- Née:
- Edith Ke‘kuhikuhiipu‘uoneonaali‘iokohala Kenao
- Also known as:
- Aunty Edith
- Born:
- October 30, 1913, Honomu, Hawaii, U.S.
- Died:
- October 3, 1979, Hilo, Hawaii (aged 65)
Edith Kanaka‘ole
-
Who was Edith Kanaka‘ole?
Edith Kanakaʻole (1913–1979) was a Native Hawaiian teacher, dancer, chanter, and composer who dedicated her life to preserving Hawaiian language and culture. Known as Aunty Edith, she ensured the continuation of Hawaiian traditions through teaching, dancing, chanting, and composing, performing for audiences both in and outside of Hawaii.
In 1946, she began composing oli (Hawaiian chants) and choreographing hula dances to accompany them. In the 1950s, she toured the United States, Canada, and parts of Asia with her hula group and opened her own hula school, Hālau o Kekuhi. Kanakaʻole also helped develop Hawaiian language programs for schools and taught Hawaiian culture at Hawaii Community College and the University of Hawaii at Hilo. In 2023, she was honored as part of the U.S. Mint’s American Women Quarters Program.
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What traditional Hawaiian arts did Edith Kanaka‘ole practice?
Edith Kanakaʻole was a practitioner of traditional Hawaiian arts, most notably as a composer of oli (Hawaiian chants) and a choreographer of hula dances. She founded Hālau o Kekuhi, a hula school, and toured extensively with her hula group in the 1950s, bringing Hawaiian culture to the United States, Canada, and Asia. Her contributions extended to education, where she developed Hawaiian language programs and taught various aspects of Hawaiian culture, including mythology, ethnobotany, and Polynesian history, at the college level.
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Why is Edith Kanaka‘ole important in Hawaiian culture?
Edith Kanakaʻole, affectionately known as Aunty Edith, was a Native Hawaiian teacher, dancer, chanter, and composer who dedicated her life to preserving Hawaiian language and culture. She composed oli (Hawaiian chants) and choreographed hula dances, touring with her hula group in the United States, Canada, and Asia.
Kanakaʻole opened her own hula school, Hālau o Kekuhi, and developed Hawaiian language programs for schools. She also designed and taught courses on Hawaiian culture at Hawaii Community College and the University of Hawaii at Hilo. Her work included Hawaiian chant and mythology, genealogy, ethnobotany, and Polynesian history. For her contributions, Kanakaʻole received the Distinction of Cultural Leadership award and was featured on the U.S. Mint’s American Women Quarters Program.
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How did Edith Kanaka‘ole help preserve hula and Hawaiian chants?
Edith Kanakaʻole, a Native Hawaiian teacher, dancer, chanter, and composer, dedicated her life to preserving Hawaiian language and culture. In 1946, she began composing oli (Hawaiian chants) and choreographed hula dances to accompany them.
Kanakaʻole opened a hālau (hula school) named Hālau o Kekuhi. She helped develop a Hawaiian language program for Keaukaha Elementary School in Hilo and designed courses on Hawaiian culture for Hawaii Community College and the University of Hawaii at Hilo. These courses covered Hawaiian chant and mythology, genealogy, ethnobotany, and Polynesian history. Additionally, she contributed to the Imua Project, now the Hawaiian Studies Program’s Kūpuna Component, which brings elders into classrooms to share their cultural and historical knowledge.
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What contributions did Edith Kanaka‘ole make as a teacher and composer?
Edith Kanakaʻole significantly contributed to preserving traditional Hawaiian culture through her work as a teacher and composer. In 1946, she began composing oli (Hawaiian chants) and choreographing hula dances to accompany them. In the 1950s, she toured with her hula group across the United States, Canada, and parts of Asia. About this time, Kanakaʻole opened a hula school, Hālau o Kekuhi.
Despite leaving formal education early, she helped develop Hawaiian language programs for Keaukaha Elementary School in Hilo. In the 1970s, she designed and taught courses on Hawaiian culture at Hawaii Community College and the University of Hawaii at Hilo. Her courses covered Hawaiian chant and mythology, genealogy, ethnobotany, and Polynesian history. Kanakaʻole also assisted with the Imua Project, now the Hawaiian Studies Program’s Kūpuna Component, which brings elders into classrooms to share their knowledge.
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How has Edith Kanaka‘ole’s work influenced Hawaiian culture and future generations?
Edith Kanakaʻole dedicated her life to preserving Hawaiian language and culture as a teacher, dancer, chanter, and composer. Her contributions include composing oli (Hawaiian chants) and choreographing hula dances, which she performed in and outside of Hawaii.
Kanakaʻole significantly impacted education by developing Hawaiian language programs for schools and teaching Hawaiian culture at the college level. In the 1970s, she designed courses covering Hawaiian chant, mythology, genealogy, ethnobotany, and Polynesian history for Hawaiʻi Community College and the University of Hawaiʻi at Hilo.
The Edith Kanakaʻole Foundation (EKF) perpetuates her teachings through cultural programs, restoration efforts, teaching materials, and scholarships for Native Hawaiian students. Her legacy was further honored with the American Women Quarters Program in 2023, featuring her portrait and a chant she composed, symbolizing her lasting wisdom and influence.
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Edith Kanaka‘ole (born October 30, 1913, Honomu, Hawaii, U.S.—died October 3, 1979, Hilo, Hawaii) dedicated her life to the preservation of Hawaiian language and culture. A Native Hawaiian herself, Aunty Edith (as she was often called) ensured the continuation of Hawaiian traditions in her roles as teacher, dancer, chanter, and composer. She performed her chants and hulas for audiences in and outside of Hawaii. She opened her own hula school and taught courses at both Hawaii Community College and the University of Hawaii. She received the Distinction of Cultural Leadership award for her contributions to Hawaii and was one of five women featured on the backs of quarters as part of the U.S. Mint’s American Women Quarters Program.
Early life
Edith Ke‘kuhikuhiipu‘uoneonaali‘iokohala Kenao was the daughter of John Kanaeleolualaka‘ikenao, a musician, and Mary Kekuewa Ahiena, a hula teacher. In an interview with PBS toward the end of her life, she reported being either the 9th or 10th of the 12 children in her family. Despite the growing power and cultural influence of Euro-Americans in Hawaii in the early 20th century, Kenao grew up immersed in traditional Hawaiian culture in her hometown of Honomu on the island of Hawaii. She showed an early interest in music and was taught hula by her mother as a child.
Kenao dropped out of school before the end of junior high school. However, she continued studying hula and music with kumu hula (a culturally recognized master hula teacher) Akoni Mika. In January 1933 she married Luka Kanaka‘ole. They had six children, two of whom (Nālani and Pualani) later studied hula under their mother.
Cultural contributions
During her lifetime, Edith Kanaka‘ole made significant contributions to the preservation of traditional Hawaiian culture. In 1946 she began composing oli (Hawaiian chants). She also choreographed hula dances, which went with some of her chants. Her work was not only important for the conservation of culture, but it was also popular: in the 1950s she toured the United States, Canada, and parts of Asia with her hula group. Kanaka‘ole opened a hālau (hula school) named Hālau o Kekuhi about this time, in part to honor her recently deceased mother.
Despite her early departure from formal education, Kanakaʻole was instrumental in the development of public school and college curricula in Hawaii. She helped create a Hawaiian language program for Keaukaha Elementary School in Hilo. In the 1970s she designed and taught courses on various aspects of Hawaiian culture for Hawaii Community College and the University of Hawaii at Hilo. Topics taught by Kanakaʻole included Hawaiian chant and mythology, genealogy, ethnobotany, and Polynesian history. Kanaka‘ole also helped with the Imua Project, now known as the Hawaiian Studies Program’s Kūpuna Component, which brings kūpuna (Hawaiian for “elders”) into classrooms to share their cultural and historical knowledge.
Honors
In 1977 Kanaka‘ole was named Hawaiian of the Year by the State Association of Hawaiian Civic Clubs, and in 1979 she received the Distinction of Cultural Leadership award, the highest award given by the state of Hawaii, for her commitment to her community and cultural contributions to Hawaii. She won the Nā Hōkū Hanohano award for best traditional Hawaiian album twice, for Haʻakuʻi Pele i Hawaiʻi (Pele Prevails in Hawaii) in 1979 and for Hiʻipoi I Ka ‘Āina Aloha (Cherish the Beloved Land) in 1980. A number of places were named for her in the years that followed her passing, including Edith Kanaka‘ole Hall at the University of Hawaii in Hilo. The Edith Kanaka‘ole Foundation (EKF), a nonprofit organization, was established in 1990 to “maintain and perpetuate the teachings, beliefs, practices, philosophies, and traditions of the late Luka and Edith Kanakaʻole.” The foundation’s mission is to spread Hawaiian cultural knowledge by organizing Native Hawaiian cultural programs, working to restore culturally important places, and developing teaching materials. It also provides scholarships for Native Hawaiian students. In 1996 Kanaka‘ole’s Hālau o Kekuhi and its teachers were designated Living Hawaiian Treasures by the Office of Hawaiian Affairs.
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In 2022 the U.S. Mint announced that Kanaka‘ole was one of five women chosen for the 2023 set of the American Women Quarters Program, which honors women who have made a contribution to the country in a variety of fields. Kanaka‘ole’s quarter features her portrait, with her hair and lei po‘o (head lei) turning into features of the Hawaiian landscape. At the bottom is the name of a chant that Kanaka‘ole composed—“E hō mai ka ‘ike,” which means “granting the wisdom.” The release of her coin was marked by a celebration of her life and work at the University of Hawaii at Hilo on May 6, 2023. It was cohosted by the university, Hawaii Community College, the U.S. Mint, the Smithsonian American Women’s History Museum, and the Smithsonian National Museum of the American Indian, and featured hula and the unveiling of a mural of Kanaka‘ole.