George Na'ope
photo by Fleur Weymouth
Bio
George Na'ope's full name is George Lanakilakekiahiali'i Na'ope, but throughout the Hawaiian Islands he is known simply as "Uncle George." He is revered for his knowledge and mastery of traditional hula and chant. Born on O'ahu and raised in Hilo, Na'ope began his studies of hula at the age of three under the training of his great grandmother, Mary Malia-Puka-o-ka-lani Na'ope who lived to be over 100 years old. By the age of 12 he was already performing on recordings of Hawaiian music. Upon graduation from high school, he moved to Honolulu and opened the George Na'ope Hula School.
A lifelong teacher, in 1962 he founded the Merrie Monarch Festival. A landmark turning point in the renaissance of Hawaiian culture, the festival is focused on the traditional chant and dance of the islands. Recognized by the Governor and Hawaii State Legislature with the designation "Living Golden Treasure," he has welcomed both President Franklin Roosevelt and President John F. Kennedy to Hawaii and he more recently represented Hawaii at the royal wedding of Japan's Emperor Akahito.
Inteview with Mary Eckstein
NEA: First of all, I want to congratulate you on your National Heritage Fellowship. Tell me how you felt when you heard the news.
MR. NA'OPE: Well, I was shocked for one thing, but greatly honored to be recognized by our government.
NEA: I know you began learning the hula at a very young age, but didn't particularly enjoy it when you first started.
MR. NA'OPE: No, I didn't. I really started enjoying it when I was about 15 years old. I was a little older and little wiser. It was my great-grandmother -- she died at 104 years old -- who insisted that I learn the culture. I'm very happy today that I did -- and I was fortunate to have great masters to teach me.
NEA: Why did you feel there was a need for the Merrie Monarch Hula Festival?
MR. NA'OPE: I felt the hula was becoming too modern and that we have to preserve it. [David] Kalakaua [king of Hawaii 1874-91, aka The Merrie Monarch] brought the hula back to Hawaii 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.
NEA: What do you mean when you say that hula is getting too modern?
MR. NA'OPE: Well, there were those movies like “Blue Hawaii”, the Dorothy Lamour hula pictures, and all the other Hollywood hula movies. A lot was added to hula in those movies, including the cellophane skirts. It's beautiful in a way. I use it to show what the ahunas [modern hula influences] did for us, adding color to our costumes.
But now at the Merrie Monarch Festival they're adding the modern steps to the ancient dances, and that's why we're going to have a meeting this month on August 16th in Honolulu with all of the kus [head hula teachers] to tell them what they did wrong. You can add the kahiko [ancient] steps to the modern hulas, but you cannot add modern steps to the ancient hulas. I don't know how anybody else feels about this, but that's how I feel. They're not keeping the culture. They're adding to it. They can do that in the modern hula, but not in the ancient dances. They should leave it as our forefathers left it to us and we should continue to keep it that way.
In the ancient hula and in all of our chants are the history of Hawaii. Many of the chants are not in books -- they were handed down from generation to generation. We've tried to preserve all of that so that our youngsters today will know how our people lived in the days of their forefathers and our forefathers.
NEA: Can you tell me a little bit about your teaching?
MR. NA'OPE: I've been teaching now for about 58 years. I've taught in Japan, Guam, Australia, Germany, England, North and South America, and also in the Hawaiian islands. I've mostly been teaching in Japan because they are very interested in the culture. I've been telling them, though, that while it's wonderful that all these non-Hawaiians are learning Hawaiian culture, they need to remember to learn their own culture as well. When we [Hawaiians] became part of America most of our people forgot our ancient dances.
NEA: I understand you began teaching at age 13. Was that challenging to be so young and to be a teacher?
MR. NA'OPE: Yes, it was. Other people were teaching the modern hula and I just happened to be one of the people teaching the ancient hula. I finally got them interested in the ancient dances.
NEA: Do children learn hula in the schools nowadays? Is it part of the curriculum?
MR. NA'OPE: All of the schools are teaching hula now. I'm glad they're emphasizing the ancient dances in the schools, and the youngsters are beginning to learn to chant in the Hawaiian language. They are learning the language in the schools which is very, very good.
When I went to school they didn't have Hawaiian classes. It was forbidden. Now all of the schools have Hawaiian classes.
NEA: What is the main message that you think that the hula and the chanting is conveying?
MR. NA'OPE: The hula is the ability to create one's most inner feelings with the love and respect for our culture. You can put 100 dancers together all dancing the same dance and everyone is dancing differently because that's their interpretation.
We must remember who we are and that our culture must survive in this modern world. If you love your culture you will teach tradition and the love of the hula. Teach it and share it and not hide it. I tell the young people to learn the culture and learn it well, preserve it so their children and their children's children can continue with our culture and that our culture will live forever.