Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 13, Number 5, 1 May 1996 — The commemorative ensemble in Hilo's parade [ARTICLE]

The commemorative ensemble in Hilo's parade

To all the brothers and sisters from Hawai'i to Kaua'i, greetings. This is a news story from Hilo about the Hawaiian classes of Hawai'i Community College and the University of Hawai'i at Hilo who participated in the Merrie Monarch Parade in April to honor the name and deeds of Pelehonuamea and our chiefess Ruth Ke'elikōlani. They have many things to teach us. The preparation for the parade began in the month of January and Haunani Bemardino taught us the songs that were sung. The songs leamed were Polo'ai 'o Ke'elikōlani, Pulelo Ha'aheo and Ka Wahine Lei 'Ula. The students had to memorize different voice parts and the meanings of these songs. We then printed our uniforms with the bamboo stamps that we had carved. A red handkerchief was also wom. The handkerchief is a symbol of Ruth Ke'elikōlani's offering that she gave to Pele. As we marched down the street in the town of Hilo our marching unit was characteristic of the type of procession that could be seen a hundred years ago. In this manner, the students of Hawai'i Community College and the University of Hawai'i at Hilo honored the name of these renowned women, Pelehonuamea and Ruth Ke'elikōlani. Alan Salavea is a student at Hawai'i Community College