About this speaker
Māpuana de Silva founded the esteemed cultural education center, Hālau Mōhala ‘Ilima in 1976. The Hālau, located in Ka‘ōhao, O‘ahu, has trained thousands of dancers of all ages, is renowned for its excellence in classical hula training, traditional language arts expertise, and is widely admired for its award-winning dance performances. Māpuana was bestowed title and privileges of Kumu Hula in 1975 during the formal ‘ūniki ceremony under Maiki Aiu Lake. Māpuana is the Co-Founder and ED of Hiʻikalani, an Aloha ʻĀina non-profit organization whose mission is to restore ʻāina and cultural identity to Kailua, Oʻahu. She is the Chair of CPAC, a council of 27 Pacific island nations, has led the Hawaiʻi Delegation to the last 5 festivals since 2000. She has served as investigator, cultural consultant, Master trainer, kumu hula, and Advisory Committee member on more than a dozen different hula and health research studies with UH-JABSOM since 2008. And she is a co-founder of Kailua Kau a Hoʻoilo, a group of Kailua born and raised Native Hawaiians who advocate for the care and protection of our iwi kūpuna. Awards received, along with her husband Kīhei, include I Ulu i ke Kumu from Kawaihuelani at UH Mānoa. Māpuana and Kīhei, together, were recently inducted into the Hawaiian Music Hall of Fame.
