The Rock And His Mom Serenade His Grandparent's Graves In Hawaii
Dwayne Johnson sat beside his mom as she strummed the ukulele in a beautiful tribute to his grandparents
There’s always been a calming presence that exudes from Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson. I’m sure the people he has hit with a chair in the WWE might disagree, but at least when he isn’t in the ring, there is something about his demeanor that millions of people find incredibly soothing. Apparently he gets that from his mama.
The two of them recently proved their loving charisma it ten-fold when they sat in a graveyard to honor their relatives in Honolulu, Hawaii.
Armed with a ukulele, Johnson’s mom Ata Maivia Johnson sat next to her son as she began to strum a classic Hawaiian tune.
“Mommy, Daddy, this is for you. And for all of you out there who has lost someone this is for you,” she offered.
“That’s nice of you mom,” he complimented her as she began to sing a sweet tune.
The traditional Samoan song she croons is ” Savalivali” which goes like this:
“Savalivali means go for a walk, Tautalatala means too much talk, Alofa ia te oe means I love you, Take it easy, faifai lemu.”
She goes on to tell her parents how much she misses them when the Rock chimes in to explain that she had their headstone engraved with:
“The ukulele has ended, but your melody lingers on. For life is not forever, but love is.”
Of course, this is the same grandpa who inspired The Rock’s character Maui in the Disney sensation Moana. As a Samoan professional wrestler, Fanene Leifi Pita Maivia (or Peter Maivia for short) was also a prominent figure in Samoan culture, and had tribal markings on him that indicated he was in fact a High Chief. He sadly died of cancer at the young age of 45. But as is evidenced in this video, his legacy lives on in a huge way.
“Got to spend such an awesome mother + son day this weekend with my mom @atajohnson at her mom & dad’s grave here in Hawaii.,” he captioned the sweet video. “Life moves so fast and you realize how important it is to just slow down, sit here, reminisce and listen to her sing, play her ukulele and tell all her stories I use the word ‘mana’ a lot to describe spiritual energy & power – and the mana was so strong today. Strong, but calm. A little sad at times, but so much gratitude & joy. I know you know this feeling I’m talking about when it comes to your loved ones who’ve passed on.
“Very special day. Grateful son,” he ends. “We miss and love you both.”
It seems so clear that The Rock and his mom, and his grandparents were all special, loving people—and it’s such a good reminder to remember the ones we’ve lost, too.
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