Bina Kailipaina Nieper Mossman (January 7, 1893 – May 20, 1990) was an American ukulele player, vocalist, composer, andRepublican Party office holder. She also served as High Sheriff of Honolulu. She was tutored in music, and pronunciation of Hawaiian words, by deposed QueenLiliuokalani.[1]
She was born Bina Nieper in Honolulu to John Theodore Nieper and his wife Susan Kaiokulani Titcomb. Her father's family immigrated to Hawaii from Germany as sugar plantation laborers.[2] She marriedstevedore Richard Norman Mossman in 1912. Their marriage produced daughters Ynez and Mapuana, as well as sons Richard Jr. and Sterling. The latter was a detective with theHonolulu Police Department by day, and followed in Bina's footsteps at night. For two decades,Sterling Mossman and his Barefoot Bar Gang entertained audiences in Waikiki.[3]
After theNineteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution gave women the right to vote, Bina began working behind the scenes in Hawaii'sRepublican Party. With her first political convention, she involved herself in committee work, and was elected to handle music entertainment for meetings. By 1935, she was working in administrative positions with the territorial legislature. Bina served as the first woman legislator from Hawaii's 5th district of Oahu for three terms, beginning in 1938. That same year, she was elected National Committeewoman of the Republican Party.[4] In 1945, Bina was elected to the House of Representatives, from the 5th District of Hawaii for 1939 – 1943, and re-elected from the same district in 1945.[5] She was appointedHigh Sheriff of Honolulu for the term 1953–1957.[6]
Bina Mossman's Glee Club (1914–1917) was the first all-femaleglee club in Hawai. They rehearsed under the supervision of deposed QueenLiliuokalani atWashington Place.[7] According to her 1971 account for the Watamull Foundation Oral History Project, during the Queen's lying in state and funeral, the glee club was chosen to be part of thekahili bearers who stood watch over her body for two hours at a time, waving the kahilis and singing Liliuokalani's compositions.[2][8]
In the 1950s Bina formed the Kaahumanu Choral Group, an all-female ensemble of mothers, grandmothers and great grandmothers. They were billed as being direct descendants of Hawaiian royalty.[9][2]
In 1950, Bina wrote "Nâ Kipikoa" (Stevedore Hula) as a tribute to Hawaii's dockworkers. It was recorded byGenoa Keawe and her Hawaiians.[10][11]
Mossman (1979). "Bina Nieper Mossman: Transcript of interview conducted Sept. 29, 1971 in Hawaii".Watumull Foundation Oral History Project. Honolulu.hdl:10524/48627.
