Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 39, Number 6, 1 June 2022 — Kaua'i's Hālau Ka Lei Mokihana o Leinā'ala Brings Home Top Merrie Monarch Awards [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

Kaua'i's Hālau Ka Lei Mokihana o Leinā'ala Brings Home Top Merrie Monarch Awards

By Cheryl Chee Tsutsumi When Hālau Ka Lei Mokihana o Leinā'ala emerged from the jetway at Līhu'e Airport the afternoon of April 24, they were greeted with smiles, cheers and applause from passengers waiting at the gate to board their flight. More than a hundred other well-wishers, including Kaua'i Mayor Derek Kawakami, engulfed them at the baggage elaim area, eager to embrace them and drape them with lei. There was good reason for the excitement. Returning from Hilo, the Kalāheo-based hālau, under the direction of Kumu Hula Leinā'ala Pavao Jardin, had achieved what no other hālau ffom Kaua'i had done before: They won First Plaee Overall at the Merrie Monarch Festival, the most prestigious and longest-running hula competition in the world. In addition, they placed first in the Wāhine Kahiko, Wāhine 'Auana and Wāhine Overall categories of the event, whieh observed its 59th anniversary this year. "There were lots and lots of happy tears at the airport," Jardin said. "Kaua'i has been through devastating floods and hurricanes, and every time our people have eome together and rebuilt their homes, businesses and lives. We are strong, we are resilient. Kaua'i is special, and it felt good to bring the Merrie Monarch recognitions home to them. I am honored and humbled that the passion-filled work of my haumāna was acknowledged." This was the 10th year that Hālau Ka Lei Mokihana o

Leinā'ala participated in the festival and Jardin had always wanted to feature mele about Kalāheo, but she had not been successful finding any. Ihen one day she was online, skimming through issues of Ka Nūpepa Kuoko'a, a Hawaiian language newspaper that was published in Honolulu from 1861 to 1927. In the Dec. 1, 1917, edition she eame across an oli entitled Ho'oheno no ka Poli Laua'e (A Tribute for the Heart of Laua'e) written by Wahinekeouli Pa (1862 1951), a revered

Kaua'i kumu hula, chanter and haku mele. The oli takes listeners on a huaka'i to places on Kaua'i that were dear to Pa, beginning with Kukuiolono in Kalāheo where beautiful flower gardens onee flourished. It also describes noted sites in west Kaua'i where Pa would frequently visit 'ohana, ending in Hā'ena, whieh is famous for its abundant laua'e o Makana. "As I learned more about the mele, I thought, 'It's per-

fect for our kahiko segment,"' Jardin recalled. "Our hālau would be celebrating 10 years of participation in Merrie Monarch - why not transport the audience to our home, to Kaua'i?" Jardin was able to meet several members of Pa's family. "My promise to them was to bring their tutu's story to life," she said. "This year, I took 14 ladies to Hilo. In the seven minutes they danced to Ho'oheno no ka Poli Laua'e, I felt everyone in the Edith Kanaka'ole Stadium was with them, seeing, smelling, touching, enjoying the beauty of Kaua'i." So it was with the hālau's 'auana presentation, Kaua'i Lana i ke Kai (Kaua'i Afloat in the Sea), composed by Kumu Hula Robert Uluwehi Cazimero. Last December, he and muhiple Nā Hōkū Hanohano award winner Kuana Torres Kahele headlined a benefit concert on Kaua'i to help Hālau Ka Lei Mokihana o Leinā'ala pay for Merrie Monarch expenses. During that visit, Cazimero shared Kaua'i Lana i ke Kai with Jardin, who immediately fell in love with it. She asked her close friend if he would allow her hālau to share it as their 'auana presentation.

Kaua'i Lana i ke Kai expresses Cazimero's adoration for Kaua'i as he visits the moku of Halele'a and its landmarks of Hanalei, Limahuli, Makana and Hā'ena. Vivid imagery awakens the senses: pounding winter surf, majestic Makana Peak, rain pelting the wetlands, winds carrying the ffagrance of maile lau li'ili'i and the breathtaking panorama revealed from the bluff above fertile Hanalei SEE KA LEI MOKIHANA 0 LEINĀ'ALA ON PAGE 22

Kumu Hulu Leinā'ūlū Povoo Jordin. - Photo: Courtesy

Valley.

KA LEI MOKIHANA 0 LEINĀ'ALA Continued from page 15

"We were so blessed to have Kumu Robert and Kuana on the stage with our ladies to provide vocals and music; they helped them paint those incredible pictures of Kaua'i," Jardin said. "It was a great celebration of our island, and we're so grateful everyone appreciated it." In her opinion, hula is not a performance; it is a responsibility that balances technical skill with knowledge, understanding and the ability to connect with a mele, live it and deliver its message as its composer intended. "That is my mana'o," Jardin said. "I always tell my haumāna that we are storytellers. For Merrie Monarch, I look for dancers who ean remove themselves from the eompetitive space and take on the kuleana of being the voice, so to speak, of the haku mele. Hula tells the stories of our ancestors, and future generations will be telling the stories we are creating today. To keep the Hawaiian culture alive, we must perpetuate that — continue to share the stories." ■ Cheryl Chee Tsutsumi has written 12 books and countless newspaper, magazine and website articles about Hawai'i's history, culture, food and lifestyle.

■ f H i Halau Ka Lei Mokihana o Leina'ala performed "Kaua'i Lana i ke Kai" by Robert Cazimero as their 'auana number and "Ho'

o'oheno no ka Poli Laua'e" by Wahinekeouli Pa as their kahiko presentation. - Photos: Merrie Monarch Festival/Bruce Omori