Mary Abigail Kawena-`ula-o-ka-lani- a-hi`iaka-i-ka-poli-o-pele-ka-wahine- `ai-honua Wiggin Puku`i (1895-1986) was born in Ka`u on the island of Hawai`i. Because of her bicultural background (her mother was a native of Ka`u, her father from Salem, Massachusetts), Kawena recognized both the importance of the Hawaiian culture and the preservation of that culture through various Western means (books, films, recordings, and other media). She was a teacher, historian, author,translator, kumu hula, and composer. Kawena worked for many years at the Bernice Pauahi Bishop Museum, and, along with Samuel Elbert, co-authored the definitive work on the Hawaiian language, " Hawaiian Dictionary (1957)." As a kumu hula, she sought to preserve the Hawaiian chant; Ka'upena Wong, Kaha`i Topolinski, and daughters Pele Pukui Suganuma and Pat Namaka Bacon were among her most notable students. She composed over 150 songs, including Nani Venuse, Pua Ahihi, Ke Anuenue, Boy from Laupahoehoe, and Po La`ila`i, often with collaborators such as Maddy K. Lam, Irmgard Aluli, and Eddie Kamae.
As Noelani Mahoe
writes in "Hawaiian Music and Musicians", "Pukui is a national treasure
who will always live in the artistry of her devoted students and in the wealth of knowledge
and inspiration recorded in innumerable sources." |
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| "This is Kawena speaking." With this simple introduction Mary Kawena Pukui offers this gift of recollections of her youth in Ka`u. No Na Kamali`i is a 98-track compilation of little Hawaiian verses and chants used to teach children the alphabet and arithmetic, as well as games (hide-and-seek, string figures) and little ditties, some of which are of English origin. Pukui recorded these in the late 1960's for the purpose of preservation, in hope that her grandchildren and all other Hawaiian children would be able to learn and enjoy some of the things she experienced as a youngster. No Na Kamali`i not only contains her favorite Hawaiian verses but also Pukui's explanation of each.
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