Ke Alahou, Volume I, Number 6, 1 May 1980 — 17th Annual Merrie Monarch Festival [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

17th Annual Merrie Monarch Festival

by Kananimauloa

For the past 17 years, the city of Hilo, has been ihjk setting of its annual Merrie Monarch Festival. A speciai week set aside fron\ April 6 -1"3, 1980, for the purpose of recapturing the spirit of the Hawaiian renaissance under the reign of King David Kalakaua ( from 1874 - 1891. Through its pageants, meles ( Haw ? aiian activilies, the royal parade and the highlight of the festival, its hula contest has gained the recognition and success in perpetuating the Hawaiian culture. The most talked -about and unique Hawaiian experience is its hula kahiko and auwana contest whieh began on Thursday. April 10 through Saturday, April 12th. The contest consists of various partic!pating halau(sj wahine and kane. from the entire state of Hawai'i who compete w r ith a selected contest song and do a ehoiee selection. At whieh time I may add, more than three-fourths of these halau(s) have year round fundraisers. whieh inciudes the selling of loeal delicacies. like sweet bread, portuguese sausage, manapua. cracked seeds,-laulau, and probably the most popular. the beer busts. The contest bears no entry fee, however, eaeh halau must raise enough Jinances to pay for the housing, meals while on the island of prior to the anwai the costumes, # leis, ah3limitless amounl of necessities For !his contēst. Tiie contest begins withjMiss Aloha Hulaior girls between ihe fo 18 through 25 to eompeu! in ihe kahiko and auwana separa,tely. During the kahiko evening perfonuance a eontestant must enter with an oli, perform the.traditional liula, and iuaybe assisted by her kumu hula or ho'opa'a for ihis part only. She exits herself with the appropriate oIL , Following iho iutanuission, the liula auwana begins wiih eaeh coatestant doing her ehoiee numbei\ It was very inieresiing io see :»ie different hula styles, interpfotatious and creativity of the kahiko and auwana dances. Lum Ho Hula Siudio, did her kahiko hula, eniiilel "'Ua A Hou Ka Ahi 0 Peie," in whieh she was attired in shades of /ed aad.yellpw pa'u depiciing Pele m lier fiery ,beiuty at Halemaumau, andliow sHe tra\ ela to Mauua Ipa andprepares for aa erupiioaiui?uu i She used t|ie |kolehua and kauiiaoa fbr her leu i i

For the auwana portion, her entry "Ha ' a *heo E Ka Manu Pikake" in whieh she did very well and with grace as compared to the elegance and beauty of the proud peaeoek. Her attire was befitting the peaeoek, in whieh she wore a of dark green velvet, with the feathers of the peaeoek sewn on the~the tail fo the Iploku. An excellent selection, judges! The huia kahiko begins on Friday evening with approximately 19 halau(s) bringing in creativity. originality and yet keeping a part fo the tradition in the interpretation of the contest hula. For the Kane, their kahiko was "He Mele No Luhalilo," For the wahine, their contest number was "He Inoa Lei No ka Mo'iwahine Kapi'olani," The halau performed their best and the months and months of practicing was about to eome to a climatic peak. With the creativity of eaeh kumu hula, interpreting this kahiko chant and pro.ducing a prizewrnning entry and the idea of competing with other kumu hula puts the intensity and pressure on eaeh of these involved. And then : waiting again, until Saturday for the final results. That alone is nerve-vvracking! On Saturday evening, the hula changes its paee to that of ihe auwana, in whieh the hula is put to musical acoompaniihent with a eontemporary intsrpretation. The attire or costumes Q.f|hehalau{sl are4inique in that they use the material and greens of old Hawai i, but bring Hawai'i today wiih its br,ight satiny costumes. In this auwana portion, the ehoiee of the hula is left to the option o£ the kumu hulā and what h&r.haumana will perform. The judging criteria involves three categories; Presentation» Costumes and Personal Appearance. Under the category fo Presentation t the expression, posture» precision, hand gestures, foot movements and iuterpretatiou are coiisidered. Under costurftes, authenticity, and coordination. An<i the iater, personal appearance, neafness and over-all appearance. After all these categories are scored individually by the six judges, the taily is made and the final culmination of this event is the awarding of the koa caiabashes and cash prizes. With the respective halau(s3 vvmning their coveted prizes* it wilī be even more surprisi«g to see who wiil eome back again next year to elaim the perpetual trophies, ojl- heeome wiuners in the next Kierrie Monarch Festival in 1981,

Johnny Lum Ho Hula Studio "Hula no na akua li'ili'i," C.K. Lee Hula Kahiko: Waimapuna. C.K, Lee photo.