Spirituality at the Heart of Niihau Music
to view Anne E. O’Malley’s slide show of Monday night’s EKK click here
An unexpected gift of aloha -- In a phone conversation with Mama Ane Kanahele the day after their EKK performance, Mama shared her immense joy over receiving an 'ukulele from Masami Kouchi (my younger brother). I kidded her, "Were you speaking to God during the 'ukulele hour and telling him that your old 'ukulele has had it already?" She told me that over the past several months she had been seeing a commercial on Channel 02 or 09 where they were showing a light color 'ukulele for $900 but one had to send in a credit card number, which she did not have. She had been thinking that if she could save $900 and put it into her daughter's credit card account, she might one day be able to buy that 'ukulele. Lo and behold, during intermission, Masami sits next to her and hands her a beautiful blond koa 'ukulele which he had made. Of course, grandson Austin is right there, snuggling his head into her shoulder and asking her what she is going to do with her old 'ukulele. She said she was weeping for joy over the unexpected gift and shared this news with the audience in their final number.
Whether one speaks to God about it or puts it out to the universe or voices one's intention, there is something to be said about shaping one's life with acts of faith and of believing. The stories and music presented by the kumu and students of Ke Kula Niihau o Kekaha at E Kanikapila Kakou on Monday, February 8, is a testament to their faith-based way of life.
Mama Ane Kanahele, the matriarch figure of the Kanahele family with 8 children of her own, 19 grandchildren, 20 great grandchildren, one great great grandchild plus several hanae children, is the minister of the Hawaiian Church in Waimea, kumu hula, and composer of over 100 songs, mostly himeni or hymns. She has lived a spiritual life and shares unconditional love with her 'ohana which has resulted in children, grandchildren and great grandchildren whose love for her is openly demonstrated. If her life were a song, she could sing verse after verse of praises. The Ke Kula Niihau alma mater which she composed after she composed the Punana Leo song, was sung by all the students to introduce themselves.
Hoku'aumalamalama Ka'ohelauli'i, her grandson, who serves as the musical director, cultural specialist and librarian at the school prepared a program with high school and intermediate grade students in preparation for their upcoming participation in Kui Kalono, a statewide show-and-tell gathering of the Hawaiian Immersion Charter Schools. Although many of the students had performed on countless occasions in their close-knit community and sometimes in public, there are always a few new students performing for the first time. Their performance of chants, songs and hula was lively, confident and reflected their love for music and dance which is an integral part of their education in school.
The introductory protocol is always chicken skin and a special treat for new audiences as their collective voices are pretty powerful. Hoku'au began with an oli followed by all the students chanting. Mama Ane gave a pule followed by the Doxology in Hawaiian, and as always, everyone sang in parts; this seems to come naturally to them. Very often the youngsters will harmonize and sing with no instrumentation in powerful voices; they are so happy and at ease when they sing together in this manner.
Two of the younger composers from Niihau, Love Ho'omaikai Kelley and Kyle Nau'ilike'ole Kelley, shared their compositions. Love had composed a chant as part of the Ke Kula study of the Lehua Islands north of Niihau, which speaks of the importance of caring for the precious island, its wildlife and natural resources. Performed by the students in the Kauai Mokihana Festival Keiki Music Festival under the direction of Kumu Hula Doric Yaris, the strong chanting voices of the students brought the oli to life and won them the second place award in the competition. Love kept the beat with his gourd and the students chanted with him in a call/recall style.
Hoku'au followed with a brisk chant about Kilauea; the students danced a fast-moving hula. The second chant with martial arts style movement was even more brisk. He followed with a medley of hula numbers; the students danced with their feathered uli'uli gourds. His arrangement of "Boy from Laupahoehoe" was certainly original. Impressive was this dress rehearsal for the students' upcoming performance on Hawai'i Island.
Hoku'au called on one of Ane's granddaughters, Kahiki'ui, to dance a solo about "Halemaumau," one of the active volcanoes on Hawai'i Island, which he sang in his extraordinary falsetto style. This was followed by a dance about the beauty of their beloved island Niihau. I have known Kahiki'ui since she was an 8th grader; she is now a senior and this is the first time I have seen her dance solo....what a sensuous dancer. So sensuous was her dancing that it even moved Grandma Ane to stand up and in the tiny space between her seat and her mic, and she danced with the same flirtatious smiles and moves so typical of the Niihau dancers. "Wow! Grandma, you get 'um, eh?" shouted Hoku'au, and indeed she does. Ilei'aloha was moved to tears, "The last time I saw Grandma dance was when I was a small kid!" I later told Ane, "Boy! You got some sexy moves, huh?" "Well....after all, I am a kumu hula." Simple as that.
Aunty Ilei'aloha Beniamina, a lifelong champion of the Hawaiian people, particularly her 'ohana from Niihau, has been actively involved in the Hawaiian immersion charter schools, the Ho'ola Lahui Health initiative, and the education of the Niihau students at Kauai Community College. She introduced Hokulani Cleeland, founder of Ke Kula Niihau who serves as the high school teacher and Kahikilani Ka'ohelauli'i who is the manager of the school. A whole contingent of Niihauans accompanied the students to the event.
Ilei has been active on the music scene as a composer. She shared a story about the time she and others hiked out of Kalalau singing the same song over and over so they would remember it. In the morning, no one remembered the words or the tunes; it was probably left as a gift for the spirits of Kalalau. A gifted composer, she can whip out a song under pressure as she demonstrated years ago when she came unprepared for her EKK night; she composed a song while driving to EKK and thus was born the beautiful "Pua 'ala Aumoe." As she spoke, her cell phone chimed out loudly from her handbag and she shrugged it off as, "it adds to the music." Hoku'au's comic sense came to the rescue with "We have a show to run!" which brought a ripple of laughter from the audience.
As self-appointed translator of the stories shared by everyone, Ilei illuminated with background information not often known. She shared that the Hawaiians were prayerful people long before the arrival of the missionaries; they chanted all the time about nature, sailing, genealogy, cultural practices, etc. Christianity fit their spiritual bent so it was easy for them to embrace Christianity. As a professor at the Kaua'i Community College, her instructional hat took over and as she was giving a long-winded explanation about the history of the health of the Hawaiian people, Mama Ane muttered something to her in Hawaiian. I asked Ilei later, "What did Mama Ane say to you?" Ilei rolls her eyes with feigned amazement and laughs infectiously, "She told me I was talking too much," and as is customary in family-based traditions, the elder is the final word, so Ilei gave the mic back to Mama Ane, so the singing could continue.
Mama says, "dis not on the papah (the printed program), but I want to call my grand daughters up to sing with me." Kahiki'ui who did the solo hula, Tita Poi who lives with Mama Ane, and Nawai who came over from Ni'ihau and is the mother of her first great-great grandchild sat with Mama on the stage and began to sing songs that made you feel you were in their church. I had just heard some amazing gospel style singing at the "Tribute to Mahalia Jackson" mass at All Angel's Church on Sunday, and here was a voice that rivaled those voices -- so full, rich and effortless. It was an emotional moment that had everyone wiping tears away when Nawai tearfully shared that she was so grateful for the opportunity to sing once more with her grandmother who she loves so much and that she was so happy that Tita Poi stepped up to take care of Grandma when she decided to get married and live on Niihau. She misses her grandmother immensely but sings on Niihau as this is her way to keep in touch with Mama. The audience was so fortunate for this opportunity to hear their songs.
Mama Ane shared stories behind two of her very special songs. One was written at a time of desperation when her home was going to be taken away and given to someone else for lack of $3,000 she needed to pay the bank for the mortgage. "No mo' kala, no mo' house!" she stated simply the reality of the situation. She sat under her mango tree and prayed and prayed, and this song came to her so she sang it over and over, maybe a hundred times, so she would not forget it until she got it written down. When she went into the house, her phone rang and her hanae daughter in Honolulu said, "Look in your mailbox because I am mailing you $3,000." Her daughter knew nothing about the song that Mama Ane had just composed; Mama Ane says simply that God was listening. "E Iesu E Aloha Mai", just five short lines, came to life as their choir-like voices rang out in unison.
Another song she composed was a song about healing. Her husband had the lyrics and asked her for the tune, but she said she did not have it, so she prayed and prayed and a tune came. The song "Aloha Wai Ia Iesu" (I Love Jesus) speaks of her appreciation for God in just four short lines. With so many Hawaiians in the audience, the singing was exceptionally powerful.
Ane shared the story of a song which was written for a conference of kupunas in Hilo. She could not take any Niihau song there to share, but she wanted to be one of the two kupuna representing Kaua'i, so she decided to write a song about the beauty of Niihau. To prepare for this she asked her husband to take her to the peak mountain in Niihau only to find that the trek was very steep and treacherous and had to be accessed by mule. Because she refused to ride a mule, her husband got a horse for the uphill trek, but she said, "Wen the horse go up the hill, you slide back in the saddle!" so she got off the horse and trekked upward over the pohaku covered trail. The long hike was worth it because when she got up to the top and saw the beauty of Niihau from the peak, she composed "Aloha Kaeo". Hoku'au sang it beautifully in his effortless falsetto while Kahiki'ui, Ane's granddaughter, danced the hula. So beautiful was her dancing that it moved Mama Ane to stand up and dance.
Describing the way she composes songs gave some amazing visuals. She says it is like a ball that rolls around and around in her head..."sometime got words but no tune; sometime got tune but no words." Often it comes in the middle of the night and when she feels that the song is finally coming, akin to the birth of a baby, she has to wake up her granddaughter to come and help her write it down. When she can't wake up anybody to help her write it down, she has to sing it over and over or she will lose it. Everything is recorded in her black and white composition book. Many of her religious songs are recorded in "Na Himeni Ho'omaika'i I Ke Akua" for which she received a Na Hoku Hanohano Award for Himeni or Hymns. Songs by her children are recorded in another album titled "Na Leo O Ke Kula Niihau O Kekaha" (Voices of the children). She appoints different grandchildren to remember each song so as not to lose the tune.
After the break, Hoku'au entertained everyone singing every single falsetto song accompanied by Kumu Hula Doric Yaris on the upright bass. Love's older brother, Like'ole, after overcoming bouts of stage fright, made his public debut and sang two of his original compositions, one of which was surprisingly contemporary in both style and lyrics. This crushed my perception that life on Ni'ihau is out-of-touch or remote; if his song is any indication, he certainly is with the music scene anywhere. He is presently recording his songs so it will be accessible to the public in the near future.
Monday, February 15, Kaumakaiwa Kanaka'ole, the golden boy of the Kanaka'ole 'Ohana of Hawai'i Island, and the immensely popular Sean Na'auao will be presenting a program that promises to be fresh, spontaneous and unpredictable no doubt. The instrumental hour goes from 6:00 – 6:45 and the main program goes from 6:45 – 9:00 pm. Food and drink is made available by Kauai Beach Resort so you can come straight from work.
Tune in to KKCR Radio -- Linda Lester will be interviewing Kaumakaiwa on Monday morning, Feb 15.
Contact the Kauai Beach Resort at 245-1955 for EKK Special Room Discounts.
(s) Carol Kouchi Yotsuda, www.gardenislandarts.org -- “Celebrating 33 years of bringing ARTS to the people and people to the ARTS”
E Kanikapila Kakou 2010 -- Hawaiian Music Program is funded in part by the Hawai’i Tourism Authority, the County of Kaua’i Office of Economic Development, and Garden Island Arts Council supporters with support from Kaua’I Beach Resort.
Garden Island Arts Council programs are supported in part by the State Foundation on Culture and the Arts through appropriations from the Legislature of Hawai’i and grants from the National Endowment for the Arts.