Isabella Haleʻala Kaʻili Desha (née Miller; January 16, 1864 – February 28, 1949) was a highly regarded Hawaiian composer, musician and

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

during the

Kingdom of Hawaii The Hawaiian Kingdom, or Kingdom of Hawaiʻi ( Hawaiian: ''Ko Hawaiʻi Pae ʻĀina''), was a sovereign state located in the Hawaiian Islands. The country was formed in 1795, when the warrior chief Kamehameha the Great, of the independent island ...

and throughout her life. She is descended from notable chiefly lines.

Birth and early life

She was one of five children. Her father was Alika (Alexander) Mela (Miller). She, along with her mother, Kapuailohiawahine Kanuha Miller, herself a notable kumu hula, composer and dancer of her time, would teach the dance in a secret Hawaiian

hālau A hālau is Hawaiian word meaning a school, academy, or group. Literally, the word means "a branch from which many leaves grow." Today a hālau usually describes a hula school ( hālau hula). The teacher at the hālau is the kumu hula, where k ...

. Isabella's sibling's included John Mahiʻai Miller/Kāneakua. Isabella married George Langhern Desha, the Postmaster for

Hilo, Hawaii Hilo () is a census-designated place (CDP) and the largest settlement in Hawaii County, Hawaii, United States, which encompasses the Island of Hawaii. The population was 44,186 according to the 2020 census. It is the fourth-largest settlement i ...

, and had four children, including William Francis Desha and

Helen Desha Beamer Helen Kapuailohia Desha Beamer (September 8, 1882 – September 25, 1952) was a musician, composer of songs in the Hawaiian language, hula dancer and coloratura soprano of Hawaiian ancestry. Her descendants have also become accomplished artist ...

. In his book, ''Learn to Play Hawaiian Slack Key Guitar'',

Keola Beamer Keola Beamer (born Keolamaikalani Breckenridge Beamer February 18, 1951) is a Hawaiian slack-key guitar player, best known as the composer of "Honolulu City Lights" and an innovative musician who fused Hawaiian roots and contemporary music. Keola ...

writes that Helen Beamer and her mother Isabella would dance the hula, Kūwili as a spontaneous celebration during family gatherings. She is the matriarch of the Beamer musical dynasty, considered the most notable musical family in the history of the

Hawaiian islands The Hawaiian Islands ( haw, Nā Mokupuni o Hawai‘i) are an archipelago of eight major islands, several atolls, and numerous smaller islets in the North Pacific Ocean, extending some from the island of Hawaii in the south to northernmost Kur ...

. The family includes award winning musicians, composers, historians and activists that have perpetuated Hawaiian culture and history for over 100 years. She was forced to teach the hula in secret due to the puritanical beliefs of the Calvinist missionaries.

Beamer method of hula

During the reign of King David Kalakaua, the formerly banned native dance known as

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 ...

was given a mandate from the monarch to be brought back to both the Royal Court and in public display. Many of the hula master of the time came forward from different parts of the islands representing different parts of the old alii kingdoms. Through this restoration of the dance, was preserved the identification of the original four alii kingdoms through chant.

Family tree

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kaneakua, John Mahiai 1860 births 1936 deaths Hawaiian nobility Royalty of the Hawaiian Kingdom Musicians from the Kingdom of Hawaii