Fulfilling its mission to preserve and perpetuate the art of hula, each year the Merrie Monarch Festival provides a stage for the world's finest hula hālau (schools) in order to showcase Hawaiʻi's unique cultural art of hula.
Here are highlights of the 5 top finishers in the 2013 Miss Aloha Hula competition, Hula Kahiko (Ancient) performance.
Winner, Hawaiian Language Award: Manalani Mili Hokoana English
Hālau: Hālau Nā Lei Kaumaka O Uka
1st Place: Manalani Mili Hokoana English
Hālau: Hālau Nā Lei Kaumaka O Uka
“ʻAuhea Wale ʻOe E Ka Ua Noe”
True of mele hoʻoipoipo, “ʻAuhea Wale ʻOe E Ka Ua Noe” uses the elements of nature and place names to describe the sensual pleasures between Luanui and Kehoi. The slow moving rain Koʻiaweawe and the rainbow-hued rain Ka Ua Lei Kokoʻula illustrate the beautiful imagery of lovemaking and the attraction between kāne and wahine.
2nd Place: Sloane Makana West
Hālau: Hālau Kekuaokalāʻauʻalaʻiliahi
“ʻAuhea Wale ʻOe E Ka ʻŌʻō”
“ʻAuhea Wale ʻOe E Ka ʻŌʻo” honors Queen Emma Kalanikaumakaamano Kaleleonālani Naʻea Rooke, the beloved wife of Alexander Liholiho, Kamehameha IV. This mele praises Queen Emma as the sweet-voiced ʻōʻō bird of the sandalwood perfumed uplands and calls for her return to Hānaiakamalama, her beloved Nuʻuanu residence.
The hula belongs to the Hula Master Joseph Ilalaole of Hawaiʻi Island and was lovingly shared with us by Aunty Pat Namaka Bacon.
3rd Place: Jasmine Kaleihiwa Dunlap
Hālau: Hula Hālau ʻO Kamuela
“Kuko E Ka Manawa”
Name chants were composed to pay tribute to chiefly ancestors and lineages as well as to proclaim the greatness of a member of the royal family. This mele inoa was written for the seventh and last king of Hawaiʻi, David Kalākaua.
It is truly the desire of one's heart that a descendant of chiefs who once ruled has come to power.
4th Place: Chalei Malianapuaonahala puʻulei McKee
Hālau: Ka Lā ʻŌnohi Mai O Haʻehaʻe
“Leleiōhoku”
This mele honors Prince William Pitt Leleiōhokukalāhoʻolewa, brother of King David Kalākaua, Queen Liliʻuokalani and Princess Likelike. The setting is Nuʻuanu, and the mele calls to mind the orange mākāhala blossoms. Mentioned in the mele are the fragrant uplands, the palai ferns soaked with dew, and the famed Waipuhilani “Upside Down Falls.”
The sweet-voiced pūpūkanioe land shells perhaps reference the musical talents of Prince Leleiōhoku.
5th Place: Whitney Piʻilani Baldwin Schneider-Furuya
Hālau: Hālau I Ka Wēkiu
“Aia I Haili Kō Lei Nani”
This mele inoa or name chant is one of several lei chants composed for the coronation of King Kalākaua and Queen Kapiʻolani on February 12, 1883. In this particular set of chants, each mele represents a different island and the set reveals the deep love the Hawaiian people have for their island chain.
Hawaiʻi Island is honored in this chant “Aia I Haili Kō Lei Nani” – “There at Haili is your beautiful lei.”
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