George Lanakilakeikiahialii Naope (February 25, 1928 – October 26, 2009), born in Kalihi, Hawaii and raised in Hilo, was a celebrated kumu hula, master Hawaiian chanter, and leading advocate and preservationist of native

Hawaiian culture The culture of the Native Hawaiians encompasses the social behavior, institutions, and norms practiced by the original residents of the Hawaiian islands, including their knowledge, beliefs, arts, laws, customs, capabilities, and habits. H ...

worldwide. He taught hula dancing for over sixty years in

Hawaii Hawaii ( ; haw, Hawaii or ) is a state in the Western United States, located in the Pacific Ocean about from the U.S. mainland. It is the only U.S. state outside North America, the only state that is an archipelago, and the only state ...

, Japan,

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, Australia,

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

, North America, and

South America South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere at the northern tip of the continent. It can also be described as the sout ...

. Naope was a scholar of ancient hula, which is hula developed and danced before 1893. He first studied hula at the age of three years under his great-grandmother, Mary Malia Pukaokalani Naope, who lived to be over 100 years old. At the age of four he began to study with Mary Kanaele, the mother and teacher of Edith Kanaka'ole. When he moved to

Oahu Oahu () ( Hawaiian: ''Oʻahu'' ()), also known as "The Gathering Place", is the third-largest of the Hawaiian Islands. It is home to roughly one million people—over two-thirds of the population of the U.S. state of Hawaii. The island of O� ...

at the age of ten, he studied for ten years with Joseph Ilalaole. After graduating from high school, Naope moved to

Honolulu Honolulu (; ) is the capital and largest city of the U.S. state of Hawaii, which is in the Pacific Ocean. It is an unincorporated county seat of the consolidated City and County of Honolulu, situated along the southeast coast of the island ...

where he opened the George Naope Hula School, then later continued his studies under Kumu Hula Lokalia Montgomery and Tom Hiona. Naope began to teach hula at the age of thirteen. His family was poor, so he taught hula for fifty cents per week in order to continue to pay for school. He taught chant and kahiko to the Ray Kinney dancers, and traveled with

Ray Kinney Ray Kinney (September 26, 1900 – February 1, 1972) was a singer, musician, composer, orchestra leader, and performer on radio, stage and screen. Biography Kinney was born in Hilo, Hawaii to Irish-Hawaiian parents William & Pilialoha Kinney. ...

. In 1964, Naope founded the

Merrie Monarch Festival The Merrie Monarch Festival is a week-long cultural festival that takes place annually in Hilo, Hawaii during the week after Easter. It honors King David Kalākaua, who was called the "Merrie Monarch" for his patronage of the arts and is c ...

, an annual week-long festival of traditional Hawaiian arts, crafts, and performances featuring a three-day hula competition. The festival became both a popular success and an important part of the

Hawaiian Renaissance The Hawaiian Renaissance (also called the Hawaiian Cultural Renaissance) was the Hawaiian resurgence of a distinct cultural identity that draws upon traditional kānaka maoli culture, with a significant divergence from the tourism-based culture ...

. In an interview Naope said of founding the festival, "I felt the hula was becoming too modern and that we have to preserve it. David Kalakaua ing of Hawaii, 1874–91; aka "The Merrie Monarch"brought the hula back to

and made us realize how important it was for our people. There was nothing here in Hilo, so I decided to honor Kalakaua and have a festival with just hula. I didn't realize that it was going to turn out to be one of the biggest things in our state." Naope was honored with numerous other awards, including being named a Living Treasure of Hawai'i by the Buddhist temple Honpa Hongwanji Mission of Hawai'i, "Treasure of Hawaii" by President George W. Bush and the

Smithsonian Institution The Smithsonian Institution ( ), or simply the Smithsonian, is a group of museums and education and research centers, the largest such complex in the world, created by the U.S. government "for the increase and diffusion of knowledge". Founded ...

, and receiving a

National Heritage Fellowship The National Heritage Fellowship is a lifetime honor presented to master folk and traditional artists by the National Endowment for the Arts. Similar to Japan's Living National Treasure award, the Fellowship is the United States government's ...

by the

National Endowment for the Arts The National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) is an independent agency of the United States federal government that offers support and funding for projects exhibiting artistic excellence. It was created in 1965 as an independent agency of the federal ...

in 2006, which is the United States' highest honor in the folk and traditional arts. In 2007, Naope founded the Halau Hula Is Hawai'i Trust and Hula Is Hawai'i, LLC, and instructed his entire estate to be placed into his trust. Despite his

Last Will and Testament A will or testament is a legal document that expresses a person's (testator) wishes as to how their property ( estate) is to be distributed after their death and as to which person ( executor) is to manage the property until its final distributi ...

, certain individuals went against his wishes. Naope founded the ''Humu Moolelo'', a quarterly journal of the hula arts.

Death

Until his death from cancer on October 26, 2009, aged 81, he resided in Hilo, Hawaii.

References

External links

George Naʻope Hula Festival

- Daily Telegraph obituary
George Na’ope on Territorial Airwaves
{{DEFAULTSORT:Naope, George 1928 births 2009 deaths Hula dancers Deaths from cancer in Hawaii National Heritage Fellowship winners People from Hilo, Hawaii Native Hawaiian people Hula

Death

See also

References

External links