Isabella Haleʻala Kaʻili Desha
Isabella Haleʻala Kaʻili Desha (née Miller 1864-1949[1]) was a highly regarded Hawaiian composer, musician and kumu hula[2] during the Kalakaua and Liliʻuokalani monarchies of the Kingdom of Hawaii and throughout her life. She is the matriarch of the Beamer musical dynasty, considered the most notable musical family in the history of the Hawaiian islands,[3] that include award winning musicians, composers, historians and activists that have perpetuated Hawaiian culture and history for over 100 years.[4] She was forced to teach the hula in secret due to the puritanical beliefs of the Calvinist missionaries.[5] Along with her mother, Kapuailohiawahine Kanuha Miller, herself a notable composer and dancer of her time, she would teach the dance in a secret Hawaiian hālau.[6] She was one of five children born to her mother and father, Alika (Alexander) Mela (Miller) which also included John Mahiʻai Miller. Isabella married George Langhern Desha, the Postmaster for Hilo, Hawaii,[7] and had four children.[8]
Family tree
Miller/Beamer/Desha Family Tree |
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- ↑ Kaʻanoʻi Walk writes in an article for the Hawaiian Cultral Center: "..my great-grandfather John Mahiʻai Kāneakua was born in Honuaʻula, Maui to his loving parents Alexander P. Miller and Kanuha (Kaialiilii) Miller".[9]
- ↑ Kapuailohiawahine and her daughter Isabella, taught Hula in secret, hiding it after the ban by Kaʻahumanu.[8]
- ↑ Hawaii State Archives lists Samuel Kaia Miller marrying Amoy Ai on 5-2-1903 in Honolulu, Hawaii.[10]
- ↑ The Marriage certificate of Samuel and Daisy Amoe Ai lists Alika Miller and Kanuha as parents to Samuel, with Namakelele and Ai as parent to Daisy.[11]
- ↑ Daisy Amoe and Samuel Kalimahana Miller had 12 children and resided in Kalihi where Samuel workd as a painter.[12]
- ↑ In a press release from the Hula Preservation Society, they list Isabella Hale`ala Miller Desha as Nona Beamer's great grandmother.[13]
- ↑ The Desha Genealogy lists William Francis Desha as the son of Isabella and George Desha.[14]
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References
- ↑ Adria L. Imada (9 July 2012). Aloha America: Hula Circuits Through the U.S. Empire. Duke University Press. pp. 320–. ISBN 0-8223-5207-9.
- ↑ "Featured kupuna Individual interviews: Furtado, Eleanor Leilehua Becker". Hula Preservation Society. Hula Preservation Society. Retrieved 1 February 2015.
- ↑ Robert C. Allen (2004). Creating Hawai'i Tourism: A Memoir. Bess Press. p. 203. ISBN 978-1-57306-206-0.
- ↑ Winona Desha Beamer (1 January 1984). Talking Story with Nona Beamer: Stories of a Hawaiian Family. Bess Press. pp. 76–. ISBN 978-0-935848-20-5.
- ↑ J. Arthur Rath (2006). Lost Generations: A Boy, a School, a Princess. University of Hawaii Press. p. 49. ISBN 978-0-8248-3010-6.
- ↑ "pg composer B". Retrieved December 5, 2014.
- ↑ High-rise Hawaii. 1969. p. 202.
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 Barbara Bennett Peterson (1984). Notable Women of Hawaii. University of Hawaii Press. pp. 105–106. ISBN 978-0-8248-0820-4.
- ↑ Walk, Kaʻanoʻi. "Kāneakua, John Mahiʻai". Hawaiian Cultural Center. Kamehameha Schools. Retrieved 27 December 2014.
- ↑ "MARRIAGES: Oahu (1832-1910)". Hawaiian Genealogy indexes. Hawaiʻi State Archives. Retrieved 27 December 2014.
- ↑ State of Hawaii Department of Health, Office of Health Status Monitoring, Certificate of Marriage, May 2, 1903
- ↑ "No Race Suicide Here". The Garden Island. December 17, 1918. Retrieved 14 May 2014.
- ↑ "Hula Preservation". Hula Preservation Society. Hula Preservation Society. Retrieved 27 December 2014.
- ↑ DeWitt Collier Nogues (1983). Desha genealogy: a survey. ATEX Austin Inc. p. 212.