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Leialoha Amina is the kumu hula of the Nä Lei O Kaholoku. Her mother Mary Ann Neula Lim was her first teacher as well as her Aunt Margaret Kaleolani Moku. She was taught by other great Kumu Hula such as Iolani Luahine, George Naope, Darrell Lupenui and the late Edith Kanaka'ole.
June Tanoue: I have long been a fan of the Lim Family - your music and harmony are so beautiful. Your halau is also beautiful - I remember the first Merrie Monarch Hula Competition that you won first place - the ladies in their white holoku (dresses) - I remember immediately starting to weep when everyone began to dance. There was something so deep and moving in the way they all danced. That must be your philosophy of aloha coming through.
Leialoha Amina: You mention my philosophy of Aloha coming through a performance at Merrie Monarch of the
mele (song) Mi Nei. That was indeed only one of the highlights of Na Lei O Kaholoku.
I began my hula teaching career officially in 1979. I was making the transition from a hula dancer to a hula teacher and I knew that I did not know enough about teaching. In a brief conversation with a noted Hawaiian musician and his wife, I was encouraged to meet the late Pilahi Paki. That meeting changed my life.
Suffice it to know that in true Hawaiian fashion, I was questioned to establish what Hawaiians call a pilina (a connection with her). Eventually through questioning, it was established. She immediately handed me a paper with handwritten Hawaiian words, with instruction to come back the very next week to chant it to her. It was my rite of passage if I wanted her to be my mentor and I her student.
I did do this with a little reluctance and trepidation and almost decided not to go through with that meeting. However, I gathered the intestinal fortitude to make that meeting. That decision was a turning point in my life.
Upon completion of that chant to Pilahi, I was given a Hawaiian name, the name I carry today which is Leialoha. Of course, I had to have my Dad's approval because none of his children were given Hawaiian names. When we were born, it was not fashionable to be "Hawaiian." My Dad met with Pilahi and heard her explanation and the name met my Dad's approval and all my siblings acknowledge me as Leialoha.
Along with the name, I was given the kuleana
(responsibility) to share the chant, now known today as the Aloha Chant or Oli Aloha credited to Pilahi Paki. My mission: to share the message of the chant. The name, Leialoha, was to always remind me of my kuleana.
I was under Pilahi Paki's tutelage for about 2 years. I learned from her---correction---she suggested to me what I needed to experience. One day, she felt that all I was learning needed practical application. She encouraged me to begin formal hula instruction. Na Lei O Kaholoku was birthed in 1981, in Wai'anae, O'ahu. And the rest as they say is history.
However, my mission is ongoing.
June: What have you learned about hula in all of your many travels?
Leialoha: That many people have embraced hula. I travel to teach hula in US mainland, Japan, Canada and recently Korea. They are all enthusiastic.
Some of them may not totally understand what they are dancing, but it makes people feel special. Unique. Allows a person to self-express. Allows them to go from the studio/halau hula to the kahua (stage) for their 3-4 minutes of sharing what they learned in full costume complete with adornments. The Hula Experience.
June: What are the Hawaiian values that you teach through your hulas?
Leialoha: That term, Hawaiian values. I was taught to be very careful about the term Hawaiian, which is a
po'e haole (white person's) word. And values...the closest in 'olelo makuahine (mother tongue) would be
'ike (knowledge, insight). So let me try to answer this from that mana'o (thought, idea).
Through my "learning" over the years since 1979, I finally got an epiphany. As a "Kumu Hula," I now define myself as a historian and keeper of Hawai'i's history and legends. See, every mele that we perform is history. Who composes mele? Dogs, cats? No. Human beings who were inspired to write and capture in mele their experience in time and circumstance for all time.
Is this not what our ancestors were? Inspired by nature? Events that happened in their lives? What they thought was important to pass to the next generation?
Therefore, maybe one "value" that I am very mindful of and I share with haumana hula (hula students) is that we must respect every mele we sing and dance. We must seek what the intent of the composer was and impart that intent with the best of our ability through the
mele and hula.June: Do you have a current favorite hula and why?
Leialoha: I have so many favorite hulas. I will choose. For Kahiko (ancient hula) - Aia La O Pele because I had the privilege to see the mesmerizing hula of one of my teachers, Iolani Luahine.
For Auwana (modern hula) - Pua 'Olena (flower of the tumeric). I had the privilege of hearing the story behind the mele from the composer, Jimmy Kaholokula. It's a very haunting mele of how the composer experienced the pua 'olena.
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