Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 23, Number 12, 1 December 2006 — Ua hala ke kumu hula ʻo George Holokai i ka moe loa o Niolopua [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

Ua hala ke kumu hula ʻo George Holokai i ka moe loa o Niolopua

Na Manu Buyd Editor's note: Hawai'i and the wor!d are saddened by the passing of Kumu Hula George Holokai (1930-2006), protege of hula masters Tom Hiona and Lillian Maka'ena from whom Holokai Iearned in the 1940s and 50s. For years, Holokai instructed hula at his Honolulu studio, and with the City and County of Honolulu Department of Parks and Recreation for nearly 20 years. Over the years, Holokai shared his traditionaI, art form with thousands. Kaumaha a lu'ulu'u nā pu'uwai o ke kaiāulu hula a puni ka honua i ka lono i pā mai nei, ua hala 'o Kumu Hula George Ainsley Kananiokeakua Holokai ma muli o ka ma'i 'a'ai. I ka lā 2 o

Nowemapa nei ma ka haukapila 'o Kaiser Moanalua i ha'alele ai kona 'uhane a kau pono i ka pūliki maluhia o ke Akua. Ua hānau 'ia 'o ia i ka lā 2 o Iulai, 1930, ma Honolulu nei. I kona wā 'ōpio, he haumāna hula 'o ia na Tom Hiona, he kumu hula kaulana o Honolulu. Ma hope, ua lilo 'o ia i haumāna ma lalo o ke kumu hula 'o Lillian Maka'ena, nona ka moemoeā o kahi George Holokai me ka 'ike mua 'ole iā ia, e huli aku ai a a'o aku ai iā ia no ka hoihoi 'ole o kāna mau keiki e mālama i ia kuleana 'ohana. Ua ho'okau 'ia kekahi mau kapu ma luna o George, a ua ulu ka pilina o lāua me ke a'o 'ana mai o ua loea lā. Eia kekahi, ua a'o hou 'ia 'o ia i nā 'ano hula a me nā kaila oli like 'ole me nā kumu he nui, e la'a, kona makuahine 'o Aliee Holokai,

'o Daddy Bray, 'o Kawena Pūku'i a me kāna mau po'e keiki, 'o Pele Suganuma a 'o Patience Nāmaka Bacon. Eia nō na'e, ua kū kona kaila hula i kā Hiona i a'o mai ai iā ia. Ma waho o kona "hula studio" i ho'oilina 'ia mai iā ia mai Tom Hiona mai, ua a'o 'o ia i nā haumāna pā kaukani ma lalo o ka Department of Parks and Recreation mai ka makahiki 1966 a hiki i 1985. I ka aui 'ana o kona mau makahiki, ua ho'okumu hou 'ia kona hālau, a ua ho'omaka 'o ia e a'o i nā 'ano hula like 'ole i nā haumāna he nui. 'O kekahi o lākou he mau kumu hula kaulana o kēia au, 'o Keali'i Reichel a 'o Sonny Ching kekahi o lākou. I kēlā kauwela aku nei nō, ua loiloi 'o "'Anakala George" i ka ho'okūkū hula King Kamehameha, e like me kāna i

hana ai i nā makahiki he nui. Pēlā pū me nā ho'okūkū like 'ole mai 'ō a 'ō. Aloha pumehana i ka 'ohana ona, a me nā haumāna he nui a George Holokai. Mahalo nui i

kona 'ano lokomaika'i a 'olu'olu, a me kona 'ike loea e pili ana i ka mo'omeheu o ko kākou po'e kūpuna hanohano. E ola mau 'oe e Kananiokeakua i nā pulapula āu. Aloha nō ... E

HE HO'OMANA'O • IN M EM ū R I A M

George Holokai me kona pahu hula mai ka puke 'o Nana i na Loea Hula, 1 984, a KallihiPalama Culture and Arts Society. - Pa'iki'i: Shuzo Ueomoto.