ʻIoane ʻŪkēkē

ʻIoane ʻŪkēkē, born ʻIoane Hohopa (s – May 1, 1903), was a kumu hula (master or teacher of hula) and musical performer who organized hula performance during the Hawaiian Kingdom. He organized hula troupes for the court of King Kalākaua and accompanied his group's dances with the ʻūkēkē, a traditional Hawaiian string instrument, which gave him his nickname John or ʻIoane ʻŪkēkē. He was known for his flamboyant way of dress and dubbed the Hawaiian Dandy or Hawaiian Beau Brummel by the local English-language press.

Life and career He was born ʻIoane Hohopa in Hilo, on the island of Hawaii, around the 1830s. His obituary in The Hawaiian Star newspaper noted that he was over 70 years old when he died in 1903. During the coronation celebration of King Kalākaua in February 1883, ʻIoane and his troupe conducted public hula performances each night on the grounds of ʻIolani Palace. The festivities culminated in a grand luau at the palace, on February 26, which was attended by 5,000 people. The Pacific Commercial Advertiser, which gave a positive coverage the event of the luau, noted: "Dandy Ioane ... marshalled the performing girls in their short skirts and hula buskins, and accompanied their gyrations with his tremulous-toned instrument [a jew's-harp]." The king was heavily criticized by his opponent and foreigners for sanctioning the public performance of hula, which had been banned since the days of the missionaries in Hawaii.

ʻIoane was also renowned for his manner of dress and he was often seen on the streets of Honolulu with a velvet suit, jackets and slacks, white gloves, a cane, monocle and either a high silk hat or a beaver skin hat. Local English newspapers dubbed him the Hawaiian Dandy or the Hawaiian Beau Brummel. He was often mistaken for a prince by visiting foreigners. Lacking the financial means to purchase his fashionable wardrobe, he personally designed his own clothing, which his wife helped make, from donations made to him by his patrons and admirers. His image was later featured on a local brand of smoking tobacco.