Bina Kailipaina Nieper Mossman (January 7, 1893 – May 20, 1990) was a ukulele player, vocalist, composer, and
Republican Party office holder. She was tutored in music and pronunciation of Hawaiian words by Queen
Liliuokalani.
Early life and family
She was born Bina Nieper in Honolulu to John Theodore Nieper and his wife Susan Kaiokulani Titcomb. Her father's family immigrated to Hawaii from Germany as sugar plantation laborers.
[ She married ]stevedore
A stevedore (), also called a longshoreman, a docker or a dockworker, is a waterfront manual laborer who is involved in loading and unloading ships, trucks, trains or airplanes.
After the shipping container revolution of the 1960s, the number ...
Richard Norman Mossman in 1912. They became parents of two sons, Richard Jr. and Sterling, and two daughters, Ynez and Mapuana. Sterling Mossman was a detective with the Honolulu Police Department
The Honolulu Police Department (HPD) is the principal law enforcement agency of the City and County of Honolulu, Hawaii, headquartered in the Alapa'i Police Headquarters in Honolulu CDP.
Officially recognized as a part of the government of the ...
by day, and followed in Bina's footsteps at night entertaining for two decades in Waikiki as Sterling Mossman and his Barefoot Bar Gang.
Music career
From 1914 until 1917, Bina Mossman's Glee Club rehearsed under Queen Liliuokalani's supervision at Washington Place
Washington Place is a Greek Revival palace in the Hawaii Capital Historic District in Honolulu, Hawaii. It was where Queen Liliuokalani was arrested during the overthrow of the Hawaiian Kingdom. Later it became the official residence of the governo ...
. According to her 1971 account for the Watamull Foundation Oral History Project, at the Queen's lying in state and funeral, the glee club was chosen to be part of the kahili bearers who stood watch over her body for two hours at a time, waving the kahilis and singing Liliuokalani's compositions.[
In 1950, Mossman wrote "Nâ Kipikoa" (Stevedore Hula), recorded by ]Genoa Keawe
'Aunty' Genoa Leilani Adolpho Keawe-Aiko (October 31, 1918 – February 25, 2008) was a Hawaiian musician. Keawe was born on the island of Oʻahu in the Kakaʻako district of Honolulu and grew up in Lā'ie. She was an icon in Hawaiian mus ...
and her Hawaiians.
Political career
After the 19th Amendment to the United States Constitution
19 (nineteen) is the natural number following 18 and preceding 20. It is a prime number.
Mathematics
19 is the eighth prime number, and forms a sexy prime with 13, a twin prime with 17, and a cousin prime with 23. It is the third full re ...
gave women the right to vote, Mossman began working behind the scenes in Hawaii's Republican Party. With her first political convention, she involved herself in committee work, and was elected to handle music entertainment for meetings. By 1935, she was working in administrative positions with the territorial legislature. Mossman served as the first woman legislator from Hawaii's 5th district of Oahu for three terms, beginning in 1938. That year, she was elected National Committeewoman of the Republican Party. She was appointed High Sheriff of Honolulu 1953–1957.
Later life and death
Bina Mossman died in 1990. In 1998, she was elected to the Hawaiian Music Hall of Fame
The Hawaiian Music Hall of Fame is an organization dedicated to recognizing the cultural importance of the music of Hawaii and hula. Established in 1994, the Hawaiian Music Hall of Fame promotes the appreciation and preservation of Hawaiian cultur ...
.
Discography
Citations
References
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External links
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Bina Mossman Glee Club at Territorial Airwaves
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mossman, Bina
1893 births
1990 deaths
20th-century American musicians
Members of the Hawaii Territorial Legislature
20th-century American politicians
Native Hawaiian women in politics
Musicians from Honolulu
Politicians from Honolulu
Ukulele players
Women territorial legislators in Hawaii
20th-century American women politicians