Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 14, Number 1, 1 January 1997 — Nona Beamer [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

Nona Beamer

A history rich in Hawaiiana

Winona Kapuailohia Beamer, 73, better known as Aunty Nona, has committed her life to perpetuating Hawaiian culture. She took a group to New York's Carnegie Hall in 1948, the first Hawaiian group to perform there, as she pressed to keep alive authentic hula. She sold her personal possessions back then to finance the concert appearances on the Mainland. At Kamehameha Schools, she spent 37 years instilling pride in Hawaiian students. She created the Hawaiian Studies program there and coined the word "Hawaiiana." She's written chants, composed many songs and published Nā Hula o Hawai'i on the traditions of the hula and the Beamer family.

She is the granddaughter of Helen Desha Beamer, a composer and dancer who originated a smooth dance form that's eome to be known as the "Beamer style" of hula. Aunty Nona is also the mother of popular performers Keola Beamer and Kapono Beamer. She received the David Malo award in 1987 for her work in Hawaiian culture and in May 1996, she received the Alfred Preis Award for commitment to arts education in Hawai'i. Aunty Nona traces her lineage to 15th eentury ali'i that include Ahiakumai Ki'eki'e, a chiefess of the island of Hawai'i, and Ho'olulu, one of the kapu twins of Kameiamoku, favored wife of Kamehameha I. She lives on Hawai'i island.

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