Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 26, Number 12, 1 December 2009 — in memoriam he hoʻomanaʻo [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

in memoriam he hoʻomanaʻo

1928-2009 GE0RGE LANAKILAKEIKIAHIALI'I NĀ'OPE

George Lanakilakeikiahiali'i Nā'ope, ieonie kumu hula and resplendent showman renowned the world over, died Oct. 26 at his Waiākea, Hawai'i, home. He was 81. He is survived by a brother, three sisters and a hānai son. A two-day celebration of Nā'ope's life was held Nov. 6-7 at Hilo's Afook-Chinen Civic Auditorium, where the Merrie Monarch Festival that he helped to found got its start. Nā'ope was bornFeb. 25, 1928, in Kalihi, O'ahu, andraisedin Keaukaha, Hawai'i. His career as kumu hula spanned more than six

George Nō'ope on, Kaua'i in 1 979. - Photo: Courtesy of Mike īeruya

decades, teaching īn Hawai ī and internationally. Although he stood barely 5 feet tall, Nā'ope was easy to spot in a crowd, but it wasn't because of his bright clothing and extravagant adornments. "He could talk to the highest person in the world without forgetting the poorest, and treat them as equals," said student and confidante 'Iwalani Kalima. "They used to eall him 'menehune,' but he was the tallest man in my life." Nā'ope was one of the founders of the Merrie Monarch Festival in the 1960s, whieh blossomed into the premiere hula competition in the world. Nā'ope also helped to found festivals in Washington, California and across Hawai'i. Kalima said that Nā'ope always taught his haumāna "how to be who we are, and how to be proud of who we are. He was a proud descendant of Hāloa - a true kanaka maoli." Kimo Kaho'āno, a co-host on OHA's Nā 'Ōiwi 'Ōlino radio show, said: "George just had a great

spirit. When you talk about George, you cannot talk anything slow and low - we gotta talk about the colors and the brightness and the intelligence!" With all of his accomplishments, "there isn't one of us who doesn't have a special George Nā'ope memory," said Skylark Rossetti, also an OHA radio co-host and a longtime friend of Nā'ope's. "He touched so many people with hula," she said. Whether they were from Japan, Mexico, Russia, Keaukaha or Kaua'i, we've all had that special magic moment with Unele that we need to carry forward and share it with the world." ■

1948-2009 WAYNE KAHO'ONEI PANOKE

Kumu hula, activist and community leader Wayne Kaho'onei Panoke diedNov. 13 at the Queen's Medical Center in Honolulu. A co-founder of the 'īlio'ulaokalani Coalition that organized many rallies and marches for Hawaiian issues, Panoke was deeply involved with the Hawaiian eommunity in Hawai'i and across the continental U.S. As a member of the Ko'olaupoko Hawaiian Civic Club, he was very active as well with its parent organization, the Association of Hawaiian Civic Clubs. He was also the first student regent of the University of Hawai'i. The 1966 Kamehameha Schools graduate

Wayne Kaho'onei Panoke. - Photo: Elaine Pergerstrom

received his huia umki īn 1968 trom Aunty Nona Beamer, and in the mid-1970s he moved to the U.S. continent and began to make his mark, establishing Hula Hālau O Kaho'onei in the 1970s. In 1996, Panoke moved back home to Kāne'ohe, O'ahu. "Kaho'onei was very creative and innovative. You didn't have to agree with him, but he would definitely argue his points. That's who he was," said student Paul Neves. "He never shied away frompolitical activism. Hula was his first love, but he felt that you cannot sit by and dance hula without saying something about what's going on." In July 2009, Panoke was hired at the Office of Hawaiian Affairs as a Community Outreach Specialist in the Hawaiian Governance Hale. "Though Kaho'onei is relatively new to OHA, he has been active in the Hawaiian community for a number of years and has made a significant contribution," said OHA Administrator Clyde Nāmu'o. "We are

all very saddened by his passing, and our prayers go out to his family and friends." Panoke is survived by his mother, two sisters, extended 'ohana, and many beloved haumāna, friends and colleagues. His hula legacy lives on through his two kumu hula graduates, Paul Neves and Ladd Heleloa, and his hula mo'opuna kumu hula Akalā Nāhikulani Neves. "We have lost a booming, powerful voice in the Hawaiian community, a caring, compassionate leader who never hesitated to stand front and center when it eame to dealing with Hawaiian issues," saidMarilyn Leimomi Khan, president of the Association of Hawaiian Civic Clubs. "Uwē, uwē ka lani. The heavens weep." A memoriaī sen>ice will be heīd Dec. 5, 8:30 a.m. visitation, 10:30 a.m. ser\>ice, at Miīiīani Downtown Mortuary, 20 S. Kukui St. Private scattering ofashes. I