THE KAMEHAMEHA SCHOOLS PROGRAM OF HAWAIIAN STUDIES

Donald D. Mitchell

The Kamehameha Schools are engaged in their American and European composers, the students most extensive and ambitious program of education sang Hawaiian songs in the music classes, at programs in Hawaiian subjects in their 88 years of instructing on the campus and at the annual Founder's Day young people of Hawaiian ancestry. Most of these Ceremony. Charles E. King, a member of studies have been introduced within the past ten Kamehameha's first graduating class (1891) and years to meet the requests and the needs of a well-known composer, returned to his alma Kamehameha students and of other young men and mater to teach music from 1900 through 1902. women in their home communities. The increasing He placed special emphasis on Hawaiian melodies. interest in Hawaiian culture throughout the State In their free time the boys sang Hawaiian songs has challenged Kamehameha to offer studies and to the accompaniment of the 'ukulele and guitar. to sponsor projects to help our young citizens in It was during these sessions in the early 1890's their quest for knowledge and skills in this culture. that young Joseph Kekuku invented the steel guitar, converting his regular guitar to one played A Brief History with a steel bar, which he made in the school shop.4 The students who attended Kamehameha during Since the early 1920's all of the boys and girls the twenty or more years after it was founded learn two or more Hawaiian songs each year for the in 1887 were, for the most part, fluent in the annual Song Contest. Hawaiian language and familiar with the customs The boys enjoyed football and baseball but played and traditions of their people. King David Kalakaua no Hawaiian games. A swimming tank filled with spoke in Hawaiian as he addressed those present water from the school's artesian well was a favorite at the dedication of Kamehameha Schools on place for recreation during the boys' free hours. November 4, 1667., The beaches were far away so surfing and canoeing During the early years the course of studies were vacation-time activities only. for the boys was planned to train them for positions During the mid-1930's President Frank E. Midkiff in local industries where English was the preferred and the principals realized that most of their language. "By 1650 English had become the language Hawaiian students had but meager knowledge of of business, diplomacy, and, to a considerable their language, history and customs. Since most of extent, of government itself ."2 The class time the students were boarders the influence of the assigned to language skills was devoted entirely Hawaiian home was minimal. As a beginning in to the improvement of oral and written English. teaching the young people to appreciate their own The Kamehameha students were forbidden to culture, a text to be used in studying the language speak Hawaiian in class or on the playfields and were was written by the President and the teacher.5 penalized if they did. To encourage English usage After the instructor, Mr. Wise, retired the course the "English holiday" was observed. The school was not offered again for a number of years, as policy read, " . . . whoever was not caught talking very few capable Hawaiian language teachers 'native' for a month should be entitled to a holiday were available at that time. on the day set apart."l An evening lecture series was provided for seniors All classes at the School for Girls, which opened which gave the students valuable insights into in 1894, were taught in English. The emphasis in their culture and an opportunity to know the speak­ the course of study was on homemaking. ers who were authorities in special fields of The only exception to the "No Hawaiian" rule interest. The lectures were published by the was in the music departments of the two .schools. Kamehameha Schools in 1933 in a 300-page book Although much time was spent studying music by entitled Ancient Hawaiian Civilization. 11 For many years the individual teachers, rather in Hawaiian activities during the years 1952 through than a planned curriculum, determined the Hawaiian 1964 enrolled in courses in the Kamehameha experiences provided for'the students. Some Schools-Bishop Museum Workshop. They studied instructors placed great emphasis on the Hawaiian under a Kamehameha instructor who was on full­ aspects of the subject matter in their fields. time assignment to the Museum. During the first Others, because they were unfamiliar with Hawaiian two years the shop was one of Kamehameha's culture, offered none at all. "work-experience" activities. The boys helped Through the years the Hawaiian culture clubs, in the maintenance of the physical plant and in with meetings after school and on weekends, the care of artifacts. The girls worked in the presented programs which gave the young people library or with the scientists in their departments. a knowledge of thi_!!gs Hawaiian and a pride in After the work-experience program was their culture. Hui 'Oiwi (Native Sons), a boys' club discontinued the Workshop students enrolled in founded in 1931, regularly played Hawaiian games Hawaiian culture and craft classes at the Museum. for their own enjoyment and in public demonstra­ They were fortunate to have as resource materials tions. These activities are described in the book, the extensive Museum displays and the use of Hawaiian Games for Today, which the Kameha­ additional artifacts in the storerooms. These meha Schools will publish this spring. The girls experiences trained the students for guide organized Hui Kumulipo (The Source) in 1935 to service in the Museum exhibition halls. They study_Hawaiian culture and crafts. They met with shared their knowledge with several thousand Hui 'Oiwi for some activities, especially the annual public and private school children who visited lii'au (feast) with food prepared in the traditional the Bishop Museum each year. manner by the boys and girls. In the craft shop the students worked with a Interest in the Hawaiian language increased variety of materials in making musical instruments, among high school students when the University of game equipment, and replicas of Hawaiian artifacts. Hawai'i announced that it would accept Hawaiian The lessons developed for the Workshop students for credit as a foreign language. In the 1940's were published by Kamehameha Schools in a 219- conversational Hawaiian was introduced in the page book, Resource Units in Hawaiian Culture, elementary and intermediate divisions and as an Donald D. Mitchell, 1969 and 1974. elective in high school. In the late 1950's linguists The traditional hula as danced by Mrs. Winona at the University of Hawai'i and Bishop Museum Beamer and her students influenced the adminis­ began to develop instructional materials6 which, tration in 1965 to sanction, for the first time, for the first time, placed the teaching of Hawaiian instruction in the ancient and modern standing on a par with other languages. During the early hula for boys and girls. With ever-increasing skill, 1960's Mrs. Dorothy M. Kahananui used the new Mrs. Beamer continues to teach the hula, to direct approach to Hawaiian language teaching in her Hawaiian pageantry at the Schools and to share high school classes at Kamehameha. Her lessons her knowledge with many who seek it. were published by Kamehameha in 1965 in a 175- page text entitled E Papa'olelo Kakou (let us The Hawaiian Curriculum Today · Converse). She revised these widely-used lessons Instruction in Hawaiian culture is now a part for a third printing in 1970. of the prescribed courses of study in all of the Special efforts were made to involve the divisions of the Kamehameha Schools. President "preparatory" pupils in Hawaiian music, art and Jack Darvill has initiated and continues to give folklore when the elementary division opened personal support to numerous Hawaiian endeavors as a school for boys and girls in 1942. Mrs. Mary in the Schools and the community. Kawena Pukui taught conversational Hawaiian and told Hawaiian legends for several years. These The Elementary Division. Two instructors, work­ stories, told by Mrs. Pukui and written by Miss ing with the kindergarten through the sixth grade, Caroline Curtis, have been published in three teach Hawaiian culture full time, largely through volumes: Pikoi, 1949 and 1971; The Water of Kane, music. The pupils spend one 30-minute period a 1951 and Tales of the Menehune, 1960. Miss Curtis week learning chants, songs and the use of the has also published Builders of Hawaii, 1966, and hula instruments. As the pupils learn the meanings Life in Old Hawaii, 1970. of the Hawaiian words in the songs, they acquire High school students who wished to be involved a knowledge of place names, local plants and 12 animals, and the stories of the gods and legendary economic life of Hawai'i from the coming of the heroes. Europeans to the present time. The fourth grade pupils devote their social Students who elect to study the Hawaiian language studies time to an intensive study of ancient for four ye\lrs learn to speak, read and write with and modern Hawai'i. They learn the songs, dances, some facility. They translate stories, songs and games and lore which help tell the story of the articles from old newspapers. ancient festival, the Makahiki. The pupils share Literature of the Pacific is a popular elective this knowledge in a pageant which they present for juniors and seniors. Following a survey of during Aloha Week each October. The members of creation stories from many lands the students read the O'ahu Aloha Week Royal Court are the guests the myths and legends of the other islands of of honor at this colorful festival. Also invited Polynesia and compare them to the Hawaiian each year are the fourth grade classes from a half versions. They also read the journals of important dozen or more public and private schools on O'ahu. explorers and adventurers in the Pacific with the Each year different schools are invited; eventually object of learning why each traveler came to the representatives from all of the O'ahu elementary Pacific, what his attitudes were toward the island schools and their teachers will have experienced people, and what their reactions were toward him. this Makahiki pageant. The students consider whether or not the explorer learning aids in Hawaiian studies for the accomplished his purpose in coming and what elementary pupils are readily accessible to them effects, of long or short duration, his visit had upon in their learning Center. For reading they choose the people contacted. from an extensive library of books and pamphlets Semester courses are offered in Religions of and they listen to Hawaiian legends from tapes. Hawai'i and Historic Sites. Enrollment in Hawaiian Also available to them are a miniature Hawaiian crafts may be for a quarter or a semester. From house in the garden and an ample number of hula local craft materials such as /au ha/a, marine instruments and costumes. shells, bamboo, lava stone, hard wood and coconut shells, the students fashion items similar to the The Intermediate Division. language, history useful ornamental articles which were used in the and culture are emphasized in the eighth grade in old culture. The science department course, semester-length classes conducted by a Hawaiian Natural History of Hawai'i, acquaints the students studies specialist. The combined classroom and with the geology and the plants and animals of student resource center has an extensive collection the Islands. The physical education department of books, scrapbooks, photographs and culture teaches Hawaiian games in the category of "individual materials. sports" since few of the old games were played The eighth grade music students learn a large by teams. number of Hawaiian songs and may elect to join classes in playing the guitar and the 'ukulele. Hawaiian Music The learning center, with a Hawaiian culture The study of Hawaiian music has led many enthusiast as its director, provides the students students to a deeper love of their ancestral culture. with a large selection of books and tapes on They learn the meanings of the Hawaiian lyrics, Hawaiian subjects. the mo'o/e/o or story which inspired the song, and background information on the composer's The High School Division. Hawaiian experiences life. If the song is a hula boys and girls may learn are provided in a number of areas in high school. to sing and dance it for their own enjoyment and A semester each of Hawaiian culture and Hawaiian for public presentation. history is now required for graduation from In addition to the Hawaiian songs which all Kamehameha. The culture classes concentrate on students learn for the annual Founder's Day life in old Hawai'i with its colorful social and Ceremony and the Song Contest, the seniors sing in political organization. In these courses many of the Hawaiian at the Baccalaureate Service and at students of Hawaiian ancestry gain for the first Commencement. The congregation and the 35- time a deep respect for their heritage and an intelli­ voice choir of Kamehameha's Bishop Memorial gent appreciation of it. They develop a positive Church sing Hawaiian hymns at their Sunday ethnic identity which helps them to see themselves services. and the Hawaiian people in proper perspective. The highest proficiency in Hawaiian singing The history classes study the political, social and is attained by the members of the Boys and Girls 13 Concert Glee Clubs, of approximately 40 voices expressed in the 1974 slogan, E Mahele I Ka Na'­ each. The selected singers come to the Kameha­ auao O Ko Kakou Ho'oilina E Ola Mau (Share the meha campus in late August for five full days of Knowledge of our Heritage that it may Continue). intensive training in music, Hawaiian language, The Extension Education Division chanting, and ancient and contemporary hula. By For many years the net income from the Bernice the time school opens in September and throughout P. Bishop Estate has been needed to maintain the the year the Concert Glee Clubs present excellent Kamehameha Schools on their Kalihi and Kapalama performances of songs and dances. campuses. With increased revenues during the past Hawaiian songs are also an important part of decade it has been possible to extend Kamehameha's the repertoire of the two regular boys and girls influence far beyond its schools for regularly glee clubs, of about 35 voices each, which are enrolled students. organized each semester in the choral music The Extension Education Division was created to classes. help with the education and training of young The Kamehameha Music Department, with seven people of Hawaiian ancestry across the entire full-time instructors of choral music, instrumental State. Its director, Mr. Fred Cachola, a 1953 music and dance, has assembled the largest graduate of the Schools, supports a far-reaching existing library of Hawaiian octavo arrangements program of Hawaiian education which extends the and the most extensive collection of Hawaiian benefits of Mrs. Bishop's bequest to thousands of chants with notations and background information. young people not enrolled at Kamehameha. In Some 25 chants have been edited for publication addition to the Extension programs now fully and more are being prepared for printing. functioning many more challenging proposals are He Ho'olaule'a being considered. Each October at the time of the island-wide Since 1968 over 10,000 boys and girls have Aloha Week Festival, interested students and participated in the Extension Education Division's instructors sponsor a five-day celebration of summer program called Explorations. Each week Hawaiian culture and the arts known as He Ho'­ as many as 280 pupils of Hawaiian ancestry, who olaule'a No Na Mea Hawai'i. At least two dozen have just completed the fifth grade, may enroll persons from the community who are authorities in this program of Hawaiian activities which is on some phase of Hawaiian life speak to groups conducted on the Kamehameha Schools campus. of students on their specialities. Students go on In 1974 approximately 1660 boys and girls (none excursions to places of interest in Honolulu and of whom were Kamehameha students) came from on Windward O'ahu or see movies on Hawaiian subjects. Noon-hour presentations by the students include choral music, hula, and Hawaiian games on the playfield. The royal court, made up of young people selected for their chiefly bearing, wear replicas of the early Hawaiian garments for royalty and preside at a program given in their honor. In 1974 the Kamehameha court, acting as hosts, received the visiting O'ahu Aloha Week Festival royalty in a carefully planned pageant which demonstrated to approximately 2,000 spectators the manner in which a resident chief and chiefess greeted their royal visitors in earlier times. The student participants in the court learn about wala'au the regalia and symbols which they wear and about the protocol and customs of their ancestral rulers. kikou! Members of the student body cheerfully assume the role of their subjects, showing the respect and admiration for their rulers that would have been shown in days past. The spirit of the program for He Ho'olaule'a is 14 their homes on all of the Islands to participate different dances, each using one of the following in one of the six one-week sessions. For many implements: the ipu_ or_gourd, pebbles or 'ili'ili, it was their first experience of being away from feather gourd or 'uli'uli, rhythm sticks or ka /a'au home and relatives. and the split bamboo or pii'ili. The pupils demon­ One of the purposes of the Explorations program strate their proficiency in these dances at is to help the pupils learn to love and respect Ho'olaule'a. Hawaiian life and customs through experiencing Na Pa'ani Hawai'i (The Hawaiian Games). Of some phase of their ancestral heritage. The young the dozen games described in the workbook the people participate in a number of areas of learning most popular are played on the field or in the under specialists in each field. The experiences are swimming pool. Also the pupils are taken once or selected to capture the interest of ten- and eleven­ twice to a beach for outrigger canoe rides. year olds. Na Hana No'eau (The Skillful Work). The Tuition for each Exploration pupil is ten dollars Explorers work in a well-equipped craft shop with for the week. Grants are available to cover this fee instructors who help them make decorative and when necessary. Tuition covers air transportation useful articles from local materials. The young to and from the pupil's island airport, all transporta­ craftsmen take home examples of their handiwork tion on O'ahu and all costs at Kamehameha. Each such as a dance gourd, a polished kukui nut pendant, student is given a 150-page workbook which a coconut shell bowl, a pa/a'ie implement for playing provides detailed information about the daily the loop-and-ball game or a konane game board. lessons and activities. Directions for making all of these are in the work­ The organized activities for the Explorers are as book which the pupils take home. follows: Na Huaka'i Ma-ka'i-ka'i (Field Trips). Excursions Na Mele a me na Oli (The Songs and Chants). to places of scenic and historic interest on O'ahu In this daily music session the pupils learn the State are high points in the week for Explorers from the song, a special song for each Island and chants neighbor Islands. The selection of places to which teach them proverbial sayings. Some of these visit varies from year to year but the favorite ones songs are part of the program which the pupils are the Bishop Museum, The Royal Mausoleum, give for their parents and friends on the last ' lolani Palace, the Capitol, Ulu Mau Village, Lunalilo night of the session, Ho'olau/e'a, (a gathering for Home, Kualoa Regional Park, Sea Life Park and the fun). Polynesian Cultural Center. Ka 'Olelo Hawai'i (The Hawaiian Language). Explorations added a new feature in 1974 with a Language instruction is introduced through conver­ one-week study tour of the Big Island. Forty boys sation, songs and word games. and girls from O'ahu and their teachers flew to Hula (The Hawaiian Dance). After relating the Hawai'i to learn something of its historic and history of the ancient hula and its significance in scenic sites. The visit also gave the urban young Hawaiian culture, the instructors teach five people an exposure to rural lifestyle. 15 Interested teachers from the State Department to present an exciting picture of early Hawaiian of Education and from private schools come to life. Food plants are shown growing in appropriate Kamehameha each summer to observe and to zones in the valley. Pupils learn that the 'o'o, participate in the various Explorations programs. was the 'planting and harvesting tool and that food The workshop was organized after requests for was cooked in the imu and served in wooden this experience had come from teacliers who believed bowls similiar to the ones on display. that it would help them improve the Hawaiian The music specialist demonstrates the use of programs in their schools. more than a dozen authentic instruments and The ten thousand boys and girls who have been sound makers from the exhibit. She also chants a part of the Explorations program in the past and dances to the accompaniment of some of the seven years have carried their experiences back hula instruments. to their homes which represent nearly every Making clothing from bark fibers is better community in the State. Their booklet helps them understood when the pupils see the raw materials refresh their memories of the songs, dances and and the tools used in processing and dyeing the games. A number of parents report that they garments. On display is a genuine kapa of rare join their children in practicing these enjoyable workmanship. phases of Hawaiian life. The most colorful unit introduces the symbols It is interesting to speculate about the impact of royalty from early Hawai'i. The head wreaths of that this program is having on perpetuating things feathers (lei hulu manu) and the neck ornament Hawaiian. Ten thousand young people have learned of human hair with a whale-tooth pendant (lei to sing the same songs, to play the same games niho palaoa) are real artifacts. The feather cloaks and to share other skills and interests. The schools, ('ahu'u/a), capes (kipuka) and helmets (mahiole) culture clubs and Hawaiian homes in every are replicas which closely resemble the originals. community should accept the challenge of helping Five or more pupils are called to the front of the these young people continue to grow in the room and dressed in the royal garments much to the knowledge of their heritage. delight of the "royal personages" themselves and The Extension Education Division, in keeping their classmates. with its goal of helping all young people learn more When time, weather and playground space about Hawaiian culture, appropriated funds in the permit, the resource team demonstrates Hawaiian summer of 1969 for a full-time resource team. sports. They set up equipment on the field so that These instructors stocked a motor van with edu­ fifty or more pupils may play some of the popular cational materials and were given a budget to games. cover expenses for trips to schools on all of the On each school visit two Kamehameha high major Islands. school students may accompany the team to learn more about Hawaiian culture as they help with the Formerly called the "Hawaiiana-Mobile," this display and the demonstrations. school-on-wheels is now known as N~ Pono Hawai'i Each year the resource team visits about 200 (Hawaiian Excellence). Some of the culture schools on the six larger Islands and also a number materials for demonstration are from the Bishop of clubs and community organizations. Since 1967 Museum, others are replicas carefully made by they have reached some 100,000 students and 6,200 Kamehameha Schools craftsmen. The classes most adults. The demonstrations are given without frequently visited are the fourth grades, whose charge, a courtesy of the Extension Education special theme for the year is Hawaiian life. Division. Pupils of all ethnic groups participate in In an attempt to transport their young partici­ this program. Those of Hawaiian ancestry often react pants to the days of old Hawai'i the team displays with special pride as they learn of the accomplish­ a colorful painting, four by six feet, of a typical ments of their forebears. Others may see their Hawaiian valley or ahupua'a. This painting Hawaiian friends in a new light. shows dozens of people at work and play among A number of upper class students, trained in their houses, gardens, plants and animals, all so several phases of Hawaiian culture, have organized realistically portrayed that they can easily be themselves into teams of four members each for the identified. purpose of going to elementary schools and helping With the aid of the ahupua'a painting and scores instruct the fourth-grade classes. Their name, Ka of artifacts displayed on tables the team is able /awe/awe 'ana o na haumana i ke kalaulu, tells us 16 that they "serve the students in the community." film featuring six "place name" chants which are Each group is prepared to instruct the students closely associated with Kamehameha I. Each copy of one school in the language, music, hula and of the completed film will be accompanied by a games for half a day each week over a period of package of supplementary instructional materials nine to ten weeks. including audio tapes of the chants, information on During the 1973-74 school year these teams taught the background of each chant and the story of approximately 425 fourth graders who were enrolled Kamehameha's relationship to these places. in four elementary schools. They accepted the Recording Disappearing Culture Activities. responsibility of arranging for their own transporta­ Documentary films and tapes are being planned tion and providing the hula instruments, game which will record activities that were once common implements and language lesson aids. The elementary in Hawaiian life but now becoming rare. These will school teachers have been generous in their praise include fishing techniques, food preparation and of the help received from the team members. other arts and crafts not as yet recorded. 'Ahahui 'Olelo Hawai'i, an island-wide association Hawaiian Flora. The Hawaiian people depended of Hawaiian language teachers, was formed in 1972 upon plants for a great many of their material when the need for such an organization became needs. The young people of today, many of them evident at a conference sponsored by the Extension reared in urban areas, know little about the Education Department at the Kamehameha interesting native flora. Kamehameha Schools is Schools. Committees are at work developing restoring its garden of useful native plants and is instructional materials, sponsoring conferences planning to grow seedlings and cuttings in its and generally promoting the study of the language. nursery for planting, when they are requested, on Expenses for these endeavors are borne by the other school campuses. Groups of people who Extension Education Department. express an interest in these plants will be invited One of the many activities planned to revive and on a guided tour through Kamehameha's garden. perpetuate Hawaiian skills is the Extension The administrators, teachers and students who Education Department's project of constructing are involved in Kamehameha's Hawaiian studies canoes from koa logs. The instructor, Mr. Wright program are inspired by the proverbial saying, Bowman, is teaching a number of young men to E malama 'ia na pono o ka 'aina e na 'opio, build and repair canoes. School athletic directors (The traditions of the land are perpetuated by its are becoming interested in adopting koa canoe youth). Kamehameha stands for the very best in racing as one of their interscholastic sports. Hawaiian studies. Its purpose is to teach, share Foxfire, a nation-wide program, originated in and perpetuate these priceless traditions. Georgia where the foxfire plant glows in the dark. The name symbolizes bringing to light the ways Footnotes of an almost forgotten past. Foxfire-Hawai'i, 1The Pacific Commerical Advertiser, Honolulu, S Nov., 1887. sponsored by Kamehameha, now involves students 2Wist Benjamin 0., "A Century or Public Education in Hawaii," in Kailua and Olomana on O'ahu, and in Ka'o, Hawaii Educational Review, Honolulu, 1940, p. 70. Hawai'i. The young people talk with their elders 3Richards, Theodore, The Friend, Dec., 1928, p. 308. about Hawaiian lore, arts and crafts and record •Mitchell, Donald D., The S1ory of 1he Hawaiian Steel Guitar, the information for their own enjoyment and for The Hawaiian Music Foundation, Honolulu, 1973. IMidkiff, Frank E. and lohn H. Wise, A First Course in the distribution. In December, 1974 the Kailua High Hawaiian Language, 126 pages, mimeographed at the Kameha­ School students published their first issue of meha Schools, 1927. Ko Kakou (Belonging to Us), a 48-page magazine of 6 Pukui, Mary Kawena and Samuel H. Elbert, Hawaiian-English interviews, photographs and original sketches. The Dictionary, Universily of Hawaii Press, Honolulu, 1957. Ka'u students are preparing the first issue of their Donald D. Mitchell joined the Kamehameha Schools in 1930 magazine entitled Laulima (Working Together). after teaching for two years at Kal:Jkaua Intermediate School in Honolulu. He received an M.A. from the University The Extension Education Division has begun of Hawai'i and Ed.D. from the University of California at several projects with the purpose of gathering Berkeley. From 1962-64 he conducted the Kamehameha- materials needed in Hawaiian studies programs. Bishop Museum Workshop and he traveled with the Kamehameha Among these are the following: Mobile Unit from 1967-72, Now engaged in research and writing for the Kamehameha Schools, he is the author of Resource Perpetuation of Chants and Music. Staff members Units in Hawaiian Culture and Hawaiian Games for Today, and students are working with a professional and a member of the University of Hawai'i Commitlee for the photographer to produce a twenty-minute color Study and Preservation of Hawaiian Language, Art and Culture. 17