12th Annual Floating Lantern Ceremony

photo by Léo Azambuja

By Léo Azambuja

Molokai residents once again honored their departed loved ones in a touching ceremony on Kaunakakai’s shoreline. A couple hundred people attended the 12th Annual Floating Lantern Ceremony to release wooden and paper lanterns on the ocean Saturday evening in memory of their family and friends who have passed away.

“We invite everyone that wants to come decorate a lantern to honor their loved ones that have died,” event coordinator Barbara Helm said. “We’re all together in this to support each other, and we’re not alone.”

The lantern ceremony has become an annual tradition on Molokai since it was first held on the island in 2014. The event is the result of a collaboration between the Guzeiji Soto Mission Molokai and Hospice Maui Molokai, of which Helm is the bereavement coordinator. 

Guzeiji Soto Mission president Lisa Takata said both organizations are small, but when they join efforts, they have enough power to put the event together at Molokai Community Health Center.

Just like in the Obon, Takata said, the floating lanterns are “a reminder of our ancestors and how important they are to our lives.”

This year’s celebration was a little different than in past years. Usually, all participants let go their small lanterns on the shoreline. This year, they had a choice to load their lanterns on a double-hull canoe, courtesy of Waʻakapaemua Canoe Club.

“This year for the first time, we have a double-hull canoe, because we want to put the lanterns out further so that they float longer,” Helm said.

The canoe was loaded with the largest lantern, representing those who passed away under the hospice’s care in the last three years, 10 medium-sized lanterns representing the organizations supporting the event, and several smaller lanterns representing loved ones from the community. 

About 50 yards offshore, the lanterns on the canoe were let go on the water, after organizers rang a bell. With this cue, the remaining lanterns were released on the water by the shoreline.

Kaunakakai had been hot and windy in the prior few days. But during the event, a shy rain cooled off everyone, and the wind was very light. 

“The ocean is behaving nicely this year,” Helm said.

All the lanterns — from the shoreline and from the canoe — slowly drifted together on the calm waters at sunset. Their soft, pastel-colored lights mixed with the sunset’s warm colors to create a visually stunning setting.

Organizers distributed about 120 lantern kits to families, who could decorate them how they wanted. Each kit was usually decorated by two-to-four people, according to Helm. 

The event started at 4 p.m. A free lantern kit was distributed to everyone. They could take it to a “safe, sacred space,” Helm said, where they could decorate it and write the names of their departed loved ones. 

Molokai High School junior Kruze Lani emceed the event. At only 16 years old, he has already some experience announcing events. 

“I do some other community events throughout the year. So, I had been approached by Ms. Takata, and she asked me if I would like to emcee, and I gladly accepted it,” Lani said. “It’s really just giving back to the community.”

Once the lanterns were decorated, they could purchase a lau-lau plate from Moana’s Hula Halau. The plate was a fundraiser for the halau. While people gathered and had dinner, they could listen to live music and see the hula dancers.

The lantern ceremony started right before sunset. Once the lanterns were released, hospice chaplain Haouli Kalama picked up the ukulele and performed Aloha ʻOe, composed by Queen Liliʻuokalani in 1878, adding a nice touch to the closing of the event.

After everyone was gone, veteran paddler Ron Kimball and other members of the Waʻakapaemua Canoe Club collected the lanterns in the ocean.

“We have volunteered in the floating ceremony from the very first one,” Kimball said, adding Helm is “such an awesome lady,” and the club members always help her out.