Haʻiwāhine

An Ode to The Sacred Soundscape of Storytelling Through Song, Chant, Dance, Prayer & Regalia
Hāwane Rios
2026 Material Practice Grant Recipient

Hāwane descends from an oratory people who were once masters of memorization, observation, and knowledge acquisition. She was taught by her many mentors and teachers that song, chant, dance, prayer, and ceremony are portals to ancestral memory. Her devotion to the practice of memorization through these mediums of expression spans over 30 years of commitment to growing and honing her skills. She has spent her life reclaiming her language, researching, studying, and learning the art of Haku Mele (song and chant composition) to contribute to the legacy of the transference of knowledge through the generations. Hāwane infuses her mele with her love for the land that she comes from with the intention that it invigorates the consciousness of all who are called to hear her heart and stories through her compositions.



Hāwane Rios is an indigenous multi-disciplinary artist from Puʻukapu, Waimea on the Island of Hawaiʻi. She is a Nā Hōkū Hanohano Award winning singer/songwriter and celebrated haku mele (song and chant composer). She is a traditionally trained ceremonial woman, mother, orator, chanter, dancer, cultural and language bearer, resource educator, and kiaʻi aloha ʻāina (protector of the earth). Rios is a dedicated  hana noʻeau, a traditional and contemporary regalia designer and visual artist (print making and mixed media). She is currently in the process of completing a rigorous and demanding training that spans over three decades of devotion to her practice of hula that will result in her formal graduation to Kumu Hula this year. She is the founder and Kumu Akahi (Lead Chant Teacher) of the Hale Haumea, a woman and queer led collective of cultural practitioners reclaiming traditional and evolving healing rituals through the art of oli (chant), pule (prayer), aha (ceremony), hoʻonalu (meditation), and hula (dance), and ʻaʻahu (ceremonial regalia).