Revered Kumu Hula Nālani Kanakaʻole Dies at 79; Hilo Memorial Planned

Faith Nālani Kanakaʻole, the revered kumu hula who spent decades training haumāna and sustaining ancient chant and hula kahiko, died peacefully in Hilo on Jan. 3, 2026. She was 79. Hawaiʻi Public Radio reported a public memorial will be held Feb. 21 at Edith Kanakaʻole Stadium in Hilo, the venue named for her mother and long associated with the Merrie Monarch Festival.

Born March 19, 1946, in Keaukaha, Hilo, Nālani Kanakaʻole was raised on homestead lands steeped in Hawaiian language, protocol and practice. Maui Now and the University of Hawaiʻi at Hilo both note she began rigorous hula training at age 3 under her grandmother and mother, stepping into a family line that UH Hilo describes as the fifth iteration of a direct line of kumu hula.

As a kumu at Hālau o Kekuhi, Nālani taught alongside her sister, Pualani Kanakaʻole Kanahele, and later shared leadership with her niece, Huihui Kanahele-Mossman. Hawaiʻi Public Radio observed, “Even as she fell ill, Kanakaʻole was still leading the charge at Hālau o Kekuhi with her sister, Pualani Kanakaʻole Kanahele, and her niece, Huihui Kanahele‑Mossman.” Hālau o Kekuhi has long prepared students for the Merrie Monarch Festival, and UH Hilo credits Nālani with guarding the ancient ʻaihaʻa style while helping elevate hula as a living, evolving practice rooted in ʻāina and ancestry.

Students and fellow kumu remembered her exacting standards and deep care for cultural transmission. Cassie Ordonio of Hawaiʻi Public Radio wrote, “Nālani Kanakaʻole wanted to bring the best out of all her students.” HPR also quoted Chun as saying, “It was all about enjoying the music and hula.” Raymond Kauwamakani Elia, a former student, said, “Our friend roles stopped at the door (halau).” Kumu hula Lopaka Igarta-De Vera of Hālau Nā Mamo O Puʻuanahulu told Hawaii News Now, “She was an amazing person and she was also one that would give you words of encouragement, but also tell you how you can improve, in a very kind way.” Kumu Hula Mehanaokala Hind added, “Just the sheer ability to share such deep cultural and historic knowledge of our way as kanaka.”

Beyond the halau, Nālani and her husband Sigmund Zane co-founded Sig Zane Designs in 1985, a company that draws from native Hawaiian plants, moʻolelo and symbols. The Hawaiʻi Academy of Recording Arts honored the Kanakaʻole ʻohana in late November 2025 with lifetime achievement recognition; Aloha State Daily reported that Nālani and Pualani were among the honorees for preserving traditional chant, mele and performance.

The University of Hawaiʻi at Hilo issued a release mourning the loss and quoted ʻohana member and Interim Vice Chancellor of Student Affairs Lei Kapono: “Our ʻohana has lost a cultural icon and treasured kumu. Through generations of haumāna, many UH Hilo students, Aunty Nālani was instrumental in ensuring that our traditional knowledge thrives as lived practices, not merely a performance,” and added, “She and the Kanakaʻole ʻohana helped build an institution where indigenous knowledge is central, demonstrating how cultural practice, lived experience, and rigorous scholarship create transformative education.”

Survivors include husband Sigmund Zane, son Kūhaʻoʻīmaikalani Zane and his spouse Shaelene Kamakaʻala, grandchildren Loliʻi Kamakaʻala Barron and Nāholowaʻa Zane, sister Pualani Kanakaʻole Kanahele, niece Huihui Kanahele‑Mossman, and the extended Kanakaʻole, Kanahele and Zane ʻohana. Initial reports in January said memorial details were pending; Hawaiʻi Public Radio later announced the Feb. 21 public memorial at Edith Kanakaʻole Stadium, though no program time or agenda was provided in reporting.