Born: Honolulu, O‘ahu, Hawai‘i
Hawaiian Chant - Master

"My grandmother was the most important influence on me, kindling an interest in Hawaiian language and culture. We have such incredible diversity in Hawai‘i...we’re blessed. But not a lot of chanting...I just can’t turn on the radio and hear the kind of chanting you might have heard early in the century."

In Hawaiian chant, the poetry is very important. Words are combined in ways that reveal a Hawaiian view of nature. In ancient Hawai‘i, chants were composed and performed for many special occasions. There were chants for remembering ancestors, praying to the gods, blessing a home, placing a kapu, praising the deeds of a chief, naming a child, greeting a friend, boasting, thanking, surfing, awakening, singing to a lover, and mourning the loss of a loved one. The study of Hawaiian chant involves researching words and understanding their meanings in the Hawaiian language. Many of the words in chants have more than one meaning, or kaona. The kaona, or alternate meanings in the poetry, add to the richness and the beauty of the chant.