Na Lani ʻEhā, translated as The Four Royals or The Heavenly Four, refers to the siblings King
Kalākaua
Kalākaua (David Laʻamea Kamanakapuʻu Māhinulani Nālaʻiaʻehuokalani Lumialani Kalākaua; November 16, 1836 – January 20, 1891), was the last king and penultimate monarch of the Kingdom of Hawaiʻi, reigning from February 12, 1874, u ...
(1836–1891), Queen
Liliʻuokalani
Queen Liliʻuokalani (; Lydia Liliʻu Loloku Walania Kamakaʻeha; September 2, 1838 – November 11, 1917) was the only queen regnant and the last sovereign monarch of the Hawaiian Kingdom, ruling from January 29, 1891, until the overthrow of th ...
(1838–1917), Princess
Likelike
Likelike (; Miriam Likelike Kekāuluohi Keahelapalapa Kapili; January 13, 1851February 2, 1887) was a princess of the Hawaiian Kingdom and member of the reigning House of Kalākaua. She was born in Honolulu, on the island of Oahu, Oʻahu. Like ...
(1851–1887) and Prince
William Pitt Leleiohoku II (1854–1877). All four were composers, known for their patronage and enrichment of Hawaii's musical culture and history. All four of them organized
glee clubs. William Pitt Leleiohoku II, the youngest brother who died at age 22, was a guitar master and leader of the Kawaihau Glee Club. Youngest sister Likelike was a musician and a co-founder of the Kaohuokalani Singing Club.
Queen Liliʻuokalani and King Kalākaua were the eldest siblings and had the most profound impact on Hawaii's culture. Both mentored numerous individuals, some of whom went on to musical careers in their own rights. Kalākaua did the most to revive Hawaiian culture when as monarch he showcased native Hawaiian music and traditional
hula
Hula () is a Hawaiian dance form expressing chant (''oli'') or song (Mele (Hawaiian language), ''mele''). It was developed in the Hawaiian Islands by the Native Hawaiians who settled there. The hula dramatizes or portrays the words of the oli ...
at his coronation and birthday jubilee celebrations, kickstarting the first
Hawaiian Renaissance. Prior to his actions, those two mainstays of Hawaiian culture had been pushed into the shadows for decades by the
Protestant Christian missionaries. He was the founder of Kalākaua's Singing Boys glee club, as well as Hui Lei Mamo glee club which featured many hula dancers. After her ascension to the throne upon her brother's death in 1891, Liliʻuokalani sent Hui Lei Mamo on a tour throughout the United States and Europe. She was the most prolific songwriter of the siblings, and both she and Kalākaua collaborated with Royal Hawaiian bandmaster
Henri Berger.
The Royal Four's aggregate body of musical compositions in the
Hawaiian language
Hawaiian (', ) is a critically endangered Polynesian language of the Austronesian language family, originating in and native to the Hawaiian Islands. It is the native language of the Hawaiian people. Hawaiian, along with English, is an offi ...
numbers in the hundreds. The
Hawaiian Music Hall of Fame, formed in 1994, acknowledges the royal siblings as their patrons, recognizing their roles as the progenitors of Hawaii's music and arts culture that the world identifies with today.
Terminology
''Na Lani ʻEhā'' translates as ''The Royal Four'' or ''The Heavenly Four''.
In the
Hawaiian language
Hawaiian (', ) is a critically endangered Polynesian language of the Austronesian language family, originating in and native to the Hawaiian Islands. It is the native language of the Hawaiian people. Hawaiian, along with English, is an offi ...
, ''na'' is a plural form of "the", ''
lani'' means "heaven" or "royal", while ''ʻEhā'' is "four". In
traditional Hawaiian culture, the ''
aliʻi
The aliʻi were the traditional nobility of the Hawaiian islands. They were part of a hereditary line of rulers, the ''noho aliʻi''.
Cognates of the word ''aliʻi'' have a similar meaning in other Polynesian languages; in Māori it is pronoun ...
'' (chiefs or royals) class were poetically referred to as ''lani'' or "Heavenly Ones". Prior to the advent of
Christianity
Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion, which states that Jesus in Christianity, Jesus is the Son of God (Christianity), Son of God and Resurrection of Jesus, rose from the dead after his Crucifixion of Jesus, crucifixion, whose ...
in the kingdom, the highest-ranking aliʻi were worshiped as ''
akua'' or gods. They were considered sacred individuals, who governed with divine power ''
mana
Mana may refer to:
Religion and mythology
* Mana (Oceanian cultures), the spiritual life force energy or healing power that permeates the universe in Melanesian and Polynesian mythology
* Mana (food), archaic name for manna, an edible substance m ...
'', which was derived from the spiritual energy of their ancestors.
The collective name predates the Hawaiian Music Hall of Fame's acknowledgement in 1994. ''Na Lani ʻEhā'' was the name of an early 20th-century composition by
Mekia Kealakaʻi, although it was not about the royal siblings.
During the 1958 celebration of
Aloha Week, a historical pageant on
Kauai
Kauai (), anglicized as Kauai ( or ), is one of the main Hawaiian Islands.
It has an area of 562.3 square miles (1,456.4 km2), making it the fourth-largest of the islands and the 21st-largest island in the United States. Kauai lies 73 m ...
titled ''Na Lani ʻEhā'' was featured, honoring the composition of the four royal composers.
Na Lani ʻEhā
Revival of the Hawaiian hula
The arrival of Christian missionaries in the early 19th century altered the cultural landscape of the kingdom. The hula was viewed by them as evil and corrupt, and it was eventually banned from public performances by Queen consort
Ka'ahumanu. Nevertheless, the hula continued to be practiced in private settings. The Royal Four siblings were raised in the Protestant Christian faith, but saw the hula as part of their cultural heritage. One of the leading critics of the Kalākaua era was Presbyterian minister
Sereno E. Bishop, who often incorporated his revulsion of the "bestialities of the ''hula hula''" into his sermons. He took particular offense at Liliʻuokalani's adherence to her culture.
It was ultimately Kalākaua who dropped the pretense and showcased large public hula performances and the ''oli'' (chants). During the king's 1883 coronation, local chanter and hula master
ʻIoane ʻŪkēkē, ''aka'' Dandy Ioane, danced with hula girls, before an estimated 5,000
lūʻau guests. "Dandy" was an apt name for Ioane, who specially tailored his own clothing in a style that led one newspaper to call him "Honolulu's
Beau Brummell
George Bryan "Beau" Brummell (7 June 1778 – 30 March 1840) was an important figure in Regency England, and for many years he was the arbiter of British men's fashion. At one time, he was a close friend of the Prince Regent, the future King ...
". The hula that was choreographed for the coronation blended the traditional style with the more modern steps, with a printed program provided to the public. Legislator
William Richards Castle filed a lawsuit against the printer on grounds of obscenity.
The king also celebrated Hawaiian culture at his two-week 50th birthday Jubilee in 1886. The celebration began with a parade featuring the hula, and floats representing stories from native Hawaiian culture. Hula was again performed at the evening lūʻau gala celebration, continuing through the night until the dawn of the next day. Unlike the reactions to the hula performances at the coronation, very little was reported in the media about the Jubilee hulas. Kalākaua's reign is generally regarded as the first
Hawaiian Renaissance, for both his influence on Hawaii's music, and for other contributions he made to reinvigorate Hawaiian culture. His actions inspired the reawakening of Hawaiian pride and nationalism.
Royal glee clubs
Kalākaua's Singing Boys

The choral group formed by the king was named Kalākaua's Singing Boys (''aka'' King's Singing Boys). It was a minstrel troupe composed of native Hawaiian male musicians. According to Hawaii resident
Isobel Osbourne Strong, wife of artist
Joseph Dwight Strong and stepdaughter of
Robert Louis Stevenson
Robert Louis Stevenson (born Robert Lewis Balfour Stevenson; 13 November 1850 – 3 December 1894) was a Scottish novelist, essayist, poet and travel writer. He is best known for works such as ''Treasure Island'', ''Strange Case of Dr Jekyll ...
, Kalākaua would often play the
ukulele
The ukulele ( ; ); also called a uke (informally), is a member of the lute (ancient guitar) family of instruments. The ukulele is of Portuguese origin and was popularized in Hawaii. The tone and volume of the instrument vary with size and con ...
and perform
mele
Mele () is a ''Comune'' (Municipality) in the Metropolitan City of Genoa in the Italian region Liguria, located about west of Genoa, and historically famous for the production of paper.
Mele borders the following municipalities: Genoa, Masone ...
(songs) for his visitors, accompanied by the Singing Boys. They would often entertain at Healani, the King's Boathouse. Strong recalled the Singing Boys as "the best singers and performers on the ukulele and guitar in the whole islands".
The Singing Boys remained active after Kalākaua's 1891 death. In 1893, American journalist
Mary Hannah Krout mentioned attending a performance by Kalākaua's Singing Boys. Krout, who was in Hawaii shortly after the
overthrow of the monarchy, noted: "Their contribution was a song in Hawaiian, written for the occasion, in which the missionaries and
Provisional Government
A provisional government, also called an interim government, an emergency government, a transitional government or provisional leadership, is a temporary government formed to manage a period of transition, often following state collapse, revoluti ...
were soundly rated."
Kawaihau Glee Club
Leleiohoku founded several royal choral societies, including the 1876 Kawaihau Glee Club composed of 15 members. They were alternately known as the Kawaihau Serenaders. Until Leleiohoku's death at age 22 in 1877, his groups would compete with the singing troupes organized by his sisters Liliʻuokalani and Likelike. In later life, Liliʻuokalani admitted that "those of Prince Leleiohoku were really in advance of those of his two sisters, although perhaps this was due to the fact that the singing-club of the regent was far superior to any that we could organize; it consisted in a large degree of the very purest and sweetest male voices to be found amongst the native Hawaiians." The name of the glee club was later used for a separate Hui Kawaihau, a business group founded by King Kalākaua and his favorites which was involved in sugar cultivation near
Kapaʻa in eastern
Kauai
Kauai (), anglicized as Kauai ( or ), is one of the main Hawaiian Islands.
It has an area of 562.3 square miles (1,456.4 km2), making it the fourth-largest of the islands and the 21st-largest island in the United States. Kauai lies 73 m ...
.
The song "
Hawaiian War Chant", popularized in the early 20th century by various artists, had its beginnings in "Kāua I Ka Huahuaʻi" (We Two in the Spray), a love song penned by Leleiohoku. The only similarity between the two songs is the melody, which was lifted from Leleiohoku's original stylings. He was an accomplished musician, considered a
virtuoso
A virtuoso (from Italian ''virtuoso'', or ; Late Latin ''virtuosus''; Latin ''virtus''; 'virtue', 'excellence' or 'skill') is an individual who possesses outstanding talent and technical ability in a particular art or field such as fine arts, ...
on the guitar.
Kaohuokalani Singing Club
The group founded by Liliʻuokalani and Likelike was known as the "Hui Himeni Kaohuokalani", usually translated as the Kaohuokalani Singing Club or Kaohuokalani Singing Association. One member of the group was
Kapoli Kamakau who co-composed songs with the two royal sisters, but later died of
leprosy
Leprosy, also known as Hansen's disease (HD), is a Chronic condition, long-term infection by the bacteria ''Mycobacterium leprae'' or ''Mycobacterium lepromatosis''. Infection can lead to damage of the Peripheral nervous system, nerves, respir ...
at the leper colony of
Kalaupapa. The organization composed a number of ''kanikau'' (dirges) for the funeral of Princess Likelike in 1887, including songs by Liliʻuokalani, Kamakau and Eliza Wood Holt.
Hui Lei Mamo
Kalākaua created the
Hui Lei Mamo in 1886 as a glee club composed of eight young female native Hawaiian hula dancers and singers. They received extensive training, and entertained at private performances for the king and his guests, as they did the day
Robert Louis Stevenson
Robert Louis Stevenson (born Robert Lewis Balfour Stevenson; 13 November 1850 – 3 December 1894) was a Scottish novelist, essayist, poet and travel writer. He is best known for works such as ''Treasure Island'', ''Strange Case of Dr Jekyll ...
and friends visited the king at his boathouse. The star performer in the group was 14-year-old
Kini Kapahu. Upon the king's death in 1891, Liliʻuokalani retained the glee club, and sponsored them on an extended tour through the United States and Europe. In 1908, Kapahu married future Honolulu mayor
John H. Wilson.
Mentorship and collaborators
Henri Berger (1844–1929), conductor of Germany's military band, was loaned to Hawaii by
Kaiser Wilhelm I
Wilhelm I (Wilhelm Friedrich Ludwig; 22 March 1797 – 9 March 1888) was King of Prussia from 1861 and German Emperor from 1871 until his death in 1888. A member of the House of Hohenzollern, he was the first head of state of a united Germany ...
during the reign of
Kamehameha V
Kamehameha V (Lota Kapuāiwa Kalanimakua Aliʻiōlani Kalanikupuapaʻīkalaninui; December 11, 1830 – December 11, 1872), reigned as the fifth monarch of the Kingdom of Hawaiʻi from 1863 to 1872. His motto was "Onipaʻa": immovable, firm, s ...
in 1872. Just as Na Lani ʻEhā nurtured local talent, so Berger mentored the four royal siblings.
[ He wrote the music for ]Kalākaua
Kalākaua (David Laʻamea Kamanakapuʻu Māhinulani Nālaʻiaʻehuokalani Lumialani Kalākaua; November 16, 1836 – January 20, 1891), was the last king and penultimate monarch of the Kingdom of Hawaiʻi, reigning from February 12, 1874, u ...
's lyrical tribute to Kamehameha I
Kamehameha I (; Kalani Paiʻea Wohi o Kaleikini Kealiʻikui Kamehameha o ʻIolani i Kaiwikapu kauʻi Ka Liholiho Kūnuiākea; to May 8 or 14, 1819), also known as Kamehameha the Great, was the conqueror and first ruler of the Kingdom of Hawaii ...
. The song later became Hawaii's anthem and state song " Hawaiʻi Ponoʻī" (Hawaii's Own). Kalākaua appointed him as head of the Royal Hawaiian Band, a position he held for 43 years. He formed a close collaboration with Liliʻuokalani
Queen Liliʻuokalani (; Lydia Liliʻu Loloku Walania Kamakaʻeha; September 2, 1838 – November 11, 1917) was the only queen regnant and the last sovereign monarch of the Hawaiian Kingdom, ruling from January 29, 1891, until the overthrow of th ...
, and wrote the music to many of her songs. Berger became a historian for traditional Hawaiian music of his day.
Many of the courtly retainers or ladies-in-waiting to Likelike and Lili'uokalani were composers in their own rights. Elizabeth Keawepoʻoʻole Sumner, lady-in-waiting to Likelike, co-composed with Lili'uokalani the love song "Sanoe" about a secret love affair in the Hawaiian royal court. "Liko Pua Lehua" (Tender Leaves of the Lehua Flower) and other songs were co-composed by Kapoli Kamakau, Likelike and Lili'uokalani when Kamakau was a member of their glee club. Kamakau was a lady-in-waiting to Liliʻuokalani. Eveline Townsend Wilson, a protégé and lady-in-waiting to Lili'uokalani, first caught the attention of the future queen while singing in the Kawaiahaʻo Church choir led by Lili'uokalani. She accompanied the queen during imprisonment at ʻIolani Palace
The Iolani Palace () was the royal residence of the rulers of the Kingdom of Hawaiʻi beginning with Kamehameha III under the Kamehameha Dynasty (1845) and ending with Queen Liliʻuokalani (1893) under the Kalākaua Dynasty. It is located i ...
. Honolulu mayor John H. Wilson was her son. Rose Tribe was handmaiden and musical protégée to Liliʻuokalani and traveled with her retinue
A retinue is a body of persons "retained" in the service of a noble, royal personage, or dignitary; a ''suite'' (French "what follows") of retainers.
Etymology
The word, recorded in English since circa 1375, stems from Old French ''retenue'', ...
. She was a soprano soloist who, after the queen's death, accompanied herself on the ukulele, appearing on radio shows and on stage. Tribe gained a reputation as "the soprano with the million dollar smile".
One of Hawaii's most renowned composers, Charles E. King, was a musical protégé of Liliʻuokalani and had his own King Glee Club. He was the publisher of three song books and the composer of "Kamehameha Waltz ", a tribute to his alma mater Kamehameha School for Boys. "Ke Kali Nei Au" (Waiting For Thee), is known to today's audiences as the " Hawaiian Wedding Song", popular with the tourist trade after the lyrics were adapted for a wider audience. King's original lyrics were not that of a wedding song, but rather one of several tunes written for his Hawaiian-language opera ''The Prince of Hawaii''. At its premiere on May 4, 1925, Ray Kinney starred in the lead of Prince Kauikalu, with Rose Tribe as Queen Kamaka, and Joseph Kamakau as King Kalani.
Entertainer and songwriter Bina Mossman was singing on the streets with her glee club in 1914, when Liliʻuokalani took them under her tutelage. At the former queen's residence of Washington Place, they were trained in Hawaiian diction
Diction ( (nom. ), "a saying, expression, word"), in its original meaning, is a writer's or speaker's distinctive vocabulary choices and style of expression in a piece of writing such as a poem or story.Crannell (1997) ''Glossary'', p. 406 In its c ...
, and immersed in older Hawaiian songs. Upon Liliʻuokalani's 1917 death, the glee club was chosen as kahili bearers to stand watch over her body, and sing her compositions. Mossman's glee club lasted for 28 years. She later formed the Ka`ahumanu Choral Group of older women, with whom she toured the world.
Legacy
The siblings' aggregate body of musical compositions in the Hawaiian language numbers in the hundreds. According to the Smithsonian Institution
The Smithsonian Institution ( ), or simply the Smithsonian, is a group of museums, Education center, education and Research institute, research centers, created by the Federal government of the United States, U.S. government "for the increase a ...
's museum curator John Troutman, music composed by the Na Lani ʻEhā, "became wildly popular" during their lifetimes, published in the media of its day, and performed by numerous groups throughout the kingdom.
The Hawaiian Music Hall of Fame, formed in 1994, acknowledges the royal siblings as their patrons, stating that the Royal Four were the progenitors of the music and arts culture that Hawaii has come to be known for. In 2007, the Hawaiian Music Hall of Fame released an album, titled ''Na Lani ʻEhā'', featuring renditions of the works of the four royal composers performed by Ku'uipo Kumukahi and the Hawaiian Music Hall of Fame Serenaders.
See also
*House of Kalākaua
The House of Kalākaua, or Kalākaua Dynasty, also known as the Keawe-a-Heulu line, was the reigning family of the Hawaiian Kingdom, Kingdom of Hawaiʻi under Kalākaua, King Kalākaua and Liliʻuokalani, Queen Liliʻuokalani. They assumed power ...
* Bibliography of Kalākaua
* Bibliography of Liliʻuokalani
* List of compositions and works by Likelike
* List of compositions and works by Leleiohoku II
Notes
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{{authority control
Hawaiian songwriters
House of Kalākaua
Hula
Hawaiian Music Hall Fame
National anthem writers
Hawaiian Music Hall Fame
Native Hawaiian writers
Musicians from the Kingdom of Hawaii