Nānā I Ke Kumu: He Hoʻoilina Ola Ka Hula

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The Living Hula Legacy of Mary Kawena Pukui Through Archival Film, Audio, Photographs, and Hula (1930–1945) November 7, 2026 | 5:30 p.m.–8 p.m. Hawaiian Hall | Gallery Lawns $25 General Admission, Free for ages 13 and Under Free for Museum Members In partnership with the Mary Kawena Pukui Cultural Preservation Society, Bishop Museum invites you to celebrate the life, work, and enduring legacy of Mary Kawena Pukui, a foundational pillar of Hawaiian knowledge and cultural revitalization. Nānā i ke Kumu 2026: He Hoʻoilina Ola Ka Hula celebrates traditional hula carried through the Pukui hula lineage: a living legacy of movement, mele, language, lore, and ʻike passed from generation to generation. Inspired by the hula and mele presentations Mrs. Pukui organized in Hawaiian Hall during her tenure at Bishop Museum and throughout Hawaiʻi paeʻāina, the program draws upon research by Pelehonuamea Harman and Kimo Alama Keaulana and Pukui’s own program notes to bring forward traditional hula and mele that are rarely seen or practiced today. The evening will feature the premiere of newly restored archival footage from the 1930s and 1940s, including hula foot movements demonstrated by Patience Nāmaka Bacon and traditional hand gestures. Archival film, audio, photographs, narration, mele, and live hula will come together to illuminate this ʻike as more than a record of the past, but rather, as a living hula legacy that endures today. Join us for this special evening honoring Mrs. Pukui’s contributions to ʻōlelo Hawaiʻi, moʻolelo, hula, mele, and the perpetuation of ʻike kupuna.

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