With a total score of 1,180 points, hula halau Kawaili‘ula under the direction of kumu Chinky Mahoe was named overall winner of the 58th Merrie Monarch Festival.
The competition was held before judges and scored at Edith Kanaka‘ole Stadium in Hilo in late June with no live audience, then broadcast on network television over the weekend, with winners announced Saturday by co-hosts Manu Boyd and Amy Kalili.
The halau themselves did not know who had won until the broadcast Saturday night, according to festival director Luana Kawelu.
“I’m extremely happy and so proud of those halau who decided they wanted to become part of the 2021 Merrie Monarch Festival and put on that show,” said Kawelu. “It was wonderful. They are all troupers.”
It showed that hula continues to thrive despite the pandemic, she said. She is already preparing for next year’s Merrie Monarch Festival.
Kawelu and her daughter, Kathy, are flying from Hilo to Oahu this weekend to personally deliver the Lokalia Montgomery Perpetual Trophy and other awards to the winning halau.
Fifteen halau from Kauai, Oahu, Maui and Hawaii island, along with seven Miss Aloha Hula soloists, competed this year. All agreed to rigorous guidelines including multiple COVID-19 tests, a five-day isolation period prior to entering the competition venue, and daily screenings.
Last year’s competition was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Kawaili‘ula of Kailua and Manoa, Oahu, took top place in kane overall, with top scores for kane kahiko and kane auana. With the highest combined score of 1,180 points, the halau placed top overall.
For kahiko the kane performed a fierce, precise rendition of “Kakuhihewa,” about a ruling chief of Oahu born at the sacred birthing site of Kukaniloko, which they visited in person as preparation for the competition.
Kawaili‘ula was also the overall winner of the 50th Merrie Monarch Festival competition in 2013.
Rosemary Ka‘imilei Keamoai-Strickland of Ka La ‘Onohi Mai o Ha‘eha‘e was named the new Miss Aloha Hula on Thursday.
It was the second Miss Aloha Hula win for the Kaneohe halau under the direction of kumu Tracie and Keawe Lopes, which also took the title in 2014.
Maka‘ala Kahikinaokalalani Victoria Perry of Ke Kai o Kahiki of Waianae won the Hawaiian Language Award. She is the daughter of kumu La‘akea Perry and was the halau’s first Miss Aloha Hula soloist.
For kahiko, Keamoai- Strickland danced to “Hanohano ‘o Lehua” in honor of Queen Kapi‘olani’s journey to Niihau and Kauai to promote a campaign aimed at increasing the Hawaiian race and the founding of what is now Kapiolani Medical Center.
For auana she danced to a mele composed by kumu Keawe Lopes, “Hanohano Hapuuhale,” honoring Florence Kuupualeipoinaole Niau Nicholas, known to most as Auntie Lolena.
Keamoai-Strickland studied Hawaiian language at the University of Hawaii at Manoa under the guidance of kumu Keawe, also director of the Kawaihuelani Center for Hawaiian Language.
Nicholas is considered a living treasure at Kawaihuelani and an advocate for the renaissance of the Hawaiian language.
Kumu Tracie Lopes said she was grateful to be part of it and and to be able to share their hula.
“I’m just really grateful to the festival and to the women who braved this journey with us,” said Lopes. “Without them we would not be able to represent our halau at all.”
Judges of the festival this year were Maelia Loebenstein Carter, William Haunu‘u “Sonny” Ching, Kawaikapu Hewett, Lahela Ka‘aihue, Mae Kamamalu Klein, Noenoelani Zuttermeister Lewis, Etua Lopes, Pi‘ilani Lua and Nani Lim Yap.
LIST OF WINNERS
The Merrie Monarch Festival released the following results from the 58th hula competition:
OVERALL WINNER
>> Kawaili‘ula, kumu Chinky Mahoe, 1,180
>> Halau Kekuaokala‘au‘ala‘iliahi, kumu ‘Iliahi and Haunani Paredes, 1,167
>> Halau Ka Liko Pua o Kalaniakea, kumu Kapua Dalire-Moe, 1,163
WAHINE KAHIKO
>> Halau Hi‘iakainamakalehua, kumu Robert Ke‘ano Ka‘upu IV and Lono Padilla, 580
>> Halau Ka Liko Pua o Kalaniakea, kumu Kapua Dalire-Moe, 576
>> Halau Ka Lei Mokihana o Leina‘ala, kumu Leina‘ala Pavao Jardin, 575
>> Ka La ‘Onohi Mai o Ha‘eha‘e, kumu Tracie and Keawe Lopes, 574
>> Halau Ka Lei Mokihana o Leina‘ala, kumu Leina‘ala Pavao Jardin, 560
WAHINE AUANA
>> Halau Kekuaokala‘au‘ala‘iliahi, kumu ‘Iliahi and Haunani Paredes, 592
>> Halau Ka Liko Pua o Kalaniakea, kumu Kapua Dalire-Moe, 587
>> Halau Ka Lei Mokihana o Leina‘ala, kumu Leina‘ala Pavao Jardin, 582
>> Ka La ‘Onohi Mai o Ha‘eha‘e, kumu Tracie and Keawe Lopes, 579
>> Halau i ka Wekiu, kumu Karl Veto Baker and Michael Casupang, 569
WAHINE OVERALL
>> Halau Kekuaokala‘au‘ala‘iliahi, kumu ‘Iliahi and Haunani Paredes, 1,167
>> Halau Ka Liko Pua o Kalaniakea, kumu Kapua Dalire-Moe, 1,163
>> Ka La ‘Onohi Mai o Ha‘eha‘e, kumu Tracie and Keawe Lopes, 1,153
KANE KAHIKO
>> Kawaili‘ula, kumu Chinky Mahoe, 576
>> Halau Hi‘iakainamakalehua, kumu Robert Ke‘ano Ka‘upu IV and Lono Padilla, 562
>> Halau i ka Wekiu, kumu Karl Veto Baker and Michael Casupang, 553
>> Kawai‘ulaokala, kumu Keli‘iho‘omalu Puchalski, 552
KANE AUANA
>> Kawaili‘ula, kumu Chinky Mahoe, 604
>> Halau Kekuaokala‘au‘ala‘iliahi, kumu ‘Iliahi and Haunani Paredes, 594
>> Halau i ka Wekiu, kumu Karl Veto Baker and Michael Casupang, 572
>> Ke Kai o Kahiki, kumu La‘akea Perry, 570
KANE OVERALL
>> Kawaili‘ula, kumu Chinky Mahoe, 1,180
>> Halau Kekuaokala‘au‘ala‘iliahi, kumu ‘Iliahi and Haunani Paredes, 1,140
>> Halau Hi‘iakainamakalehua, kumu Robert Ke‘ano Ka‘upu IV and Lono Padilla, 1,128
