Grieving woman honors grandpa with gut-wrenching dance at his funeral. There was not a dry eye in the room.

Coping with the loss of a loved one is never easy, and cultures around the world have unique traditions to process grief and honor departed souls. In Hawaii, the traditional Hula dance is often performed as a celebration of life. Kealoha, a TikTok user who goes by @kaixlei, danced at her grandfather’s funeral as a heartfelt tribute to him. While performing, she couldn’t hold back her tears, and her emotional dance resonated deeply with viewers online.

Kealoha began her dance at the funeral with a smile, but after a few steps, she started crying. She seemed to be trying to hold back her tears, but that got harder for her as the performance went on. The text overlay of the video read, "How many aura points did I lose when I cried while dancing at my papa's funeral?" The caption to the post read, "Ugly cryer, but my favorite angel! I love you so much." The video received more than 50 million views and over eight million likes. People in the comments admired the emotion expressed through the performance and supported Kealoha during her time of grief. 

@kylinalexthoreck commented, "Mourning death and celebrating their life simultaneously, is always the hardest thing. You danced beautifully." @kahootanne remarked, "No, this is beautiful because you can see the happiest memories you have of him in that smile just before, a true celebration of his life and the memories you will always cherish." @bccbys shared, "It's so interesting to see how other traditions celebrate the life of their loved ones. For my tradition, we use traditional instruments to guide those who have passed to the afterlife and have the grandkids or kids sit on their knees in front of the coffin holding incense to pay our respects and gain their blessings!" 

@mushrumes expressed, "+100,000,000 aura points. Human emotions are so beautiful, even the painful ones. Grief is love with nowhere to go, and it shows how deeply you have loved." @jezmarrie pointed out, "Lose? No, my love, you gained points. You stood up there for your papa and danced the way you knew he would have enjoyed, and you powered through. He would be so indescribably proud of you." @mxntyes said, "To be this strong and be able to do such a beautiful hula for your papa, you gained unlimited aura points, dear! He's definitely watching over you proudly." @i.1love_my_fiance wrote, "Watching your arm sweep across your face and your raw emotion showing through after is astonishingly sad and beautiful."

Kealoha later shared another video featuring the original song and a longer version of her dance. She tried to manage her emotions through the entire minute of the clip as she danced beautifully to honor her grandpa. The caption to the video read, "Song: Wena by Josh Tatofi, choreo is from my hālau. Also, 'Papa' in Hawaii means grandpa, but I appreciate all the love and support! I didn't expect to go viral, but I was missing him a little extra and decided to make the video."

You can follow Kealoha (@kaixlei) on TikTok for more lifestyle content.