Collection Items

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    Film, Video
    Richard Solomon interview conducted by Boots Lupenui Richard Solomon discusses his songs that he wrote with his brother, Fred. Fred wrote the music and Richard wrote the lyrics. He explains why he wrote the songs. This interview includes four (4) songs about Kohala.
    • Contributor: Solomon, Richard - Palya, Adam - Lupenui, Boots - Solomon, Fred - Solomon, Bryan
    • Date: 2022-11-12
  • Film, Video
    John Keawe interview conducted by Boots Lupenui John Keawe discusses his original song and performs that song while accompanying himself on slack key guitar. John is a well-known Hawaiian slack key guitarist who has recorded and toured extensively for decades and was born and raised in Kohala.
    • Contributor: Keawe, John - Lupenui, Boots - Palya, Adam
    • Date: 2023-02-17
  • Film, Video
    Hope and John Keawe interview conducted by Boots Lupenui Hope Keawe discusses and performs the song she co-wrote with Kumu Keala Ching. She contextualizes the different Kohala districts referenced in the song and then performs "He Nani Kohala" accompanied by her husband, John Keawe. She also talks about learning and sharing Hawai'ian culture via different kumus (teachers), and the importance of becoming a kumu herself. Note: this video is a concatenation of shorter…
    • Contributor: Palya, Adam - Lupenui, Boots - Keawe, John - Keawe, Hope - Ching, Keala
    • Date: 2023-03-02
  • Film, Video
    Interview with hula dancers and friends of Kumu Raylene Ha'alelea Kawaiae'a Interview with Randee Golden and Sharon Hayden, Kohala community members, performers and friends of Kumu Raylene Ha'alelea Kawaiae'a. In this video Randee and Sharon talk about the life and career of Kumu Raylene, and how they came to know and work with each other. They also alternate introducing three of Kumu Raylene's songs which are performed: ; "He Nani Nō 'O Kapanai'a"; and "Ka…
    • Contributor: Lorenzo, U'ilani - Palya, Adam - Lupenui, Boots - Stovall, Lauren Kamalei - Hayden, Sharon - Keawe, John - Golden, Randee - Keawe, Hope - Kawaiae'a, Raylene Ha'alelea - Veloria, Audrey - Keawe, John, Jr
    • Date: 2023-02-07
  • Photo, Print, Drawing
    Lyrics to original unrecorded songs by Helen Awa'a Composer Helen Kuluwaimakaokalani Awa'a was born, December 4, 1915 in Kawaihae-Uka, South Kohala, Hawai'i to parents, Helena Hulupi'i Ahio (mother) and Sam K. Awa'a (father). She was a beloved kupuna (elder) well-known in the Hawaiian community for nurturing and preserving Hawaiian culture and values. She passed away on July 11, 2007 at the age of 91.

  • Film, Video
    Unearthing the Lost Songs of Kohala Documentary Documentary covering Mark "Boots" Lupenui's fieldwork documenting local musicians and their heirloom songs. The video synthesizes Lupenui's interviews with various musicians as well as presents individual and group preformances and provides reflections on the overall process and importance of preserving these songs. Interviewees and performers discuss the natural beauty and elements of Kohala that inspire their music as well as family and friends who…
    • Contributor: Lorenzo, U'ilani - Solomon, Richard - Palya, Adam - Lupenui, Boots - Stovall, Lauren Kamalei - Keawe, John - Solomon, Bryan - Golden, Randee - Keawe, Hope - Kawaiae'a, Raylene Ha'alelea - Veloria, Audrey - Keawe, John, Jr
    • Date: 2024-01-14
    • Resource: Unearthing the Lost Songs of Kohala Documentary
  • Collection
    Unearthing the Lost Songs of Kohala The Community Collections Grant project entitled Unearthing the Lost Songs of Kohala aims to document generations-old “heirloom songs” of the Kohala region in the northwest portion of the island of Hawai’i. The intimate link between music and place is made evident in the documentary materials that illustrate how performers have historically drawn inspiration from the natural and cultural environment when composing their songs. The…
    • Contributor: Lorenzo, U'ilani - Solomon, Richard - Palya, Adam - Andrew W. Mellon Foundation - Lupenui, Boots - Awa'a, Helen - Hayden, Sharon - Stovall, Lauren Kamalei - Keawe, John - Solomon, Bryan - Keawe, Hope - Golden, Randee - Kawaiae'a, Raylene Ha'alelea - American Folklife Center - Veloria, Audrey
    • Date: 2022

    Collection Items: View 8 Items

  • Web Page
    Rights and Access The American Folklife Center and community fieldworkers who carried out these Mellon-Foundation-funded Community Collections Grant projects (2022-2024) feel a strong ethical responsibility to the people who have consented to have their lives documented for the historical record. Researchers are asked to approach the materials in this collection with respect for the culture and sensibilities of the people whose lives, ideas, and creativity are documented…