About Kahili Long Cummings

Auntie Kahili was born and raised on the island of Maui.  Maui no ka ʻoi!  She was the sixth child in a large, loving family of 15 children.  Her mother, Ida Pakulani Kaaihue Kaianui, was trained as a kumu hula, and she and her husband, Henry Long, nurtured in their ʻohana a love for and appreciation of all things Hawaiian.  Auntie Kahili also benefitted from the instruction she received from her older sister, Mae, and Alice Mahi Keawekane, during kumu Keawekane’s years on Maui.  The Long ʻOhana was active in church and community events, USO shows, and social affairs, sharing their talents and expressing love for their homeland.

Besides becoming a kumu hula, Auntie Kahili taught school and naturally incorporated Hawaiian values, understandings, and lifeways into her work with children.  She established her own keiki hālau, Ka Lei O Hiiaka, to further nurture and support the young ones in her community.

Two of her sisters became well-known and respected kumu hula on Oʻahu, including Mae Long Loebenstein and Leiana Long Woodside.  Auntie was a humble soul but one who was regularly sought out and recognized as a primary resource on Maui for hula and “Hawaiian kine things” as well as quilting excellence and her lauhala creativity.  Auntie Kahili was Maui, through and through.

External Resources
Thelma Kahili Long Cummings Obituary (The Maui News) - Findagrave.com
https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/103095520/thelma-kahili-cummings