A few grass huts, relics of an Aloha Week long past that were left to decay in Ala Moana Park, formed the backdrop for demonstrations of quilt making, poi pounding, kukui nut candle making, and other crafts and activities that might otherwise have been forgotten.

"Malia was way before the Hawaiian Renaissance," said Bob Krauss, longtime Honolulu Advertiser journalist and a fundraiser for Ulu Mau Village. "There was no word for it when she started; it was just her drive to revive the culture.

"Malia was the real thing."

In her drive to resurrect kapa making, Solomon became an expert. Kapa, or tapa, is a coarse, decorative cloth made on Pacific Islands from pounded tree bark. The practice, which became high art in Hawai'i before it was crowded out by modern cloth, had been lost here for nearly 100 years.

Solomon studied existing Hawaiian samples at Bishop Museum, then traveled to Samoa, Tonga, Tahiti, Fiji and the Marquesas and Cook islands, exploring dyes and reeds and technique, searching for expertise in making the bark cloth the way early Hawaiians had made it.

She found it.

Prominent Bishop Museum archaeologist Kenneth Emory declared her work nearly indistinguishable from the ancients' and Laurence Rockefeller commissioned 14 wall hangings for the Mauna Kea hotel on the Big Island. In 1981, PBS profiled Solomon in a segment of the "American Perspective" series called "Aunty Malia: Tapa Maker."

On a rainy day in 1976, Solomon was setting up a display of cultural items at the old Halekulani Hotel when bored friends happened by and asked to play the 'ukulele. The day was such a success, the hotel hired Solomon to host Kama'aina Day — entertainment that often included spontaneous musical performances by audience members — each Tuesday during the lunch buffet.

Solomon's aloha and dedication to the state was honored repeatedly by the chamber of commerce, and in 1988, the state Legislature passed a resolution in which Solomon was declared an "ambassadress of good will."

Solomon is survived by her sons, Sonny Yuen and Russell Solomon; daughters Vivian Jack, Rochelle Wenger and Rosalind Solomon; sister Ann Thomas; 21 grandchildren; 44 great-grandchildren; and eight great-great-grandchildren.

Visitation will be at 9:30 a.m. Monday at Hawaiian Memorial Park Mortuary, with service at 11:15 a.m. Committal service will follow at 1 p.m. at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific.