The Hula Dancers: Mamie Silva & Lillian Naipo

June 27, 2023

The Hula Dancers: Mamie Silva & Lillian Naipo

Years ago, my cousin Connie shared with me a tiny picture that held an intriguing story. It portrayed a hula girl caught in a comedic pose. Connie wondered if I had any knowledge of the photo's origins. Unfortunately, I couldn't provide any answers. The picture had been discovered within her grandmother's photo album. As we pondered the identity of the hula girl, we couldn't have foreseen the remarkable journey that awaited us.

Time passed, and fate intervened when one of us stumbled upon an astonishing find—an identical picture housed within the digital files of the State of Hawaii Archives. It belonged to a tourist's photo album dating back to the, year of 1929. Using an app, I took on the task of colorizing & restoring it as best I could.

One day, I decided to drop it into Google's image search, and to my astonishment, the results led me to an unexpected place—eBay. There, the hula girl image was displayed alongside four others. One had already found a new owner, leaving just three along with the original comedic pose picture.

After examining the other pictures on eBay, I strongly believe that the hula dancer in the photograph is none other than my great grandmother's younger sister, Agnes Mamie Kahikualiilani Silva. Born on May 28, 1902, Agnes was a celebrated hula dancer in her time. Her obituary in 1928 revealed that she was widely known as a juvenile hula dancer and was considered one of the finest in the islands. A partnership with another talented hula dancer, Lillian Naipo, became a defining chapter in Agnes' career. Lillian was born in 1898 in Waihee, Wailuku, Maui, and was a remarkable performer herself, having participated in the Hawaiian performances at the San Francisco expo in 1915. I believe she is the other person in the photos.

The pictures themselves have the date of 1924 and have the initials "JWD" on them. I knew that Lillian had married a man named John Donezeak in 1937 and wondered if JWD was him? The newspaper articles that appeared were the last we would see Lillian and Mamieʻs name together as they never performed again after 1924 that Iʻm aware of.

Lillian married Thurman Black on October 4, 1924 and then John Donezeak in 1937. She adopted her cousins daughter, Louise Leilani Naipo, but had no other children. Lillian died Jan. 3, 1975 on Molokai.

Mamie had two children with Daniel Manuhoa Woodward Jr, Agnes born in 1927 and also died that year, and Joseph Hiram Stanley Silva (known to the family as Hiram Silva), born Jul 6, 1928. Mamie died a few days later on July 17, 1928. Her son was raised by her mother Emma K. Fern.

Mamieʻs step-father was Joseph James Fern, the first mayor of Honolulu so her obituary reads:

FUNERAL SATURDAY FOR MRS. A. S. FERN

Mrs. Agnes Mamie Kahikuonalani Silva Fern, well known resident of Honolulu, died Tuesday at the St. Francis hospital after a short illness. Mrs. Fern several years ago was widely known as a juvenile hula dancer and up to the time of her illness was considered one of the best dancers in the islands. She was born May 28, 1902, was 26 years old, and leaves a husband and child, four sisters and a brother. Her mother, Mrs. Emma K. Fern, also survives her. Her home was at Kaimuki. The body is at Silva’s parlors and the funeral will be held tomorrow, with burial at the Catholic cemetery. ~Honolulu Star-Bulletin, Friday, July 20, 1928, p.7.