Beginning with the rising of the Pleiades star cluster in the eastern sky, Makahiki is Hawaii’s traditional harvest season for peace and giving thanks.
This most significant of Hawaiian celebrations began near the sea with a ritual hula blessing in the ancient style, a work of passionate yet subtle ceremonial art passed down by word of mouth for generations.
Kona will come alive with this tradition as Halau Keale takes center stage at the Aloha Makahiki Concert at the Makaeo Pavilion on Sunday. Kumu Mika Keale-Goto, with 18 dancers from Halau Keale of Kona and Tokyo and masterful Hawaiian musicians, will initiate the season with a stellar event.
Ritual Hula, a feast for the eyes and tonic for the soul, is rare in Hawaii today. This is not entertainment hula, Auana or Kahiko. It is hula considered to be one of the most beautiful cultural achievements of the Hawaiians, a sensuous ceremony of heightened emotion and startling perceptions. Even if you’ve seen what Kumu calls “today’s hula,” you may never have witnessed anything like this.
“The ritual Hula is like a sign language,” says Kumu Mika. “If you changed the motions and steps, you would not be able to communicate with Hawaiian Gods.”
The precise intentions, rhythms, steps and vocal tones of the hula she teaches to more than 80 students in her intercontinental halau are very different from today’s hula. Hula as a religious ritual in which poetry, music and dance blended into a dramatic art form transports us into the time of myth and legends, a dimension where gods and goddesses move on earth. This same Makahiki Blessing Hula was performed by the revered Iolani Luahine — the great-aunt of Kumu Mika’s Kumu, the late Poni Kamau’u — while she was a curator at Hulihe’e Palace.
Uncle Richard Ho’opi’i, one of Hawaii’s most beloved vocalists; Aaron Mahi, former Band Master for the Royal Hawaiian Band; George Kuo, traditional Hawaiian slack key guitar master, and the gifted Stephen Akana are featured with Halau Keale. This is the Halau’s 10th year presenting at the Kona Coffee Cultural Festival.
The Aloha Makahiki Concert is from 5 to 7:30 p.m., 75-5500 Kuakini Highway. It costs $3.
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