Elaine Ka‘ōpūiki

Elaine Kaʻōpūiki
Elaine Kaʻ ōpūiki has devoted over 30 years to teaching hula on the island of Lanaʻi.

I live on an island that is so isolated that I hardly see things that would change my style.
Thirty years ago, anytime we needed instruction we would fly to Honolulu. Flights weren’t expensive like they are today. I would spend a weekend in Honolulu and I would go to any instructor that was available. The kumu would give you translations of chants and you would learn them on your own time. In those days, you learned by the hour so you had to take as many chants as you could in an hour. We didn’t have tape recorders so a lot of knowledge had to be jotted down or sung so I wouldn’t forget. I was trained under such kumu hula as Leilani Alama, Luka Kaleikī, and Noelani Māhoe but the instructors that I saw the most were ‘Iolani Luahine and Tom Hiona. My greatest honor was to be able to learn and dance under these great masters.

I began to teach both kahiko and ‘auwana on Lāna‘i because we didn't have a teacher in the hula. I was an entertainer and I felt I could do it. In those days the requirements to teach were up to the individual herself. There were no requirements that I knew of so I just did it on my own.

There are seven steps to my kahiko and the dance is very simple. I don’t need the fancy steps. What I do need is expressive hands, bodies, and eyes because the traditional dance compared to the ‘auwana has almost no movement.