LIHUE — The ladies of Na Hui O Kamakaokalani earned bronze in their division at the 40th King Kamehameha Hula Competition on Oahu. “This is the first time the halau has entered any kind of competition, and to place where
LIHUE — The ladies of Na Hui O Kamakaokalani earned bronze in their division at the 40th King Kamehameha Hula Competition on Oahu.
“This is the first time the halau has entered any kind of competition, and to place where we did is an honor,” said Kumu Hula Maka Herrod on Wednesday during the halau’s practice following the Oahu trip. “We recently were surprised when we won an award at the Kauai Polynesian Festival, but our goal was to prepare for the King Kamehameha Hula Competition.”
Linda Viado, one of the halau performers and a consistent hula performer during events at the Marriott’s Waiohai Beach Club, said knowing that kumu hula like Mapuana DeSilva was in their division, made earning an award beyond description.
The King Kamehameha Hula Competition is described by the Travel International Sports website as an international competition that includes traditional and contemporary hula styles featuring kane, or male halau, wahine, or female halau, individual chanters and kupuna wahine, or senior women halau.
Participants in this competition previously visited from Canada, Japan, Mexico, California, Nevada, Texas, and Hawaii.
“We just did one number at the competition,” Herrod said. “It was an auana number created by Ilei Beniamina. That was very fitting for our ladies.”
Herrod said the ladies danced to “Pua Ala Aumoe,” a composition that speaks of the night-blooming jasmine, and although the ladies used pikake lei in their competition attire, they wore the pale green colors of the ala aumoe in their hair.
