AND
Chinese Entertainments from China!
TO BE UNVEILED
THIS SATURDAY EVENING,
AT THE
IOANE UKEKE will put up Hawaiian Theatrics against the Chinese Thespians, and he will perform these mele with the intent he will prevail with those entertainments, they being the ones below:
Hula Paipu,
Hula Kalaau,
Hula Kui, Continue reading
Pekupekuiki.—This is the name of the first flagpole put up in the palace grounds; it was erected by King Kamehameha IV; and this flagpole stood on the Ewa side of the Kauikeaouli gate (the King Street gate); between the gate and Haleponi, “the Coronation Building” (the gazebo and bandstand that stands now). For this flagpole is the u-keke song composed by that spry one of Lahaina, David Hauola Makekau:
Auhea, uhea oe,
Auhea i uhea oe.
E kuu hoa, kuu hoapili,
E kuu hoa, kuu hoapili.
I ka leo uluulu,
I ka leo weliweli o na ʻliikoa.
O kuu hoa oe, o kuu hoa oe,
O ka malu ohai o Kanikauwepa.
O ka hae kalaunu o Pekupekuiki.
It was this D. H. Makekau who indeed composed this mele:
Aia i Leahi Daimana Hila,
Ka hoku ao ka ale ka i Mamala,
Malama pono oe i ka poe pele,
O ili kaua i ka apiki.
Ua ana pono ia na huahelu,
E pili aku ai i ka uwapo.
Haawi ke aloha lululima,
Me na huapala makaonaona.
Kau aku i ke kaa oni ka huila,
Pa iho ka uwepa iwakiani.
Aniani na hana i ka hookele,
I ka lawe no a kikiipau.
Hainaia mai ana ka puana,
Aia o Daimana Hila i Leahi.
He composed this song for Miss Makilo, a hanai child of Mr. Pinehaka [? William Pinehasa Wood], one of the well-known men of Honolulu nei, in those days he lived there [? oiai ua la o ke aina ae o ia].
The first four lines of the mele are what the Honorable J. K. Kalakiela recently took to as part of his election speech adding, “Have a heart!”
[The awesome things you find while watching Merrie Monarch! This description is found in an awesome treatise on place names of Honolulu, “My Familiarity with the Land of the Kukalahale Rain,” which runs in the Kuokoa from 12/20/1918 to 1/24/1919 (although it indicates there is to be more to come), describing famous places of Honolulu in days gone by, written by the Anela o Mekiko, Gabriel K. Keawehaku.
Mahalo to the boys of Na Kamalei o Lililehua for their lively hula inspiring me to do a little searching.
For more on the gates of Iolani Palace, click here for Nanea Armstrong Wassel’s post!
For more on the Hale Poni, again click here for Nanea Armstrong Wassel’s post!!]
(Kuokoa, 1/24/1919, p. 3)
Ka Nupepa Kuokoa, Buke LVII, Helu 4, Aoao 3. Ianuari 24, 1919.
There are some people here trying to find once more the hula, chants, and songs of old Hawaii.
Some people believe that it would be good to perpetuate the hula and olioli hoaeae of the the old. Some believe strongly that it is a waste of time or that type of endeavor would be old fashioned [olopaikini].
Some people think that it is very good for Hawaiian things to be fostered, and they are attempting to put an end to improper things like the kind of hula olapa of some people done in public. Continue reading
OPENING
A GRAND CONCERT!
Of all types of Hawaiian Music, on the night of the
SATURDAY NIGHT, THE 26TH OF THIS MONTH!
AT THE
Chinese Theater!
SEASIDE OF AINAHOU.
There will be some Mele performed with Native Hawaiian instruments, and some with Haole instrments.
By the Famed One
IS THE ORCHESTRATING.
THE PERFORMANCE.
1. IPU PERFORMANCE [LEALEA PAIPU]—4 girls whose steps are like flashes of lightning.
2. CHEST SLAPPING PERFORMANCE [LEALEA PA-I-UMAUMA]—3 boys with swift hand motions.
3. MODERN PERFORMANCE [LEALEA HOU LOA]—4 dolls. The dolls will do a Hula Olapa, and their hand motions will be like those of a human.
4. UKEKE PERFORMANCE [LEALEA UKEKE]—Mr. John Ioane will show his total skill with the metal ukeke (Jew’s harp) with Hawaiian songs and Haole songs—He will exert himself with his ukeke playing in all fashions—[It doesn’t help that the image is not clear, but cannot make out the next line and a half. Anyone?] and your hearts will be captured.
5. ULIULI PERFORMANCE [LEALEA ULIULI]—2young children. They will show the fluttering and rattling of this thing, the Uliuli.
6. BANJO PERFORMANCE [LEALEA BANJO]—S. Kalama will exhibit his full skill at the Banjo; and its sound is like the ten-stringed lyre of Mahone [this is probably a reference to a story running in the Kuokoa: “KA MOOLELO O BERIANA KA WIWO OLE A ME MAHONE KE KOA” (4/26/1879–11/20/1880)]
FIVE MINUTE BREAK.
7. ACCORDIAN PERFORMANCE [LEALEA KOLIANA]—Henere [Henry] will show his skill at playing the Accordian, and the sounds he makes: Chinese, hoaeae, oli and the musical scale [pakoli]; it will make the crowd laugh and your sides will hurt.
8. OHELO PERFORMANCE [LEALEA OHELO]—2 women. They will show their abilities at this amusement. This is the amusement of the alii of the olden days that they greatly enjoyed.
9. KUI PERFORMANCE [LEALEA KUI]—2 women. These two ladies will display their readiness at this amusement while from their mouths come mele.
10. UKEKE PERFORMANCE [LEALEA UKEKE]—Mr. John Ioane will show his playing of the ukeke with Mele of the King; and this sweet voice of the ukeke will be accompanied by the steps of some girls doing lele this way and that.
11. MODERN PERFORMANCE [LEALEA ANO HOU]—The Famous Mr. Ioane will show once again some new things that will have the audience in stitches.
The doors will open at 7 P. M. Performances begin at 8.
ENTRANCE FEE: $1.00, $ .50. Tickets [Balota ?] available from hand of those in charge as well as at the entrance.
(Ko Hawaii Pae Aina, 6/26/1880, p. 2)
Ko Hawaii Pae Aina, Buke III, Helu 26, Aoao 2. Iune 26, 1880.
Last Friday, Ioane Ukeke left this life, he was one of the old-time kamaaina of the Kukalahale Rain [famous rain of Honolulu], and he was a skilled expert at teaching hula and playing the ukeke in the days gone by, and it is because of Ioane’s skill at playing the ukeke that he received the nickname “Ioane Ukeke.” During the reign of King Kalakaua, he was a hula teacher [kumuao hula] in the royal court, but what made him famous was his showing off in costume, and there was many a time when foreigners mistook him for a prince when he passed by the street corner [huna alanui? huina alanui?] in his stylish attire and his silk waist [pakana ?] and velvet slacks with his beaver hat and monocle, with his short cane. Those proud days of Ioane have gone with the flow of time. He faced difficulties in his latter days, because of blindness. He was always seen on Fort Street with his favorite ukeke serenading those passing by before him, and those who felt aloha for this blind man would undo the tie of aloha and gave a helping hand to the impaired one. Aloha for him.
(Aloha Aina, 5/9/1903, p. 6)
Ke Aloha Aina, Buke IX, Helu 19, Aoao 6. Mei 9, 1903.
On Friday of this past week [5/1/1903], Ioane Ukeke died, and with his death, so too has one of the famous people of thirty or forty years ago left. Those days, Ioane was seen on the streets of town in full attire of a gentleman, and he was often mistaken by the foreign haole, as a prince of the land; but these past years, he went blind, and he was seen on the street sides playing the ukeke and sticking out his hat this way and that for some coins given charitably by the passersby.
Ioane is very famous in Hawaii for his playing of the ukeke. In his youth, he was a hula teacher [a’o hula], and he often went before the court of the alii as a hula leader [poo hula ?]. In those days, Ioane was seen on the streets in a velvet suit, beaver hat, glasses and a cane; he was called “Dandy” by the haole.
(Kuokoa, 5/8/1903, p. 6)
Ka Nupepa Kuokoa, Buke XLI, Helu 19, Aoao 6. Mei 8, 1903.
nupepa 