Conversations with Auntie Carol

A forthcoming project:

SEVEN ORAL HISTORY INTERVIEWS WITH CAROLINE KULIAIKANUʻUKAPU WILCOX DELIMA FARIAS 

This series of oral history interviews with Caroline Kuliaikanuʻukapu Wilcox DeLima Farias was conducted in Hawaiʻi between 1992 and 1993. 

OUR CONVERSATIONS

Interview I, Oct. 30, 1992                        Hawaiian Quilting in the Maui Wilcox Family

Interview II A, May 5, 1993                     Trinity Episcopal Church by-the-Sea

Interview II B, May 5, 1993                     On the Grounds of the Koa House

Interview III May 26, 1993                       From Maui to Oʻahu

Interview IV A, May 27, 1993                  John Hanalei DeLima and Life After Marriage

Interview IV B, May 27, 1993                  Hawaiian Quilting and Other Handicrafts

Interview V A, July 28, 1993                     Johanna (Pāpaka-) Niʻau Wilcox

Interview V B, July 28, 1993                    Frances ʻUlualoha Wilcox DeLima 

Interview VI, Aug. 5, 1993                       Holidays in ʻUlupalakua

Interview VII A, Nov. 24, 1993                Pāʻina

Interview VII B, Nov. 24, 1993                Planning for the Future

A LIFE WELL LIVED

These interviews are observations on childhood, family, and events that reflect the inner spirit of the interviewee, who lived from 1923 to 2001. Caroline Kuliaikanuʻukapu Wilcox DeLima Farias was a descendant of Hawaiian aliʻi and a grandniece of Robert W. K. Wilcox, a leader of the unsuccessful 1895 Hawaiian royalist rebellion that strove to restore Queen Liliʻiuokalani to the throne of a sovereign Kingdom of Hawaiʻi. My knowledge of the facts of Carol’s life rests on our many conversations during the thirty years of our friendship, as well as her family records and the seven interviews that comprise this book. The recordings of most of our conversations were conducted in a sitting room filled with antique koa furniture, heirloom furnishings, books, and photographs. Usually clad in a shortee or floor-length mu`umu`u, Auntie Carol’s enthusiasm for life was demonstrated in her animated dialogue with the many people she greeted. The warmth of her voice was punctuated by frequent nods and a jangling of bracelets made of carved wood, jade, or gold engraved with distinctive Hawaiian lettering.