Hawaiian Legacy Foundation: Eddie & Myrna Kamae

Interview with Manu Kahaialii at the Bailey House Museum 2/28/91 tape 1

Interview with Manu Kahaialii recorded on February 28, 1991 in Hawaiian and English at the Bailey House Museum where he sings "Mai Poina ʻOe Iaʻu" on the steps of the house. In this video Kahaialii explains the style of "Ha Kuikui" played on the song "So Ti." Kahaialii describes "Ha Kuikui" as an old style he learned from his father who learned from his father, and is a style to which men and women would dance the two step. Kahaialii talks about keeping this style of "Ha Kuikui" and the song "So Ti" in his family as "a legacy to leave with the young people." Kahaialii also talks about his father-in-law Kaniala Kaopio who taught him, "E aʻo mai nei i ka ʻōlelo Hawaiʻi, ʻae maopopo i kēlā mele o Hawaiʻi," you have to understand the language before you can really understand the song because each Hawaiian song has a beautiful story.

This has been a small clip of the full video available. For more information about this title and the materials associated with it, please contact the archive.