An Englishman is Captured by the Magic of Hawaii - Kaliko Beamer-Trapp - C0478

Kaliko Beamer-Trapp was born on the Isle of Wight, England. He moved to the San Francisco Bay Area, joined a performing group named Dances of the Pacific and spent the following nine years as a performer of Polynesian music and dance both in California and also in group tours of England, Spain, Mallorca, Hawaiʻi, and Fiji. In 1994 he moved to the island of Hawaiʻi at the invitation of well-known Hawaiiana expert and cultural historian Aunty Nona Beamer (1923-2008). Being in Hawaiʻi brought about a deep affection for things Polynesian, and Kaliko focused his studies particularly on the languages and cultures of Hawaiʻi and the Marquesas Islands (Te Henua ʻEnana). He attended the University of Hawaiʻi at Hilo and joined the Hawaiian Studies department at the University of Hawai’I both as a student and an employee in 1994. In 1996, he became the editor for Hawaiian language curriculum at the Hale Kuamoʻo, a Hawaiian language center on the university campus. That same year, Kaliko was adopted into the Beamer family in Waipiʻo Valley, after the late Louise Beamer, Aunty Nona's mother, suggested privately to Aunty Nona, "I wish Kaliko could be my moʻopuna (grandson.)". He speaks as an interpreter of a local language person wants to speak Hawaiian in court and also, as a musician understands how mele and oli music an chant are an important part of the language and are a big part of hula. 

Interview Date: 4/24/2019   Tags: Kaliko Beamer-Trapp, Aunty Nona Beamer, moon calendar, Mauna Kea, Hawaiian language, Battle of Kuamo’o, Arts & Creativity, History, Global Culture, Indigenous Wisdom