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Kumu Hina (2014) on Netflix

NR20141h 15mBiographyDocumentary

Hina Wong-Kalu lives as a māhū and works as a kumu, a teacher of Native Hawaiian tradition. She mentors Hoʻonani, a student set on joining her school's all-male hula troupe.

  • Netflix3.7/5
  • IMDb7.3/10155 votes
  • Rotten TomatoesNot available

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Plot summary

Hina Wong-Kalu is māhū, the Native Hawaiian term for a person whose mind, heart and spirit are both male and female. She serves her community as a kumu, a teacher and cultural practitioner who passes indigenous tradition to younger generations, and she moves between the old māhū ways and her life as a transgender woman in Hawaii today. Māhū were once honored as caretakers, healers and keepers of sacred knowledge, until missionaries arrived and pressed their language and religious rules on the islands. Across the year shown, Hina mentors Hoʻonani, a student who wants a place in her school's all-male hula troupe, and she looks for a lasting relationship with a man from Tonga.

Cast

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