World Massage Festival

Aunty Margaret Machado was renowned as a master of Lomi Lomi, traditional Hawaiian massage. People came to her from all over the world and attributed miraculous cures to her work.

Lomi Lomi is handed down within families for generations. Her family's knowledge was transmitted to her by her grandfather, a man she didn't know well. Aunty Margaret was not raised by her Big Island family; instead, before her mother died, she sent young Margaret to a missionary home in Honolulu for a Christian upbringing.

When Margaret was ten, her grandfather travelled to give her his blessing and to impart his wisdom and lineage. Before her birth, he had named her Kalehuamakanoelulu'uonapali, a name that indicated he had chosen her to carry on the family secrets. Within the name are several meanings: the lehua flower, eyes, mist, scattered pollen, precipice.

Prayer and the Hawaiian art of family mediation (ho'oponopono) are what Aunty Margaret considered her special ingredients for healing. "And the secret part of it is that before the sun goes down you ho'oponopono, you search your heart. Ho'oponopono meaning we empty all ourselves and ask for forgiveness before the sun goes down. You can't go to sleep with a troubled mind or troubled heart. you feel good because you're open minded. Every day with my family, every day you ask forgiveness. So your blood vessels open, your nerves open, your muscles open, you relax. Don't worry. I never worry. The Lord going to open the way."