{"id":157559,"date":"2022-04-12T10:53:00","date_gmt":"2022-04-12T20:53:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/?p=157559"},"modified":"2022-04-12T11:11:40","modified_gmt":"2022-04-12T21:11:40","slug":"in-memoriam-johnny-lum-ho","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/2022\/04\/12\/in-memoriam-johnny-lum-ho\/","title":{"rendered":"\u02bb\u014clelo preservationists praise late kumu hula Johnny Lum Ho"},"content":{"rendered":"Reading time: <\/span> 2<\/span> minutes<\/span><\/span>
\"Johnny
Johnny Lum Ho<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Hawaiian language preservationists at the University of Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span> at Hilo<\/a> fondly reminisced about the colossal legacy of hula and style of Hawaiian haku mele (song composition) beloved kumu hula Johnny Lum Ho leaves behind. Lum Ho, 81, a recording artist known for his creative and crowd pleasing performances at the Merrie Monarch Hula Festival, died on Sunday, April 3, just weeks before the world-famous hula competition in the heart of Hilo town.<\/p>\n

William H. “Pila” Wilson<\/strong>, a Hawaiian studies professor and linguist at UH<\/abbr> Hilo\u2019s Ka Haka ʻUla O Keʻelikōlani<\/span> College of Hawaiian Language<\/a> recalled the captivating performances Lum Ho\u2019s award-winning H\u0101lau O Ka Ua Kani Lehua would present at Merrie Monarch that would always end with roaring applause and standing ovations, at times. Wilson admired the mele Lum Ho would write for his h\u0101lau to perform in competition.<\/p>\n

“It wasn\u2019t about aliʻi<\/span> and all the fancy love songs, his compositions were more like cleaning out the yard and chasing the fly in the house,” Wilson said. “It was about real life, real Hawaiian kuaʻāina<\/span> (countryside) life…and we\u2019re gonna miss that!”<\/p>\n

A beloved muse
\"Martha
Martha Waipa Lum Ho<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/h2>\n

In the 1980s, Lum Ho\u2019s mother Martha, a native speaker or m\u0101naleo, tutored haum\u0101na (students) in the Native Speaker Laboratory at UH<\/abbr> Hilo. Aunty Martha, who was also known as T\u016bt\u016b M\u0101noanoa, would often share stories about her childhood outside Kalapana where she would catch birds and farm up mauka (mountainside).<\/p>\n

“So many stories and many of her stories came out in Johnny\u2019s dancing,” Wilson said. “I would go pick her up to come to campus and she would be working in the yard. She worked really hard, she grew taro, and they had a mynah bird in the house, and Johnny and T\u016bt\u016b M\u0101noanoa lived together.”<\/p>\n

Haku mele visionary<\/h2>\n

Larry Kimura<\/strong>, a UH<\/abbr> Hilo ʻ\u014dlelo Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span> (Hawaiian language) associate professor who spearheaded the push to revive Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span>\u2019s native tongue in the 1970s, commends the Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span> Island native for inspiring a new generation of Hawaiian language composers and musicians. Lum Ho\u2019s compositions graced the albums of some of Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span>\u2019s top musicians such as N\u0101 Palapalai, Darren Benitez, Mark Yamanaka and The Peter Moon Band\u2019s Cane Fire.<\/p>\n

Kimura always admired Lum Ho\u2019s talent and how close he clung to his grassroots.<\/p>\n

“He has that local Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span> standard,” Kimura said. “You don’t put on any front. What you see is what you are. And that\u2019s him. And yet he can perform on anybody\u2019s stage and impress anyone, but he is still going to be who he is.”<\/p>\n

Many of Lum Ho\u2019s dancers were haum\u0101na (students) in UH<\/abbr> Hilo\u2019s Hawaiian language program. Wilson and Kimura recalled how disciplined the students\u2019 approach to learning was, which was a tribute to exemplary training ingrained from within Lum Ho\u2019s h\u0101lau. They also praised his support through the years for \u02bb\u014dlelo Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span> revitalization across the state.<\/p>\n

Plans are underway to digitize old recordings of Lum Ho\u2019s mother speaking Hawaiian at UH<\/abbr> Hilo. Kimura launched Kaniʻāina<\/span> (Voices of the Land)<\/a>, UH<\/abbr> Hilo\u2019s digital library featuring recordings of k\u016bpuna m\u0101naleo (native speaking elders) aimed at preserving the precious collections and enhancing student learning and use of the language.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span> Island native known for his creative and crowd pleasing performances at the Merrie Monarch Hula Festival, died on Sunday, April 3.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":16,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[29],"tags":[33,1057,1041,756,316,14],"class_list":["post-157559","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-people","tag-hawaiian","tag-hawaiian-language","tag-hula","tag-in-memoriam","tag-ka-haka-ula-o-keelikolani","tag-uh-hilo","entry","has-media"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t