Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 13, Number 5, 1 May 1996 — Hãlau Hula O Maiki celebrates 50 years [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

Hãlau Hula O Maiki celebrates 50 years

Throughout the years, Hawaiian culture has been enriched by individuals who have, often against enormous odds, made strides to preserve and perpetuate important customs and traditions. One such person will be remembered in the next few months as Hālau Hula O Maiki celebrates its 50 anniversary. The celebration will be as mueh a celebration of the hālau's founder, Maiki Aiu Lake - better known as Aunty Maiki - as the hālau itself. Aunty Maiki's Iegacy is remarkable. Beginning in 1946, she started a hālau and for the next 30 , r years was a key figure in

revitalizing hula and the Hawaiian lanV guage and helping both achieve greater acceptance across the state. Aunty Maiki was not the only one with such cultural knowledge — she received extensive training from masters like

L o k a 1 i a Montgomery and Mary Kawena Pukui - but she was able

to take advantage of changing cultural norms after the World War II and help moved hula, hula teaching and Hawaiian language into the maih-

stream of Hawaiian life. She applied a more scholarly approach to the study of hula - the hula book became a mainstay of all who learned from her - and instilled Hawaiian values in her students that remained long after students has gone onto other pursuits. "She showed the value of the culture," says Colline Aiu, Aunty Maiki's daughter and present kumu hula of Hālau Hula O Maiki. Her teaching methodology was extensive. Students would learn, not only dance, but the meaning behind the words that accompanied the dance. More than that, they would learn the significance behind the different elements that were part of the hula. Wishing to perpetuate the values she instilled in her students, in the early 1970s Aunty Maiki's hālau had its first 'uniki or graduation. The few select individuals that were chosen for this honor went on to form their own hālau, keeping their teacher's legacy alive. OHA cultural specialist Manu Boyd, who studied under Robert Cazimero, himself a graduate of Aunty Maiki's hālau, says that Aunty Maiki was an inspirational figure. "When people speak about Aunty Maiki it is like she is more than human. She is always referred to reverently." In celebration of the 50th anniversary of Aunty Maiki's Hālau there will be a concert July 15 at the Neil Blaisdell Concert Hall. The hālau is also putting together a book about its 50-year history. For more information eall 955-0050.

Kumu Hula Maiki Aiu Lake Artwork by Robin Burningham, KS/BE