Our Ohana

Auli'i, which means 'dainty' and'cute', hardly sums up Urahutia Productions founder Mi Nei Oliver-Martins. Mi Nei is the multi-talented dynamo behind Auli'i Luau, and she directs and choreographs and designs the costumes for each number staged by Urahutia Productions.

According to Mi Nei,  "'Urahutia"actually means'the plucking of the red feathers'. These were very rare in ancient times and were only used for royalty, so when I explain the meaning of Urahutia to people I am referring to'selecting only the best fit for royalty', which is what I always try to do: Select the best performers, choreograph the best dances and create the best costumes, all that would be best suited for royalty."

Mi Nei above all else strives for authenticity in her shows, an authenticity steeped in the deep-rooted tradition of family entertainers in Hawaii. The 5th of 8 children, Mi Ne's entire family performs in the Urahutia troupe --- her parents, her husband, her children and siblings and nephews and nieces all bring the'ohana touch to her scrupulously authentic acts which reflect the by-gone days when the hula and other Polynesian arts were not the stock-in-trade of Hollywood kitsch, but a profoundly spiritual custom of storytelling and conveyance oral history for the Hawaiian people.

"It is not just the fluttering hands or the swish of a grass skirt that conveys the many-layered meanings in a hula or oli (chant) or mele (song)," asserts Mi Nei.  "It's how these stories and histories are passed down, reverently, through the generations that preserves their true meanings...The authenticity of these old age-old Hawaiian arts truly can be said to come from the'ohana (family)."

Auli'I Luau is committed to sharing with our malihini guests the culture and foods and stories that harken to the unspoiled and unhurried days of old Hawaii when the gentle rustle of the coco palm and falling rain were mirrored by the delicate hands of a beautiful hula dancer.

Join us to glory in the simple and carefree days of Old Hawaii.