Merrie Monarch kicks off in Hilo

HILO — The hula arrived like the tide.

Surging and retreating, ever changing, but never stopping, it heralded the return of spring and of the Merrie Monarch Festival in Hilo.

Sunday’s Ho‘olaule‘a at the Afook Chinen Civic Auditorium, an all-day free exhibition, featured hundreds of Hawaiian and Tahitian dancers and hours of hula, a mouth-watering appetizer for what’s to come later.

But before you can have hula, you must set the stage. Students and faculty of Hawaii Community College, under the direction of Kekuhi Kanaka‘ole, Manaiakalani Kalua and Taupouri Tangaro, performed a series of rituals and chants, rich with multiple layers of meaning, to ask permission to lift the veil between the sacred and the secular, and allow the performances to begin.

The students, dozens of them, performed a chant for Kanaloa, god of the ocean, to honor the spirit of the Polynesian migration to Hawaii.

They delivered a creation chant about the birth of the islands while demonstrating it through hei, intricate hand string figures. And they offered bowls of ‘awa and 40 packets of consecrated salt to the audience in a solemn ceremony.

“We can’t invite people without feeding them,” Tangaro said, explaining the significance. The numbers four, 40, 400, 4,000 and so on are important in Hawaiian mythology, and so the delivery of 40 packets of salt was considered a symbolic feeding of the entire audience.

The protocols having been satisfied, the hula could begin. Members of the halau Unukupukupu paid tribute to Kekuhi Kanaka‘ole’s grandmother, the late Edith Kanaka‘ole, with a series of hula dances. It was her decision, Tangaro said, to bring her hula repertoire into the university system that the halau could exist.

“We’re all here because she said yes,” Tangaro said. They finished with a rousing rendition of Kanaka‘ole’s most well-known composition, “Ka Uluwehi O Ke Kai.”

Next came Hula Halau Ke ‘Olu Makani O Mauna Loa, whose members weaved a wreath for the many fragrant flowers of Hawaii. Wearing plumeria and tubarose in their hair, and flowing ankle-length purple dresses, their hour of hula ‘auana honored the island of Kauai. Every year the halau pays homage to a different island, said kumu hula Meleana Manuel.

This is a busy week for Manuel; she was selected to reign over the latter half of the festival as ceremonial queen.

“I’ve been trying to make it my platform to redefine what the Royal Court is,” Manuel said.

“If we don’t have a Royal Court, then there is no Merrie Monarch Festival,” she said. “The festival is honoring King Kalakaua. … I would like for people to remember the court is representing our mo‘i wahine (queen) and mo‘i kane (king) and the rest of the court is there for a purpose.”

Ka Leo Wai, Waiakea High’s Hawaiian ensemble, performed next, with a medley of music, hula and a special appearance from the Warrior band.

By this time the Civic began to fill in anticipation of the next halau. Backed by an all-star band that included Kuana Torres Kahele, Darren Benitez and Mark Yamanaka, Halau O Ka Ua Kani Lehua stormed the stage.

The first act was classic Johnny Lum Ho: radical, wildly popular, explicitly Christian and about as predictable and subtle as a sucker punch.

“There will be wars and rumors of wars,” intoned announcer Kawelo Kong Kee, reading a passage from the Book of Revelations. Then the halau unleashed a menacing blur of red, white and black Tahitian ‘ote‘a dancers, portraying, apparently, the end of the world.

There was a mele about how kumu Johnny Lum Ho’s family would forage in the forest for traditional medicine (the healing arts are another common theme for the halau). there were solo performances by some of the halau’s younger members, Tehani Barrett and Ku‘uhiapo Jeong.

Jeong’s performance last year portrayed King David — the Hebrew one, not the Hawaiian one — and this year he brought down the house with a joyful mele entitled “Ke Ka‘a Bus.”

Afterward, audience member Sharon Saniatan reflected on the performance, which included two of her granddaughters.

“It’s just awesome,” she said. “It just blows people away every Merrie Monarch.”

Halau Na Pua O Uluhaimalama, the next studio to perform, is also from Hilo, but like several of the hula studios that performed Sunday, its heritage stems from the George Na‘ope -Rae Fonseca lineage. Kumu hula Emery Aceret hewed to well-known classics to encourage people to get up and dance, and a few well-preserved uncles obliged.

Aceret chose traditional “party hulas that people can dance to and and are familiar with,” said kumu Emery Aceret. There was “Ka Lehua ‘Ula” and “Ni‘ihau,” and for the keiki unit, the hapa haole tune “Slopes of Mauna Kea.”

“We did songs from Hawaii all the way to Ni‘ihau,” he said.

The halau competed in last year’s Merrie Monarch but is taking a break from competition this year to allow new groups a chance to compete. In the meantime they’ll be busy decorating the stage at the nearby Edith Kanaka‘ole Stadium for Wednesday’s Ho‘ike.

The halau also danced “Pua Lei Kenikeni.” Draped in lei that reached almost to their knees, the ladies performed a hula dedicated to Aceret’s mother, who was recovering from an illness.

“She’s getting better,” the kumu said.

The next group was a staple of the Ho‘olaule‘a — Lori Lei’s Hula Studio and Wai‘ohinu Hula Studio. The keiki halau nailed their performance, said kumu hula Lori Lei Shirakawa.

“Today went well. We had a couple girls that today was their first time performing. We always look forward to this every year,” Shirakawa said.

Among their songs were “Lili‘u e, Noho Nani Mai,” about Queen Lili‘uokalani, “Sophisticated Hula,” and “Holoholo Ka‘a,”and from the senior group, “Hi‘ilawe” and “Kona Kai ‘Opua.”

They finished their performance, as they always do, with the singing of the Christian song “Majesty” and the handing out of lei to members of the audience.

“That’s our signature, that we always give out a lei at the end of each performance,” Shirakawa said. “It’s our way of blessing other people, sharing the aloha spirit with everyone,” she said. “We’re putting a smile on people’s faces.”

Emcee Penny Kelii Vredenburg was enjoying the keiki hula.

“It almost makes me wants to give birth again,” she told the crowd. She paused for laughter. “Almost.”

Next came Na Lei Liko O Ola‘a, and a set of hula kahiko performed by students of Kamehameha Schools in honor of Princess Bernice Pauahi Bishop. The girls danced a mele inoa, or a name chant, praising Pauahi. The boys danced for her birthplace in a part of Waikiki once known as Helumoa. The class is honoring the princess this year for the 125th anniversary of the princess’ trust.

“We’re doing a lot of stuff in honor of Pauahi,” said kumu Kimo Kekua.

Halau Na Lei Hiwahiwa ‘O Kuualoha soloists Melia Taganas and Kylee Koga performed hula solos, and others did a medley of hula ‘auana and hapa haole songs. Out came the cellophane skirts for “Lovely Hula Hands.”

“Say to me again, I love you,” the orange-clad musicians sang from the stage. “Lovely hula hands, kou lima nani e.”

The final group was Toa Here, the Hilo-based Tahitian troupe. Out came the famous ‘ote‘a, the dance of Tahiti, and costumes and headpieces of all size and description.

About the only thing that went wrong Sunday was that the program was running between 20 and 40 minutes ahead of schedule, so that some groups were scrambling to prepare for their dances earlier than they expected. Somehow, a show went on for seven and a half hours ended too soon.