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. Huma ...

worldwide. He taught hula dancing for over sixty years in

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, and

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. 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 (, , sometimes written Oahu) is the third-largest and most populated island of the Hawaiian Islands and of the U.S. state of Hawaii. The state capital, Honolulu, is on Oahu's southeast coast. The island of Oahu and the uninhabited Northwe ...

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 List of capitals in the United States, capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Hawaii, located in the Pacific Ocean. It is the county seat of the Consolidated city-county, consolidated City and County of Honol ...

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. 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 cre ...

, 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. 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, Education center, education and Research institute, research centers, created by the Federal government of the United States, U.S. government "for the increase a ...

, and receiving a National Heritage Fellowship 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 feder ...

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, 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 Hilo () is the largest settlement in and the county seat of Hawaii County, Hawaiʻi, United States, which encompasses the Island of Hawaiʻi, and is a census-designated place (CDP). The population was 44,186 according to the 2020 census. I ...

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