Love and Legacy with Kaumakaiwa Kanaka’ole Coming to Vancouver this January
By RachelRosenberg
KaumakaiwaKanaka‘ole is an award-winning singer and hula dancer, who has appeared onstage with her family since the age of three. Descended from seven generationsof activists and artists, all of whom continue to inspire her, her love-infusedperformances utilize an incredible range that blends baritone chanting withHawaiian-style falsetto. As a modern transgender Hawaiian, her spellbindingperformances unify traditional Hawaiian culture with contemporary sensibilities.We spoke to Kaumakaiwa about what inspires, recharges, and excites her.
You come from a family full ofartists and activists who have been at the forefront of efforts to revive andcelebrate Hawaiian culture. Did you always know that you wanted to continuethat tradition with your own career?
“I hadn’t ever ‘considered’ or ‘intended’to make a career of either aspects of my cultural practice, genetic memory ornurtured culture. Do I acknowledge that both nurtured culture and geneticallyinherited ability have an equal part in creating the modality of my culturalcontributions thus far? Emphatic and grateful YES!”
Who or what has inspired you?
“Familial legacy. [My] great-great-grandmother,for her sacrifice becoming the ancestral portal that her future generationsmight benefit from the continuum her actions ensured.
Her daughter, my great-grandmotherfor being the consummate bridge of multi-generational, socio-ecological, socio-political,cultural and spiritual wisdom.
Her daughter, my grandmother forrecognizing that genetic or ancestral memory is our power.
Her daughter, my mother for herresilience and her love.
My siblings and their children, for going the journey with me in unconditional love.”
Do you ever get stuck in thesongwriting process? If yes, how do you recharge and break free to create newwork?
“I use either modalities, lyric first or melody first—whichever comes first in the emotional space I might be in at the time. A melody or word can reignite the writing process for me as much as an emotional catalyst can.”
Guitarist Shawn Pimental will be performing with Kaumakaiwa in Vancouver
Your main performing medium is hula.Most people think of hula as the stereotypical image ofgrass-skirt-and-lei-wearing dancers, so how would you describe it, since it isobviously more than that?
“As I stated earlier, music,dance, chant and ritual for me are unique in its restorative and communicativefunctions. They are a genetic necessity that mankind possesses, because ‘music’and ‘dance’ is the only natural resource that mankind has the capacity tocreate purely out of one’s own existence without first diminishing or consumingsomething else. Cross species communication by means of resonant frequency andwavelength.
THAT IS HULA!!! Its original purpose was one part restorative and one part communicative. [It was] between man and nature long before man became the focus of hula.”
Kaumakaiwa will be performing with guitarist Shawn Pimental at York Theatre as part of their Femme Series, which “highlight[s] the strength and power of the female voice and experience.” The show is on January 27 at 8PM, and tickets can be purchased through The Cultch website.
RachelRosenberg is a writer and library technician who is a proud member ofthe LGBTQ2+ community. She writes for Book Riot and can befound on Instagram @penandmitten
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