Ku‘ulei Punua

Ku‘ulei Pūnua
Besides teaching hula on Kaua‘i for the past twenty-eight years, Kuulei Pūnua also entertains at the Sheraton Coconut Beach Hotel with her children.


At the time of our learning we just did what we were told. We didn’t ask questions. I can remember very well that all of the dancers were very, very disciplined. We had to have a keen sense of memory. There were no tape recorders. We just practiced and practiced and practiced.

When I was two-years-old I was taken by my mother to Elizabeth Pahukoa Lewandowski of Ke‘anae, Maui and she was my first kumu. She was one of the original Leilani Village dancers on Kūhiō Avenue. This was during World War II and she would teach me in her apartment. I studied with Aunty Elizabeth for a year-and-a-half and then I was taken to Ruby Ahakuelo. She had her studio on Smith Street and I would go to class after school. When I was nine-years- old I was taken by my mother to ‘Iolani Luahine who was in Kaka‘ako in the Forties. I had not seen anything like the training we were put through under ‘Iolani.

We had to prepare ourselves by going to the ocean and gathering seaweed and we had to be very cautious that no one had their ma‘i at this time. Nothing was explained, we just did whatever we were told to do. Aunty Hoakalei Kamau‘u was a young girl at that time but she was the one that taught us the dances. What I remember most is that nothing was explained to us. I suppose it was because of our age so we were being protected. Background was not freely given so we had to learn everything by observing. We just learned whatever our kumu felt she wanted us to know. Everything depended on sound, memory, and our senses.

When I was about twelve- years-old I graduated traditionally with Aunty ‘Iolani and the presentation was held at McKinley Auditorium. At the same time I was asked by Kent Ghirard to join his hula troupe. I learned everything I know about kahiko from Aunty To. When I went to Kent Ghirard, I learned everything about entertaining. This was when nobody could touch Kent Ghirard. It was the Fifties and he was the best. He was very explicit about our dancing, our routines, our appearance, and our mannerisms on stage. There is a difference between learning the hula as a dancer and as a performer. Every dancers hair had to be the same length and we were trained to even put on our make-up a certain way. We were trained to become professional dancers.

In 1954 I moved to Kaua‘i. I had no intention of teaching the hula when I moved but I began with one student then two and so on. When I started teaching, many Hawaiians felt that there was kahunaism attached to the ancient hula so no one wanted to learn. But Aunty ‘Iolani taught me not to be afraid of the kahiko and Kaʻupena (Wong) told me to put my faith in the Lord and my kupuna and go forward. So I began to teach kahiko that was simple and fun because I felt all the fear was based on hearsay. If we Hawaiians don’t dance and teach the ancient hula how can we expect it to be perpetuated? If some of our kupuna like Aunty Hoakalei Kamauʻu, Aunty Edith Kanaka‘ole, Aunty Lokalia Montgomery and Aunty Mā‘iki Aiu Lake didn’t share their dances in the Seventies there would have been no way that the door would be open for everybody today. We cannot survive if we do not come together to share and acknowledge each other.

The hula offers everything a Hawaiian should know and a Hawaiian is everyone that makes his home here. We are having a lot of people moving here and we must preserve our language. In New Zealand it is mandatory that all residents learn the language and the same should hold true for our islands. Without the language there is no culture.