"Auntie" Alice Kuʻuleialohapoʻinaʻole Kanakaoluna Nāmakelua (1892–1987) was a
Hawaiian composer and performer. Nāmakelua was also a
kumu hula dancer and
lei-maker.[1] She was an expert performer of the
slack-key guitar and a master of the
Hawaiian language.[2] Nāmakelua was a mentor of other musicians and wrote around 180 songs of her own.[1] She was inducted into the
Hawaiian Music Hall of Fame in 2011.
Biography
Nāmakelua was born in Kīhālani on Hawaii Island.[3] As a teenager, she sang for the deposed queen,
Liliuokalani.[2] She was taught hula in her teen years by David Kaho'aleawai Kaluhiakalani, who had been the chanter for
Prince Jonah Kūhiō Kalanianaʻole.[4] Nāmakelua spent most of her life on
O'ahu.[5]
Nāmakelua worked for the City of
Honolulu's Parks and Recreation department, and some of her songs were composed for the
Kamehameha Day Parades.[5] Nāmakelua would work on the
Maui float for the parade, starting in 1944.[6] While working for the city, she also taught hula, Hawaiian language and music classes.[7] She was also the playground director.[1]
She taught hula, song and the
ukulele for a short time on
Kauai in 1959, where she resided with mayor Francis Ching and his wife.[2] In the 1970s, she was part of the Hawaiian Cultural Renaissance and noted for her guitar playing.[8] In 1978, she was one of the special award winners of the Lifetime Achievement Awards from the
Hawai'i Academy of Recording Arts.[9] In 1980, she received a Na Makua Mahalo ia award, which was originally developed to recognize the musical accomplishments of members of the
Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.[10]