By Mona Kahele

Clouds of Memories is a compilation of historical accounts, place name stories, traditions, and diary entries as recorded and preserved by revered kupuna and Native Hawaiian-language speaker Mona Kahele of South Kona. It is Mona Kahele’s story: a deeply personal account of life in South Kona from the 1930s to the 1990s. Kahele recounts the traditions of everyday, rural Hawaiians, stories handed down from generation to generation about the places and customs that form the core of our culture in Hawai‘i—places and customs that are disappearing.

About the Author
As a young girl in the 1930s, Mona Kahele developed a fascination with writing and began recording the stories her grandparents and others of their generation shared with her. Her first writing materials were bits of pencil and corn husks, hala leaves, and blank Bible pages. In her adulthood, Kahele continued to document the culture and history of her South Kona community. She would serve as a valued community leader, educator, and cultural resource until her death in 2006.