Today we’d like to introduce you to Nana Faith Kailiwai.
Hi Nana Faith , so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
I usually answer these type of questions in regard to my modeling but as I find more pieces of myself & who I ‘am I think it’s important to share how I found Nana Kailiwai, my truest form. In 2019 at the start of a peek in my modeling career I was booked for a shoot and introduced to a woman. She had been the one putting together the shoot, at the time she was working on portfolio packages. Her idea was to help at least four to five models build a portfolio that’s fitting to their style but also for the product to be marketable to bigger brands for further booking. The experience was pleasant and in review I do believe that shoot was the start of me seeing myself as myself and truly leaning into being a muse. Although that breakthrough wasn’t the basis of what made this experience so groundbreaking, it was spirit. Before it was my turn to shoot I spent time around the home, admiring things, totems. At a certain point the woman asks me if I’d like to pull from her tarot deck. In any spiritual practice I believe that cleansing should be done before any exchange and being I didn’t have my own cleansing properties I kindly declined but asked if i could look through the book that tells you the meanings of the cards. Before I could even skim the book in full a page jumped out at me, the card being labeled ‘Nana Buluku’. At the time I had no knowledge other than that a current lover called me, NANA! As I read the card I was blown away. Recreator of worlds, healer, divinity, mother. It felt as if I was being shown exactly who I was becoming and even still who I was at my core then. Over the next couple of years my life would take a more intentional turn. Instead of my thoughts just being thoughts they morphed into foundations of worlds. Realizations and perceptions of a more clear reality filled me. I was more certain that life’s gifts were greater than I could ever imagine in full. The presence of the most high and my own highest form started to guide and show me how to live a more abundant and spirited life. I went from being Nana to Nana Kailiwai. A representation of my highest and lowest forms but also a depiction of my Ancestors. Kailiwai is the name I adopted after my grandmother Rene whom passed away in 2022, daughter of Ruby Lehua Kailiwai, a Hawaiian native and one of my sweetest ancestors.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
This is a loaded question for me, the simple answer being no road worth taking will ever be ‘smooth’ per se. I’am not a simple person. In fact I think there were times along my journey where my dramatic nature caused things to be felt more than most would but I think this for me has made me the writer, muse, creator, medium, healer, and voice of God that I ‘am today. I think the biggest struggle I had in the beginning of my soul search discovery was leaving where I once was and entering a land completely foreign to me. I wasn’t raised to be an artist, writer, or model and this isn’t because my mother / family didn’t believe in me but more so – the way of survival where we lived called on what seems to be more practical *doctor, nurse, business owner, manager, etc*. This means when I came to see what was possible it took a while and even still at times for me to actually believe it. There was healing that had to be done for me to be able to gauge this new world as a new person whilst still holding my inner child close. The integration of I was, who I wanted to be, who I actually am, and who i’am becoming.. Outside of spiritual battles there are ones that come from learning how and when to separate wanting to create and needing to get paid. There was a point in my career where things slowed down because of the pandemic and I really had to take a deep dive on what I was doing this whole thing for. Grief and sporadic life changes come in and it forces you to take inventory and really pay attention to the cracks in your foundation. Looking back I ‘am very thankful for that time to just be. My biggest lesson in this whole thing is to allow God to do what maybe you wouldn’t in a time when only he can. The answers to why it was so hard or trying will come if you just keep going. <3
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
My name is Raina Menné / Nana Kailiwai. I ‘am a writer, a muse, a healer, creative director, and connector. My modeling work resembles the beauty of life, the colors, the feelings, the motions and phases all captured to tell a story only spirit in motion could. I like to think of my writing as a dialogue between me and God, it’s like my downloads from father and my spirit guides in the form of my perceptions. I’d also like to believe my work is a bridge to bring together everyone by capitalizing on healing and creation through God. I’m most known for my modeling but as time passes more and more people recognize me for my words and my healing heart. I ‘am most proud of my growth in confidence within my craft. Accolades are wonderful but to feel yourself grow with your accomplishments is a special feeling / blessing. What sets me apart from others is well everything because I ‘am me *laugh out loud* I kid, but not really. Everything that makes me, me, was divinely made by my creator but I think my favorite trait within my crafts is how real, raw, and honest I ‘am. Also I’m not afraid to take the risk for a project whether that’s driving miles or doing the best I can with what I got. (;
What matters most to you? Why?
What matters most to me is breaking the mold of my families generational curses. I have always had dreams of being different from my family but now that I’m older I know it isn’t a matter of being different but more so changing the trajectory of certain realities. Addiction, PTSD, depression, anxiety, PMDD, ADD, ODD etc all run in my family. I ;’am a firm believer that most mental health disorders stem from trauma and sometimes this trauma is passed on vs experienced. In my case it is both. It is so important to me that I discover new ways to cope and show up for myself, my peers, and family so that the generations to come will have something sturdy to stand on and learn from. Things start but they also can stop with us. To be a beacon of light and change is my most valued aspiration!
Pricing:
- 150/hr shoot creative direction / modeling
- 150 / hr spiritual consultations
Contact Info:
- Website: https://girlonfiya.substack.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/p/B4DDBgfFB_E/?igsh=MXNtYzN5eHJ6NnZ1bA==
- Other: https://www.buzzsprout.com/2016118/episodes/10930973
Image Credits
Kim Ha Andre Hubbard Laiken Joy Raggedysmiles