Hawaii's Merrie Monarch Hula Festival

If any of you are interested, the Merrie Monarch Festival is currently happening. The Merrie Monarch Festival is an annual hula competition. I'm not much of a writer but I would like to share this with the rest of the world. Heres the link to the live-stream. Hope you enjoy!

www.k5thehometeam.com...

a reply to: ckhk3

I’m glad you shared this with the rest of the world and that i am part of it.
I looked thoroughly into this festival, i had never heard of it. so i learned - and you please correct me if i’m wrong - that the tradition of hula goes back to the Polynesian people that first inhabited Hawaii.

There is a chant that is performed before the dance which is a tribute to the goddesses Laka and Pele.

Protestant missionaries around 1820 banned the public performance of this dance as heathen. then in 1874 a king called “the Merrie Monarch” revived the Hawaiian culture and the hula which is now performed in a new way combining the old and the new way.

from tacky movies we think of pretty girls with long hair in grass skirts and coconut bikinis dancing to an ukulele. but this festival is dedicated to the highest art form of hula and the competitors are very strictly judged in many forms like posture, precision, hand gestures, feet and body movement, the chanting, authenticity of costumes and the interpretation of traditional songs.

The Hula is the most popular feature of Hawaiian culture, and with good reason. The nature of the dance, chants and the music perfectly capture the Hawaiian beliefs and practices that respect their gods, and are in touch with their surroundings, their spirits, and with the higher beings that guide them and protect them in their everyday lives.

This is just stunning. I can’t stop to admire those truly as bright orchids reincarnated women on stage in their vibrant dresses and decorations swaying their skirts like flowers in a storm and their gracious hand movements remind me of birds of paradise calling for their mates. The instruments and sounds are as fascinating as their language. I’m a fan, I bet you can tell.

am I correct that hula actually means dance. and there are also men performing the hula also wearing skirts.

and here my favorite dance so far

a reply to: lucia2389

Thank you for contributing to the intro, hehe. I'm so glad you have found this interesting. Yes, hula goes back to the aboriginal people of Hawaii. The chant before a hula can mean different things: a prayer, as an opening to the hula, an introduction to the story, and many more things. Yes, hula was banned publicly (by missionary influence). The "merrie monarch" was king David Kalakaua, and when he was king he put on the first public hula performance since the ban that lasted for three days! The tacky forms of hula that you refer to, I refer to as cultural exploitation and capitalism (since many are not part of the culture but use the tourism aspect to make money). What you have seen is the true hula. And hula is not just a dance, since hawaiians documented things orally (before missionaries), hula is a way the story is told, some of these stories or hula have been passed down through generations since 1700! Men and boys also do hula, and it is so exciting to watch, they do not wear modern skirts, but skirt like attire made from ti leaves and such or just a simple loin cloth. There are two forms of hula in the merrie monarch: hula Kahiko which is the ancient hula that has very strong movements with the pounding of the drums, and hula auana which is the modern hula that is more fluid or calming. Tonight we saw the men and women do Kahiko, male Kahiko is my favorite. Another fun fact is that all material (except for material clothing) such as the skirts and leis are all made by the dancers, they need to go find the flowers and leaves on their own and make the rope that holds everything together from material made from trees. Merrie monarch was initially made to appreciate and preserve hula, it wasn't initially expected for people all over the world to come here and experience. The merrie monarch is very much rooted in the culture and for our ancestors and future generations. It is one of the purest and honest Hawaiian events here, meaning they are not trying to make a profit from it, and that makes it so much more special. I'm glad you enjoyed it! Tomorrow night, which is the last night will be auana. It starts at 6:00 Pacific time.

a reply to: lucia2389

Here are my favorites, I'm linking from Facebook, don't know how to embed.

www.facebook.com...

www.facebook.com...

www.facebook.com...

www.facebook.com...

a reply to: ckhk3

Another fun fact is that all material (except for material clothing) such as the skirts and leis are all made by the dancers, they need to go find the flowers and leaves on their own and make the rope that holds everything together from material made from trees.

Unfortunately there is a large dieoff of one of the most important species of Hawaiian forests. A fungus has been destroying large numbers of ohia trees on Hawaii. Ohia forms the majority of the upper canopy of the forests and their loss would be devastating to the ecosystem.

Ohia has very strong traditional importance. It represents the forest and Laka, the goddess of the forest. The flowers and leaves figure strongly in the adornment of the dancers. But this year many, if not all, of the halaus have foregone their usual gathering trips into the forest out of fear of further spreading the fungus.

a reply to: Phage

Yes, the moolelo is that when the lehua is picked it rains. In previous years it has rained so much that the grounds turn muddy. This year there have been some sprinkles but no showers. To witness the connection is interesting, to me it's proof that moolelo is tied into humans and their interaction with nature.

a reply to: ckhk3

thanks for the added videos

Merrie monarch was initially made to appreciate and preserve hula, it wasn't initially expected for people all over the world to come here and experience. The merrie monarch is very much rooted in the culture and for our ancestors and future generations. It is one of the purest and honest Hawaiian events here, meaning they are not trying to make a profit from it, and that makes it so much more special.

most of the web sites i initially approached were protected and asked for verification to enter. it must reflect the aim to keep hula pure and honest which i respect a lot. hula is very special indeed.

hula seems to be gender separated. i see men doing the sounds and either men (i assume there also single man performing) or women/a woman dancing. never is a couple depicted in the dance. could you elaborate on that ?

a reply to: lucia2389
The traditional kapu system delineated many restrictions on social interactions between men and women. They were forbidden from eating together for example. So, in kahiko styles of hula, we won't see men and women together.

No such restrictions apply to modern hula.

a reply to: Phage

thanks phage

i guessed as much. do they delineate any further why they have restrictions on social interactions between men and women?

a reply to: ckhk3

Mahalo nui! I love watching hula. The slow, graceful hula brings tears to my eyes.... but then so does hearing or singing Aloha 'Oe

I remember the touristy hula before the resurgence of traditional ways. I was about six when my grandparents went to Hawaii (around 1959) and brought back the grass skirts for my sister and me. My parents would travel to Hawaii many times in the 1970s-1980s (Don Ho, etc, but my Mom fell in love with the Hawaiian culture). By the time I was able to visit a few times in the 1980s-90s, there was so much more emphasis on traditional culture. I always came back with music to play at home and lots of stories. My husband spent teenage years in Hawaii in the late 1960s to 1970, but when I asked him about hula, he just said it was at the Kodak Hula Show.

Well, touristy stuff can be one way to gain an appreciation for a place, but it goes deeper, to the soul, to be enriched with history and traditional ways.


a reply to: lucia2389

What an adorable hula! And so well performed!

a reply to: lucia2389

Although your asking phage, I'll chime in a little.
Restrictions and kapu goes back to the Kumulipo (the Hawaiian creation story). Papa (mother earth, spiritual) and Wakea (father sky, spiritual) had a daughter Ho'ohukalani. Wakea was eating with his daughter Ho'ohukalani, seduced her, and produced a stillborn named Haloanaka (which is the physical stalk of the taro). To regain Papa's trust, Wakea proposed the 'aikapu (the separation of males and females from eating). This was the first kapu. But other social kapu's between gender include the kapu on Ka'ahumanu (which is another story in itself) but with that kapu, only kamehameha was able to interact with her. Kapu included many other things like when to fish and farm. Many think of kapu as a form of oppression but it actually was a way of preservaton (only allowing certain times of the year to fish for certain types of fish so that repopulation can occur and don't die off). Another cool fact about the Kumulipo is that it concluded the origins of life a century or more before Darwin was born and has named starts before astronomoers discovered them!

a reply to: desert

Thank you so much for your respect and appreciation for our culture. With an attitude like that, your more than welcome to come anytime. Not that Hawaii is private, but we don't appreciate anyone that comes here that doesn't appreciate Hawaii in its true form. The revitilization of being Hawaiian started to pick up in the 80's and 90's, we are trying to continue on. We now have Hawaiian immersion schools, where the only language spoken is Hawaiian! There was a recent court case where a Hawaiian (who speaks English and Hawaiian) had to go to court for a recent arrest with a protest he was involved in, the Hawaiian spoke only in Hawaiian to the judge, the judge (who only speaks English) told the man that if he needs an interpretor then he can request one and one will be provided to him, the man told the judge that Hawaiian is an official language and if she needs an interpreter then she should put in a request, lol. I though the judge would rule him out of order, the case went into recess and for the next court date the judge got an interpreter for herself. That has never been done before in the history of Hawaii since the overthrow, and it was really significant!

a reply to: ckhk3

thank you so much for your explanations. it makes a lot of sense now knowing about the hawaiian creation story and the importance it is given. i have a lot of respect of this way of teaching and maintaining right actions. you have a beautiful culture that makes you strong. may it stay like this and may you keep prosper as a people

a reply to: ckhk3

Oh, that was a story with a good ending! Yes, language is so important. I liked the idea of Hawaiian immersion schools. There is such power in the mother language we speak, that it is no wonder that people want to stop others from using it. My Irish ancestors were also forbidden by conquerors to speak their language. Like the Hawaiians, their language is making a return.

A mother language transmits one's culture and history in ways that other languages can't. That is the difference between translate and interpret. Killing language is like killing a people. Erasing a language erases what has been expressed in the heart and soul of culture, of lives.

It is good to know at least two languages; IMO the brain works better in individuals who learn, especially from an early age, their mother language and a language of commerce. The more connections the brain makes, the more intelligence one can have. To know only one language is a disservice to a population, even though some people would like only one language.

Your islands were born from the inner power of the Earth, and this inner power continues to add more land to your islands everyday. That is how people should be; we were all born from this Inner Power, and every day we should allow that Inner Power to flow out, creating us more, better, each day, just as the land is created more each day. We must be created, re-born, every day, in a cycle of birth, reborn, birth, reborn. It is true for all, that we need to be Reborn.

You started this thread by writing, "I'm not much of a writer but I would like to share this with the rest of the world." You see, you have written well. You have shared information with us, and you have told the stories of your ancestors, to help us understand today. In your Life, continue to tell the stories of today and yesterday, and hopes for the future. Telling our stories is good for an individual, as well as the group to which we belong.

In our World today, conquering others must stop. Humans must no longer conquer, whether it is individual or by groups. We must give Birth to a new, better Self and World, and it must be done each day. Creation is ongoing, just as it is in Hawaii each day.

Aloha