Pictured R to L: Dr. Dee-Ann Carpenter, JABSOM Assistant Professor in the Department of Native Hawaiian Health, ties the kīhei for Dr. Nina Beckwith, JABSOM MD 2018. Deborah Manog Dimaya Photo.
By Deborah Manog Dimaya, UH Med Now
The University of Hawaiʻi (UH) celebrates six new kauka ʻopio (young physicians) of Native Hawaiian ancestry entering the medical community from the graduating Class of 2018, especially as the John A. Burns School of Medicine (JABSOM) continues to be the nation’s only accredited medical school with a clinical department dedicated to the health of an indigenous people of the U.S.– Native Hawaiians.
The new physicians are honored at an intimate ceremony where they are cloaked with a traditional kīhei, a garment worn over one shoulder. The young doctors previously designed their own kīhei, using traditional Native Hawaiian techniques to print images unique to their individual journeys into medicine. The Native Hawaiian Center of Excellence at JABSOM and ‘Ahahui o nā Kauka sponsor the annual kīhei event.
In this video (below), hear our six newest Native Hawaiian MDs describe the meaning of their individual kīhei designs.
Read the video transcript.
Dr. Leimomi Kanagusuku, of Waiʻanae, dedicates her kīhei to her grandmother, whom she spent a lot of her childhood with, working in their family’s malā (garden).
“I did a lot of leaf work down at the bottom and at the top because she’s (her grandmother) what is my foundation and the thing I’m striving for to make her proud,” says Dr. Kanagusuku.
Dr. Monika Young, of Kailua, also honors the memory of her tūtū (grandmother) by including the pulelehua (Kamehameha butterfly) on her kīhei.
Dr. Monika Young, JABSOM MD 2018, is cloaked in her kīhei. D. Manog Dimaya photo.
Strands of a maile lei are decorated across Dr. Nina Beckwith’s kīhei to represent the strength and beauty of her blended family. The Kailua native has family ties in New York and Hawaiʻi island, as well as in Waiʻanae, where she met her hānai (foster) family while working as a middle school teacher. She also mentions close friends and mentors that she now considers as family from the University of California-Davis — where she received her undergraduate education — and JABSOM’s Department of Native Hawaiian Health.
Dr. Quinlinn Adolpho, a proud Kahuku High School Red Raider and former New Mexico State University football player, also decorated his kīhei with symbols of his family– specifically a sun and a moon to represent his parents, 11 mountains to represent his siblings and five homes to represent his five children.
Dr. Nohea Leatherman-Arkus, of Honolulu, calls attention to the rough edges of two mountains on her kīhei, that represent herself and her husband.
“We’re trying to keep our life in line, but it’s super hard so that’s why it’s not perfect,” Dr. Leatherman-Arkus says. “But we do our best every day.”
Dr. David Bailey, of Mililani, also included mountains on his kīhei, referring to the common use of mauka and makai (the mountains and the ocean) as points of direction in Hawaiʻi. The mountains on his kīhei symbolize his family and friends who have supported him and provided him with direction on his path towards becoming a physician.
The one common design across all of the new doctors’ kīhei is nalu (waves), which they said represented the entire JABSOM Class of 2018.
While the nalu design holds many different meanings for the kauka ʻopio, Dr. Nina Beckwith speaks about waves and the ocean in regards to its healing abilities.
“Our class is very loving, very full of life and energy,” Dr. Nina Beckwith says. “And they’re going to bring so much healing to the communities that they’re going to.”
See all photos from the 2018 Kīhei Ceremony
A longer video covering the ceremony, below, includes the full speeches from all six kauka ʻopio describing the chosen designs for their kīhei.
Watch our long version video:
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