It’s just after 11 p.m. and the kahiko group competition has ended. Whew! Twenty-seven performances!
Things I noticed:
• The warm colors of earth, sun and fire, every possible shade of orange, a lot of yellow and a fair amount of red. Unbelievable how this happens year after year, as though some invisible color virus had spread among the kumu hula, infecting them all with an attracton to certain shades.
• Wooden implements, including the rare foot treadle called the papa hehe but also kala’au sticks.
• In those halau employing mele from the monarchy period, interesting patterned fabrics: checks, stripes, calico and such. One of the sharpest was that of kumu hula Ed Collier’s Halau O Na Pua Kukui: For their dance honoring Queen Emma, they wore gorgeous silk-looking plaid full skirts in contrasting colors, one line wearing a green pattern and the other red, each with a bow at the side, worn with a fitted white eyelet blouse. Absolutely charming and very fresh.
• Split skirts and layered skirts, both in Miss Aloha Hula and group kahiko. One of the most unusual was that of kumu hula Kaleo Trinidad’s Ka Leo O Laka I Ka Hikina O Ka Lä, which were not just full but actually tiered in a mottled maroon, with a light-colored underskirt. Many halau also wore bloomers under skirts and one or two underskirts of contrasting colors. One Miss Aloha Hula candidate wore what I think was a crinoline under her full skirt, something I haven’t seen since childhood. (A crinoline, for the younger readers of this blog, was a wide, tiered, stiff slip meant to hold your skirts out around you.)
• In contrast to the women, who were often covered in layers of ruffles, long sleeves and huge ballooning skirts, most of the men were more than half naked, with bare chests and in more than a few cases bare buttocks, too.
• Thematic elements, too, seem to run in packs. Kumu hula have explored many, many aspects of the Hi'iaka story in this Merrie Monarch, and not all of them the predictable ones. Lohi’au, the alluring character who stands at the center of the Pele-Hi’iaka rivalry was fleshed out in several stories. Queen Emma and Queen Kapi’olani received a lot of attention this evening, as well.
• An implement that got used more than I’ve ever seen it was the hands: Several halau punctuated their songs not with the conventional ipu heke (gourd) or pahu drum but with simple clapping. Very effective.
One last little side note: Those wonderful hala pa'u that Halau I Ka Wekiu wore: Well, the other night, they put their freshly made skirts in the refrigerator to keep them green and somehow the refrigerator cord got pulled and the skirts turned mottled brown. They must have somehow managed to get hold of a truckload of fresh green hala because their skirts for performance appeared to be fresh and green. What a lot of work! And boy! Did those things sway!
And now it’s 11:30 and all good hula lovers should be in bed. Because if you think tonight went on for a long time, wait until tomorrow nights’ ‘auana competition and awards ceremony!
ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ.
Hawai'i's Newspaper Online 
Saturday, November 7, 2009
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