ʻIoane ʻŪkēkē

He was born ʻIoane Hohopa in Hilo, on the island of Hawaii, around the 1830s. His obituary in The Hawaiian Star newspaper noted that he was over 70 years old when he died in 1903.^[1][2] He was known variously as J. U. Smith, ʻIoane ʻŪkēkē, the Hawaiian Dandy, the Hawaiian Beau Brummel, and other variations of these names throughout his life.^[1][3]

ʻIoane was a Hawaiian chanter and kumu hula, or master teacher, of hula who headed his own troupe of hula dancers, which included his wife and sister-in-law. He was noted for modernizing elements of the dance and accompanying his group's performance with music from his ʻūkēkē, a traditional Hawaiian string instrument, often described as a jew's harp. His skill at the ʻūkēkē gave him his nickname John or ʻIoane ʻŪkēkē.^[4][5][6] His patrons included King Kalākaua and Princess Keʻelikōlani while "prominent people that wanted to entertain, besides court circles, would feel that things were amiss without the dandy and his jew’s-harp".^[3][7]

 

Public performance of hula had been banned and heavily disparaged as heathen and lewd since the regency of Queen Kaʻahumanu due to the disapproval of the American Protestant missionaries. This changed during the reign of King Kalākaua (r. 1874–1891) who revived hula into cultural prominence.^[8][9] During the coronation celebration of King Kalākaua in February 1883, ʻIoane and his troupe conducted public hula performances each night on the grounds of ʻIolani Palace. The festivities culminated in a grand luau at the palace, on February 26, which was attended by 5,000 people. The Pacific Commercial Advertiser, which gave a positive coverage the event of the luau, noted: "Dandy Ioane ... marshalled the performing girls in their short skirts and hula buskins, and accompanied their gyrations with his tremulous-toned instrument [a jew's-harp]."^[10][11] The king was heavily criticized by his opponent and foreigners for sanctioning the public performance of hula, which had been banned since the days of the missionaries in Hawaii.^[12][13]

ʻIoane was also renowned for his manner of dress and he was often seen on the streets of Honolulu with a velvet suit, jackets and slacks, white gloves, a cane, monocle and either a high silk hat or a beaver skin hat. Local English newspapers dubbed him the Hawaiian Dandy or the Hawaiian Beau Brummel.^[14] He was often mistaken for a prince by visiting foreigners.^[15][16] Lacking the financial means to purchase his fashionable wardrobe, he personally designed his own clothing, which his wife helped make, from donations made to him by his patrons and admirers. His image was later featured on a local brand of smoking tobacco.^[3][17] Anthropologist Jane Desmond noted that ʻIoane's appearance and manner of dress in photographs "unusual, when compared with tourist representations, as an image of an obviously successful Native Hawaiian male."^[18]

His wife was named as Anna in his 1883 coverage in the Pacific Commercial Advertiser.^[11] They raised a large family and she was described as "an industrious native wife" who "washed for many years for a living".^[11] She and her sister were hula dancers in ʻIoane's troupe. Later sources called her Mary Kapule and her sister Anne Kapule.^[19][20]

In later life, ʻIoane became blind. Impoverished, he resorted to playing his signature ʻūkēkē and begging for money on the streets of Honolulu. He died of old age, on May 1, 1903, at his residence on Punchbowl Street in Honolulu. He was buried at the Honolulu Catholic Cemetery.^{[1][2][17][21][22]}