Emily Kau'i Zuttermeister (March 8, 1909 – March 3, 1994) is Hula Master who was recognized as a Living Treasure of Hawaii by the Honpa Hongwanji Mission, and a recipient of a

National Heritage Fellowship The National Heritage Fellowship is a lifetime honor presented to master folk and traditional artists by the National Endowment for the Arts. Similar to Japan's Living National Treasure award, the Fellowship is the United States government's h ...

in 1984.

Personal life

On March 8, 1909, Emily Kauiomakawelinalaniokamanookalanipo (also referred to as Emily Kau'i) was born to Gabriel Kukahiwa and Elizabeth Kaili Kukahiwa. She was taken as a

hānai ''Hānai'' is a term used in the Hawaiian culture that refers to the informal adoption of one person by another. It can be used as an adjective, such as "''hānai'' child", or as a verb to ''hānai'' someone into the family. In the Hawaiian cultu ...

by William Kamahumahu Kalani and Virginia A'ahulole Kalani. She remained in contact with her birth family. She attended St Ann's School and Benjamin Parker School on

O'ahu Oahu () ( Hawaiian: ''Oʻahu'' ()), also known as "The Gathering Place", is the third-largest of the Hawaiian Islands. It is home to roughly one million people—over two-thirds of the population of the U.S. state of Hawaii. The island of O’ ...

and

Waimea High School Waimea High School is a public high school in Waimea on the island of Kauai in the state of Hawaii. It was established in 1881 and serves grades 9 through 12. It is the westernmost high school in the United States of America. The school mascot ...

Kaua'i Kauai, () anglicized as Kauai ( ), is geologically the second-oldest of the main Hawaiian Islands (after Niʻihau). With an area of 562.3 square miles (1,456.4 km2), it is the fourth-largest of these islands and the 21st largest island ...

. She excelled in

quilting Quilting is the term given to the process of joining a minimum of three layers of fabric together either through stitching manually using a needle and thread, or mechanically with a sewing machine or specialised longarm quilting system. A ...

and won blue ribbons in State Fairs and other craft competitions. She married Patrick J. McCabe and they had two children, Justina (born 1928) and Patrick Jr. (born 1929). However, they divorced shortly thereafter. On October 13, 1934, she married an American

U.S. Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage of ...

Officer, Carl Henry Zuttermeister. Her son, Patrick, took the name Carl Henry Zuttermeister Jr. Afterward, she went by the name Emily Kau'i Zuttermeister. During the late 1930s, the Zuttermeisters bought land and built several houses which were later rented out and passed down to her children.

Career

In her 20s, she worked as a telephone operator at the State Hospital in Kāne'ohe and later became an assistant to the chef at the hospital. In 1933, with the encouragement from her husband, she started taking

hula Hula () is a Hawaiian dance form accompanied by chant (oli) or song (Mele (Hawaiian language), mele). It was developed in the Hawaiian Islands by the Native Hawaiians who originally settled there. The hula dramatizes or portrays the words of t ...

lessons from her mother's cousin, Samuel Pua Ha'aheo. Zuttermeister formally graduated from Ha'aheo's class in 1935. In 1936, Zuttermeister opened her own school for hula – Ilima Hula Hale. She continued teaching ''hula'', traditional chants, and ''

pahu The pahu or pau is a traditional musical instrument found in Polynesia: Hawaii, Tahiti, Cook Islands, Samoa, and Tokelau. Carved from a single log and covered on the playing end with a stretched sharkskin, the pahu is played with the palms and fi ...

'' drumming in the style of Pua Ha'aheo for more than 50 years. She taught her daughters, Noenoelani and Kuuipo, and her granddaughter, Hauoli as well. Zuttermeister judged various hula competitions, including the

Merrie Monarch Festival The Merrie Monarch Festival is a week-long cultural festival that takes place annually in Hilo, Hawaii during the week after Easter. It honors King David Kalākaua, who was called the "Merrie Monarch" for his patronage of the arts and is cre ...

in Hilo, the King Kamehameha Traditional Hula and Chant Competition, and the

Queen Lili'uokalani Queen or QUEEN may refer to: Monarchy * Queen regnant, a female monarch of a Kingdom ** List of queens regnant * Queen consort, the wife of a reigning king * Queen dowager, the widow of a king * Queen mother, a queen dowager who is the mothe ...

Trust's Hula Kahiko Amateur Contest. In 1983, she was recognized as a Living Treasure of Hawaii by the Honpa Hongwanji Mission. She was a recipient of a 1984

awarded by the

National Endowment for the Arts The National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) is an independent agency of the United States federal government that offers support and funding for projects exhibiting artistic excellence. It was created in 1965 as an independent agency of the federal ...

, which is the United States government's highest honor in the folk and traditional arts. In 1989, four Zuttermeister generations performers represented Hawai'i in the Festival of American Folklife at the Smithsonian.

Death and legacy

Zuttermeister died on March 3, 1994 at her Kāne'ohe home. She was five days shy of her 85th birthday.Obituary
staradvertiser.newspapers.com. March 6, 1994. Accessed May 21, 2024. Her daughter, Noenoelani, took over her studio and continues to teach hula.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Zuttermeister, Emily 1909 births 1994 deaths National Heritage Fellowship winners Hula dancers Women in Hawaii