‘Origin and connection’: Inside the island tradition of large-scale family reunions

HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) – In Hawaii, ohana, or family, is an important part of island life. That’s why family reunions are such a big deal here.

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For the Yan Qoung Ching family, it’s a family tradition that began 40 years ago.

Every other year, the six surviving siblings of Yan Qoung and wife Kam Tom Ching and their families gather in Honolulu to honor the past and look forward to the future. Daughter Loretta Nekota explained why she took the lead in making this family gathering a reality.

“It started at my home 40 years ago when I had a few nieces visiting from Hawaii on the mainland, and a nephew dropped by, and about 10 minutes in the conversation, the nieces said auntie is that guy related to me? And I thought to myself, you know, they’re first cousins, and this is not right,” says Nekota.

On her next trip back to Hawaii, she got her brothers and sisters together and explained what had taken place at her home. That is when they collectively decided to organize and implement what has become a biennial event. It’s obvious that this is no small party as relatives fly in from all over the continent to celebrate together as a family.

“We tell the kids that family is very important. They’re the ones that are going to be standing by you till the end of time. And you need to know each other and you need to keep a bind with each other.”

Meanwhile, the Nakasato-Yamashiro family of Oahu also shared the same sentiment of bringing family members together.

This past summer, they had their first large-scale reunion on Oahu. Cousins Steve Nakasato and Mitzi Day worked with each other and other cousins to organize and reunite the relatives from all over.

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Both believe it is essential to bring family together.

“With everyone being so busy, and with the world the way it is, it really helps to have a sense of family and origin and connection, because I think a lot of connections are loosening and just disappearing,” says Day.

All told, more than a hundred relatives participated in this get-together, spanning multiple generations, everyone enjoying each other’s company and sense of family.

“We realized fun wasn’t just a whole bunch of activities and keeping people busy. The fun part was the socialization, the families connecting with each other, so just creating time for everybody to sit and talk,” says Nakasato.

While the Nakasato-Yamashiro reunion is not a recurring event like the Chings’, it’s definitely a possibility as the elders in the ohana make a plea to the younger members of the family.

“Come on, younger generations, you have the skill, you have the energy, and, you know, we’re ready to share and let you take the reins,” says Day.

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And that is certainly a way to keep it all in the ohana.