Column: Lantern floating mingles old traditions
By Keola Beamer, May 25, 2025.
Originally published in Star-Advertiser
Keola Beamer is a Native Hawaiian musician and elder. (Courtesy photo)
Each Memorial Day, as the sun dips low over Ala Moana Beach Park, the waters of Honolulu shimmer not just with light — but with hope, remembrance and aloha. Participating in the Shinnyo Lantern Floating Hawai‘i ceremony has become, for me, one of the most profound spiritual experiences of my life. As a Native Hawaiian elder tracing my roots back centuries on these islands, and as a musician carrying forward my family’s traditions, this event touches a sacred place deep within my na‘au, my soul.
The ceremony offers a moment unlike any other — a chance to honor loved ones who have passed, to voice silent prayers and to join thousands of others in a collective space of peace, reflection and healing. It is deeply personal. When I write a message on my lantern, I feel my ancestors gathered around me, their voices still present in the whisper of the waves. And yet, it is also profoundly communal — a reminder that my grief, my hopes and my prayers are shared by countless others across the world.
This beautiful ceremony represents a meaningful meeting between Hawaiian culture and Shinnyo-en Buddhist practice. Though we come from different traditions, the values we lift up — remembrance, interconnectedness and respect for life and legacy — are universal. In Hawaiian thought, the mana, or spiritual energy, of our kupuna (ancestors) continues to guide us. In Shinnyo teachings, the light of wisdom and compassion transcends life and death. Together, these philosophies create a sacred bridge between cultures, reminding us that our hearts beat to the same rhythm of love and loss.
In my work with Aloha Kuamo‘o ‘Aina, we labor to transform a place of historic conflict into a sanctuary of learning and reconciliation. This mission of healing resonates powerfully with the intent of the lantern floating ceremony. Every lantern sent across the water carries not only a memory, but a prayer for peace — peace in our families, our communities and our world.
As a descendant of the Beamer musical tradition, I understand that mele is not merely sound, but spirit. Music carries the voice of the unseen, the hand of healing. As the ‘ohe hano ihu (Hawaiian nose flute) sings, melodies will rise with the sweet murmur of the tide. It is not performance — it is prayer with wings. Each note weaving a lei of remembrance upon the waters, binding the diverse faces gathered along the shore into one ohana, one heartbeat, one shining hope.
The theme “Many Rivers, One Ocean” captures a profound and universal truth. No matter where we come from, no matter what hardships we have faced, we all flow toward the same great ocean of existence. Our tears, our dreams, our songs — they all mingle there, beyond divisions of language, race or faith. It is this truth that makes the ceremony so powerful: the understanding that we are not alone in our sorrows or in our hopes.
In today’s often troubled world, Shinnyo Lantern Floating Hawai‘i offers a rare and necessary moment of unity. It allows people of all backgrounds to stand side by side in compassion and solidarity. Through tradition, through art, through spiritual reflection, we weave together a tapestry of shared humanity, illuminated by the soft, flickering lights of remembrance.
On the one hanau (sands of our birth), as the final lanterns drift into the distance, and night falls over the ocean, I feel my heart buoyed by a simple but enduring hope — that the spirit of aloha will continue to shine, one lantern, one prayer, one song at a time.
