walk down the beach and every hotel had a showroom and it was Hawaiian music. And it was. And you could sit on the sand and watch. And people would come back year after year and they would know what their song was. I think that it was a special time because there weren't the crowds. There were very specific kinds of people who came for the season and who really nurtured the friendships with the people because that's where we all were swimming. That's where we all went. Everybody served there because that's where life happened. But now you have all the outskirts. I mean, it's very seldom that I'll leave Kailua to go to Waikiki, but it used to be everybody went into Waikiki. There's not enough parking spaces. Oh, no. And you got to share with everybody. We are experiencing welcoming of other people in Kailua. So I can imagine. Oh, Kailua. I mean, the line is so beautiful that we're living in a global economy and a global world where so many people are traveling. So the Hawaiians where it used to be, I remember my father and all his friends, they would play tennis and they would, I mean, I felt like they were the princes of Hawaii because they were the young bulls when I was four and they were so handsome. But they all worked downtown and downtown was, there were a lot of Hawaiians down there. Well, there are lots of other wonderful people. I feel that if you're here, you're Hawaiian. I mean, for some reason I know so many people like you who are Hawaiian. They're just in a different color skin, but they have the spirit is totally there. But it's much, much bigger. And everybody wants to come to paradise. And you've got to share it. This is a beautiful place. But I hope that the music. I did go to my family. I said, why don't we just go down and play on a street corner? Well, now that's an idea. I mean, to have just music on every street corner. I'd love to see Hawaiian musicians on every corner just playing music because that's a wonderful thing that we do. It is. Why don't we just go there and play music, just play music. Just show up. Yeah. Just show up and play. That might be an idea, you know, because I don't see any of that. No, I don't either. And I wouldn't be afraid to do that. I would just really be happy to do that. Maybe sometime we'll do that. Okay. Just go down and just play music. Just set up and let's just do it. And like vie for corners, you know. Yes. And put out your little, you just drop the pennies in here. I mean, that would be a lovely way. Now tell us about this. I've been looking at your ukulele. I've never seen one like this. I'm sorry. I carry this in my car all the time. It's a waterproof ukulele. You can shower with it, sing in the shower, and it's waterproof. So I just went swimming today. And I leave it in my car because it doesn't suffer. Whereas if you have your Martins or Kamakas, you have to be so careful. I know. This is $50. Because it has a really good, it sounds good. It has a really great play. And I mean, it could be really hot. And you know this is living. And it comes in every color. So I mean, I was going to come here and I have, so now I can have my ukulele everywhere I go. And you can get it at Coconut Grove, which is a kailua. It is lovely. And it's just, it feels like a real, yes. Somebody said you should put sand in there, a few glass balls, water at the beach. But it's wonderful. Okay. And as I say, my daughter will paddle out because she serves. And then when she catches a wave, she'll play music coming in. Children, do you have? I have five wonderful children, four boys and a girl. Oh boy. And they're all adults now. Yeah. One every five years. And do you know what? Whenever, four years. Or four years. It gets easier once they get older, but it's not. It doesn't. It gets more involved. Yes. And then they want, they need bigger things. Yes. Used to be toys, books. Now it's houses. Yes. Yes. Yes. But luckily, I mean, they're all away and now they're all home. But you have sons that play music also. Did they play music? Did they play with you? You know, I think, and it might be in my own head, but it seemed to me like the men had to get the real jobs and the women could sing because it was a secondary income. And I remember my father wasn't happy that we were singing. He didn't mind our singing for the family, but he didn't want us to sing for money. And so the girls all played music and the men had to go to work. They had to get real jobs. It's called. But now all my boys play. Oh, good. And I meet with them like I meet one son. I mean, every, we all have times that we practice. And I want that to happen so that when we're together, you can play music as a family. Well, we are just about out of time. However. Oh, darling. No, no, no. What I want everybody to hear, one of my favorite songs that your mother wrote and it is for a peaceful world. It is such a lovely song. And the other day I was driving around at Hanama Bay. And I opened all the car windows and just just vegetating in this song. It is absolutely marvelous. So, Ray, can we, you got it? Thank you so much. You know, it's such a pleasure spending this time with you. Thank you. And thank you for the aloha that you share and that you are. We can follow you. And so you will come back. I love to. And we can talk. I'm taking a lunch. And we'll talk some more and enjoy your music. Thank you. My, this song is my mother's wish and she would say peace be with you. May you have peace in your family, peace in this wonderful Aina, peace in the United States and peace in our world. So God bless you and peace be with you. And every time you sing this, I feel like it's a blessing upon the world. It is. It is. And that's what we all for a peaceful world. Yeah. Listen to a voice and you'll hear a prayer. Listen to a sound and you'll hear a song. Listen to a heart and you'll find a soul. All this for peace and it's the truth. It's just, that's where it is. And that's what we all want. And that's what you are. Well, again, thank you so much for spending this time with you. Peace be with you. Aloha.