Kini Kapahu

Kini Kapahu Wilson (March 4, 1872 – July 24, 1962) was a Hawaiian hula dancer, musician, and singer. In 1893–94, she toured the United States, Europe and Russia, performing for heads of state such as Kaiser Wilhelm II and Tsar Nicholas II. She married Honolulu Mayor John H. Wilson and was recognized as the "Honorary First Lady" of Hawaii. She grew up next door to King Kalākaua and attended school for just three years. She learned to dance the hula from her mother, a court dancer, and chanter. When she was 14, the King invited her to join the court's hula dancer troupe, Hui Lei Mamo. Although Kapahukulaokamāmalu opposed the public performance of the dance at the time, Queen Kapiʻolani later convinced her to give her permission when Kini was 16. She was one of seven dancers for the King and received training in Hawaiian dance, ballroom dance, singing and ukulele.

Career

World dance tour

Following the King's death in 1891, Kini learned Hawaiian dance from Kauaʻians Kapaona and Namakeʻelua. She learned the sacred, traditional forms hula pahu and hula ālaʻapapa. In 1893, she toured the United States, performing in San Francisco, in Portland, Oregon, and at the World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago. The following year she toured Europe, performing in Paris at the Folies Bergère, in Germany for Kaiser Wilhelm II and in Russia for Tsar Nicholas II. She returned to Chicago in 1895.

Death and legacy

The Hawaii State Legislature designated Kapahu as "Honorary First Lady" after the admission to the union in 1959. In December 1960, Kapahu went to ʻIolani Palace to cast one of Hawaii's four electoral votes for that year's presidential election. In March 2017, Hawaiʻi Magazine listed Kapahu among a list of the most influential women in Hawaiian history.