Hanai'i Family

Children call adults 'uncle' and 'auntie'.
For mainlanders this is very confusing, and most of all to mainland children.
That is why I am introducing my daughter to her real grandparents and aunt, sister, and cousins.

Hanai Family, is very real on the island.
Ava and I have a hanai'i family. She has two uncles, and a few aunties.
They are real helpful in helping raise Ava in a Godly way, enforcing manners, and good behavior to me, and elders. They are protectors for us on the island. The most important thing our hanai family is to us, is love and support. It gives us togetherness outside of us, and unites us with the island culture, without having to change what my culture is...anyone who lasts on the island has a hanai family.

It's people that we have in our lives, that are familiar to us, and keep us grounded in many ways. I don't always agree with my hanai family, and we are not together all of the time. But, we are there for each other, in many ways. Our friends aren't even the same...it's very similar to a real family, eh? We are dakine.