Were we not ready, not prepared? There are sacred mountains all over this world.’” “I continue to compose, so this story is far from over.” He is currently working on a song about Lake Waiau.
KeOlaMagazine.com | November-December 2018
‘Ohana “We are responsible for each generation, parents to children. I have 17 grandchildren all around the world, three greatgrandchildren. I like spending time with them, listening to their stories. We get crazy together and I like watching them running around, screaming—it’s joyous. That is what drives me to write poetry, to teach hula: to continue to learn and strive for their betterment. I had to help my mom and my dad to raise my brothers and sisters on a farm, where I worked from sun up to sunset. I sang through everything. I never stopped singing. I made up songs all day long. “When I was young, preparing for life, my teachers sat me down and told me I would never marry. I did not question. They said to me, ‘You will never have children, yet you will have many, many children.’” In fact, he had six children, all legally adopted by him. “All carry my last name, Hewett. Some of them were given to me as infants and some older. We found that every single one through DNA is closely related to me. I believe there is a purpose in everything. Once I took them into my home they were in an instant mine, as are their children.” Kumu Kawaikapu has inherited his drive to help and teach others. “My mom has volunteered for over 50 years in Kāne‘ohe. At 87 now, she is running sports teams. There’s so much more to do. What I do is what the taro farmer or the fisherman would do. You work to take care of your family. My children are my inspiration, the driving force behind me. I’m working to help take care of five generations. I’m going to keep on working as long as I can.”
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Teaching Kumu Kawaikapu conducts training of other kumu hula at his residence here on Hawai‘i Island. He can’t count the numbers he has graduated, but he is clear to teach them in the tradition of his kumu. “The majority have graduated through the process of Aunty Emma DeFries. What I teach is from that foundation. The most important thing is to have a kahua or foundation that links you to the generation before you to connect with the generations into the future. The relationship between student and teacher is a lifelong relationship that is based on trust, honor, and loyalty—to the school of learning and to the teacher. The teacher also has the responsibility to the student based on the same tradition: respect, honor, and loyalty. I have been teaching now for more than 40 years, and I have students who have been with me for 40 years and still going. I am their parent, teacher, doctor, nurse, advisor, counselor, leader, and everything else. I love and take care of them. When do I plan to stop learning and teaching? When I drop dead. I live for those moments to first research and then share with my students.” ■ Photos courtesy of Kumu Kawaikapuokalani Hewett
For more information: Kumu Kawaikapuokalani Hewett kahalelehua@hotmail.com