KA LEO HAWAIʻI 2

The Second Phase of Ka Leo Hawaiʻi

After many wonderful years of broadcasting, Kumu Larry Kimura mā decided to retire Ka Leo Hawaiʻi in 1987. However, native speakers could still be found in many places and the community that had grown to love the show missed hearing the voices of Hawaiʻi's mānaleo.

In 1989, a new team headed up by Kumu Puakea Nogelmeier decided to resurrect the broadcast. This second team included Puakea, Hauʻoli Akāka, Tuti Kanahele, and Aunty Lolena Nicholas. For full freedom and station access, the team decided to buy the air time on KCCN (which had all been donated by the station during the first phase of Ka Leo Hawaiʻi).

They approached Dwayne Nākila Steele who generously donated the funds for the first year of production. This included airfare and lodging when it was necessary to travel to a kupuna and record them in their own home or community, much like Mary Kawena Pukui did in the 1960s and 70s.

After hearing their first guest, the wonderful Josephine Lindsey, Nākila offered to fund the second year. Mrs. Lindsey, the resident mānaleo at UH Mānoa, was notoriously soft spoken. Nākila had visited her for two years, but the show was the first time he heard her clearly, the magic of the microphone bringing her voice to full volume. He ended up footing the bill for the entirety of the production, which ended in 2001. His boundless generosity brought another 12 years of native speaker voices to us. Mahalo piha, e ka puʻuwai haokila lokomaikaʻi.

This week's selections come from this second era of Ka Leo Hawaiʻi. All of these recordings are available on the University of Hawaiʻi's Evols website.

Nākila was also the impetus for the beginning of Awaiaulu, an organization that creates Hawaiian-language resources and resource people. You can find a trove of resources on their website, including materials and lessons on Hawaiian history to use in classrooms.

Choose a kupuna to listen to:

Kamuela Kumukahi
He mau moʻolelo no Kalae a me Nīnole

Kaʻanoʻi Fuller
Waiakōlea ma Niʻihau

Joesphine Kaleilehua Lindsey
Ka pali kāʻeʻaʻeʻa o Hāmākua

Kaʻanoʻi Fuller
Ka ʻahaʻaina heʻenalu ma Niʻihau

Malupō Lum Lung Chung
Ka wai huʻihuʻi o ka pūnāwai