Ka’ū nui hiehie i ka makani

Museum After Hours
Ka’ū nui hiehie i ka makani
Friday, November 14, 2025
5 pm – 9 pm
Location: Hawaiian Hall | Gallery Lawns

$10 pre-sale, $15 at the door for General Admission. Free for Bishop Museum Members.

Kaʻū Nui Hiehie i ka Makani pays tribute to Mary Kawena Pukui’s beloved homeland of Kaʻū—the place that formed her understanding of the world, her knowledge of our customs and practices, and her deep awareness of both the natural and spiritual realms. This evening of mele, moʻolelo, and memory honors Pukui’s enduring influence through the voices of her descendants, collaborators, and those inspired by her life’s work. Together, we celebrate her profound contributions to Hawaiian language, song, and story, and the legacy that continues to flourish through generations.

Hawaiian Hall Stage Program

Kamehameha Schools Children’s Choir
The program begins with the joyful voices of keiki from Kamehameha Schools, whose songs remind us that the seeds of aloha ʻāina and ʻōlelo Hawaiʻi continue to thrive among our youth. Their performance honors the spiritual and cultural foundation that Mary Kawena Pukui helped to build.

Ke Ala a ka Jeep
Talk Story with Myrna Kamae
Beloved musician and cultural advocate Myrna Kamae shares stories about the creation of “Ke Ala a ka Jeep,” a mele that captures moments of travel, humor, and aloha from the heart of Kaʻū. She also reflects on her late husband Eddie Kamae’s extensive mele research and collaborations with Pukui and others who preserved the poetic language of our people. Her reflections illuminate the bridges between mele, memory, and movement across generations.

Kaʻū Through Kawena’s Eyes
Talk Story with Laʻakea Suganuma
Pukui’s grandson, Laʻakea Suganuma, reads from his personal journal recounting a field trip he took with his grandmother to Kaʻū around 1960. Through his memories and reflections, we see Kaʻū as she saw it — a homeland of moʻolelo, wind, and wisdom that shaped her scholarly and poetic voice.

Kaʻū, Ka ʻĀina o Nā Kūpuna
Panel Discussion featuring kupuna lineal descendants of Kaʻū.
A rich conversation among practitioners, educators, and descendants who continue to breathe life into Pukui’s legacy. Together they explore the values that guided her work, the Kaʻū stories that endure, and how contemporary communities carry these teachings forward through hula, education, and aloha ʻāina.

He Mele no Kaʻū
A special performance of mele, embodying the connection between generations—past, present, and future—joined in gratitude to Pukui and her lasting gifts of knowledge and song.

Kaʻū Nui
na Mary Kawena Pukui lāua ʻo Maddy Lam

He aloha kuʻu one hānau                   Beloved are the sands of my birth
ʻO Kaʻū nui hiehie i ka makani         Great Kaʻū, distinguished in the wind
He home noho mau na ka wahine    A home where the woman dwells
Ka aīwaīwa nani o Kīlauea                 The wondrous beauty of Kīlauea

For information on the full series of events dedicated to Mrs. Pukui, please click this link:
2025 Nānā i ke Kumu Series | Honoring and Perpetuating the Legacy of Mary Kawena Pukui

The Mary Kawena Pukui Cultural Preservation Society’s purpose is to be a unique and invaluable educational resource based on the life’s work of Mary Kawena Pukui, who dedicated her life to the preservation of the Hawaiian culture and language, authoring over 50 scholarly publications, composing over 150 songs and chants. Pukui was widely recognized as a historian, translator, author, teacher, lecturer, composer, researcher, genealogist, hula expert. lexicographer and more.