How we chose kumu to be in the book

Someone just asked me what process photographer John Kalani Zak and I went through to pick the kumu lomi in our book, Hawaiian Massage Lomilomi.

We started of course with the luminaries of lomilomi and la'au lapa'au - Henry Auwae, Margaret Machado, Kahu Abraham, Kalua Kaiahua. But we wanted to show the younger generations, too. We called people we knew mostly through the Hawaiian Lomilomi Association. Others I knew from working at the Lomi Shop.

But we always felt it was really God's decision as to who got in the book. Some people were available, others were not. It always seemed to be in Divine Order.

One of my favorite moments came when we met to take pictures of kumu Alva Andrews at Bellows Beach. We envisioned a deserted stretch of sand and sea. Instead, the beach and ocean were teeming with people. As we stood there waiting for Alva and wondering what to do, it began to rain. Then it began to pour. Everyone packed up their stuff and left the beach. 10 minutes later Alva arrived, the sun came out, and we got our pictures.

Mahalo ke Akua!