Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 23, Number 7, 1 July 2006 — John Kaʻimikaua 1958-2006 [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

John Kaʻimikaua 1958-2006

t , *jr. ' w m t John Keānuenue Ka'imikaua, hula master and authority on Moloka'i traditions, passed away in June at the age of 47. At an early age, Ka'imikaua was taken in by an elderly Moloka'i woman living in 'Aiea, "Kawahineapuheleikapōkāne." She instilled in him chants, dances, lore and genealogies particular to Moloka'i. Ka'imikaua spent his life sharing those teachings with students on O'ahu and Moloka'i, as well as the entire Hawai'i eommunity and beyond. He established the annual Moloka'i Ka Hula Piko event paying tribute to the hula deity Laka and hula's origin at Pu'u Nānā, Maunaloa, Moloka'i. Along with his Hālau Hula o Kukunaokalā, Ka 'imikaua led ceremonial protocols at the annual hula event, and served as an advisor for Kā Moloka'i Makahiki, the celebration of Lono, the harvest and traditional eompehtive athletics. Ka'imikaua was also a noted composer and recording artist. Recently, Moloka'i's Ra'iātea Helm recorded "Unele John's" mele 'Ku'u Pua Kukui o Kamakou" on her "Sweet and Lovely" Hōkū Award-winning CD. Ka'imikaua offers a haunting oli preceding his song. Arguably one of Ka'imikaua's most impacting performances was at the King Kamehameha Hula Competition on O'ahu in the early 1980s, where his dancers took on the characteristics of dogs in "Boki Kūmanomano o Kalaupapa." The howling of the 'ōlapa, the haunting voice of the kumu hula and the rare performance of "hula 'llio" brought the house down. His style was unique, set apart from any other. "I remember meeting him when he was just 16," recalled Leinā'ala Kalama Heine, kumu hula of The Ladies of Nā Pualei O Likolehua. "For such a young man, he had a lot of kuleana in taking care of all these many chants entrusted to him. He had to pass them on and that's why he started his hālau. "One of the special things I remember about John is he shared a short paukū of a thousand-plus line mele that he dated back to the 9th century," Heine said. "It is a migration chant, 'I Runa Paparani,' and we have used it all these years as a ho'i - most recently at Merrie Monarch. That was a very special gift." Kumu Hula John Ka'imikaua is survived by his wife, Ka'oi; mother, Pualani; hānai daughter, Kianna Mae; a brother; and two sisters. Aloha nō e Keānuenue ē ...