The Value of Hawaii 2: Ancestral Roots, Oceanic Visions

Tūtū's Aloha ‘Äina Grace

ALOHA HALEY KAILIEHU TÜTÜ’S ALOHA ‘ÄINA GRACE KAMANAMAIKALANI BEAMER It may be a uniquely Hawaiian relationship celebrated in mo‘olelo like Kamapua‘a, La‘anuimamao, and Kamiki, which illustrate the pilina pa‘a mau (enduring love) of a tütü wahine (grandmother) and mo‘opuna käne (grandson ). In each of these mo‘olelo, the küpunahine are a fundamental part of the mo‘olelo as a foundation, mentor, and even akua to their mo‘opuna käne once the küpuna have passed into pö (the realm of spirits). In fact, as I came to better understand these mo‘olelo, I also better understood why many Hawaiian men today often recall their relationship with their tütü as being one of the most important. In ways similar to this pilina, my grandmother had always been my champion. She had a vigor and determination that were not easily matched. Her name was Winona Kapuailohiamanonokalani Desha Beamer. Throughout her life she served both Hawai‘i and my ‘ohana in more ways than I could express in this essay; some of those roles included being a single mother, kumu hula, educator, composer, and activist. She was affectionately known as “Aunty Nona.”1 My great-grandparents traveled from Näpo‘opo‘o in South Kona to Honolulu so that she could be born at Kapi‘olani hospital. Born on August 15th, 1923, she was the eldest of five children and was the first mo‘opuna and punahele of her grandmother, Helen Kapuailohia Desha Beamer. Almost from birth, she learned our family traditions of music and hula. It was this foundation that she drew upon and promoted throughout her life. She came of age in a time that would be nearly unrecognizable to many keiki today. Most of Hawai‘i was relatively undeveloped, with many ‘ohana thriving from the abundance of the ‘äina, with intimate knowledge of their places and fisheries. At the same time, institutionalized racism and systemic oppression of Hawaiian culture and language were in full force. In 1937, Kamehameha Schools administrators expelled her for performing standing hula and chanting. I can recall her telling me how an administrator had told her she was to be expelled because Princess Bernice Pauahi Bishop had written in her will that students at Kamehameha were not to speak or 12 INTERGENERATIONAL WISDOM practice things Hawaiian. When my grandmother requested to see that section in the will, administrators refused to allow her to access it, likely because they were being dishonest and no such content existed in the will. When she left the office that day, she slammed the door behind her with enough force to break the door pane, and she heard the shards of glass crash behind her. Suffering through outrage and public humiliation, she later returned to graduate from the school, and years later, in 1949, was hired as an instructor of Hawaiian music and culture at Kamehameha. Her courses provided a safe space for many students at Kamehameha to better understand Hawaiian music and culture, and simply to be Hawaiian. She was a tireless advocate of things Hawaiian. Alongside others, she systematically fought for the inclusion and valuing of things Hawaiian at Kamehameha and in the broader Hawaiian community. She would compose mele as a means to show the children their special connection to Hawai‘i, their genealogy, and place, while teaching personal compositions such as “Püpühinuhinu ” to countless school children while conducting workshops in public and private schools across Hawai‘i. Her love for nä mea Hawai‘i and Kamehameha Schools did not cease following her retirement in the 1980s. In the late 1990s, she risked much when, as a kupuna, she publically challenged Kamehameha trustees, catalyzing a movement that led to changes in leadership and direction at Kamehameha. I had recently graduated from Kamehameha in 1996, when she called me to discuss the climate of the school and the morale of students. Structures that I thought immovable and forces that seemed all-powerful to an adolescent, she confronted with courage, grace, and aloha. As a former employee of Kamehameha and current professor at the University of Hawai‘i at Mänoa, when I reflect on the positive change that she helped to create for Hawai‘i, and in particular its children, her legacy is awe-inspiring. While being her only mo‘opuna is simply humbling. EXTRAORDINARY ALOHA “It’s just aloha, dear,” my t...