ʻO wai nā lālā ?
(Who Are We?)
He mau kamaliʻi, ʻōpio, mākua a kūpuna paha e ʻiʻini ana e aʻo i ka hula, nā mele, a me kekahi mau ʻike o nā kūpuna Hawaiʻi ma o ka ʻōlelo Hawaiʻi...
We are comprised of children, teens, parents, and elders who are dedicated to perpetuating the knowledge, dances, and chants passed on to us by our ancestors through the medium of the Hawaiian language.
Nā Kumu Hula
Kekoa Lloyd Harman was born and raised on Maui where most of his family still resides, mainly in Lāhaina. He is the son of Jeff and Nani Harman. Kekoa is an Associate Professor at Ka Haka ʻUla O Keʻelikōlani, College of Hawaiian Language at UH-Hilo. In this role, Kekoa specializes in beginning Hawaiian language instruction and upper-division Performing Arts classes taught in the medium of Hawaiian. Prior to that, he worked with the ʻAha Pūnana Leo for 10 years supporting its language revitalization efforts. He started working at Ka Haka ʻUla as a lecturer in 2003. In 2011 after an ʻuniki graduation under Kumu Hula Kimo Alama Keaulana, he and his wife Pelehonuamea founded their hula school, Hālau I Ka Leo Ola O Nā Mamo, whose students are exclusively taught through the medium of Hawaiian. They have also chosen to raise their four children in Hawaiian, the primary language of their household. Kekoa received his PH.D. in the Hawaiian and Indigenous Language and Culture Revitalization Ph.D. Program at the University of Hawaiʻi at Hilo.
Aloha pumehana kākou. ʻO Pelehonuamea Nāpuaʻalaonuʻuanu Gin Suganuma Harman koʻu inoa. ʻO wau ke keiki ʻelua a Laʻakea lāua ʻo Leimomi Suganuma. No Oʻahu o Kākuhihewa mai au. Noho au me kaʻu kāne ʻo Kekoa Lloyd Harman a me kā māua mau kamalei ʻo Kalāmanamana (Nāwahī, papa puka 2019), Kaumualiʻi (Nāwahī, papa puka 2023), Nāliʻipōʻaimoku (Nāwahī, papa puka 2024) a me Hiʻiakaikawenaʻulaokalani (Pūnana Leo o Hilo papa puka 2025) ma ka ʻāina i kaulana i ka Ulumano a me ka Moanianilehua. Ua puka au mai Ke Kula ʻo Kamehameha ma ka makahiki 1997. Ua puka ma lalo o ka malu o Ka Haka ʻUla ʻo Keʻelikōlani ma ka pae muapuka a loaʻa maila ka BA Haʻawina Hawaiʻi, ka laikini aʻo Kahuawaiola, a me ka palapala mulipuka MA ma ka ʻōlelo a me ka moʻokalaleo Hawaiʻi. Ua ʻuniki ma lalo o Kimo Alama Keaulana ma ka makahiki 2012 a hoʻokumu maila māua ʻo kaʻu kāne i ka Hālau I Ka Leo Ola O Nā Mamo ma hope maila. Me ke ohohia a me ka haʻahaʻa wau i aʻo ai ma Ke Kula ʻo Nāwahīokalaniʻōpuʻu mai ka makahiki ʻelua kaukani ʻekolu a hiki i ka makahiki 2024 ma nā ʻano kūlana aʻo likeʻole. I kēia manawa, ʻo wau ka Director of Native Hawaiian Engagement ma Ke Kulanui o Hawaiʻi ma Hilo. E like me ka ʻōlelo kahiko: "Na wai hoʻi ka ʻole o ke akamai, he alanui i maʻa i ka hele ʻia e oʻu mau mākua," hāhai au i nā mākua a me nā kūpuna o kākou ma ka ʻimi naʻauao. Noʻu ke kuleana ʻo ka hoʻoili ʻana i ia ʻike makamae ma luna o ka hanauna hou i ō mau kā kākou ʻōlelo kamahaʻo, ke kuanaʻike a me ka mauli ola Hawaiʻi. He ʻelele ʻo ia o nā hui kaiaulu like ʻole: ʻo ka Mary Kawena Pukui Cultural Preservation Society, No Nā ʻŌpio Non-Profit, Nā Hoa o Puna Soccer Club, a me ka Waikapuna Stewardship Committee. ʻO ke aloha i ka ʻāina nei ʻo Hawaiʻi, ka ʻōlelo, ka ʻike o nā kūpuna a me ka ʻohana nā mea e alakaʻi mau mai ana.