Huli Aku, Huli Mai, a special?hula (dance) and mele (music) event featuring a panel of well-respected practitioners from the community is presented on Thursday, April 28 at . Performances by Leeward’s Ka Papa Hula Nei I (Instructor Lilinoe Lindsey) and Hawaiian Ensemble II (Instructor John Signor) open the event. The event is free and open to the public.
Perpetuating cultural values and traditions
Today, traditional practices such as mele and hula are experiencing a new kind of distortion to the ways in which they are perceived by the global community. Where the missionaries of the 19th century saw hula as a “lascivious” practice, the global community today sees hula and other traditional Hawaiian practices as commodities. The tourism industry sells hula, mele, ʻaha ʻāina (lūʻau), hana lei (lei making) and other practices as parts of the easy-going, aloha-spirit-filled, island lifestyle. This results in a significant disconnect between what others perceive to be “Hawaiian” and the strong, proud culture that their kūpuna have established.
As part of Huli Aku, Huli Mai, live performances of hula and mele are interwoven with archival footage from the 1970s and 1980s.?Cultural practitioners featured in the films, serve as panelists, including Maile Loo, hānai daughter of the late Kumu Hula Nona Beamer, and , a historian, composer and musician who has been performing since 1975. Panelists will share how they have been able to perpetuate cultural values and traditions and make meaningful connections with traditional storytelling practices.
Historic footage of mele and hula serves as the foundation of the commentary and presentations. Library and archival resources are incorporated into the event to demonstrate their value and to increase access to and use of these repositories by the Native Hawaiian community.
Event information
Leeward Community College presents Huli Aku, Huli Mai on Thursday, April 28 at 12:45 p.m. in ED 301. The event is free and open to the public.
This event is presented by and sponsored in part by the .
Participating groups and organizations include
- Leeward CC Library, in partnership with and
- Fiscal Sponsor: Office of Hawaiian Affairs
- Community Partner:
- Campus Partner: Ka Papa Hula Nei I and Hawaiian Ensemble II
—By Kathleen Cabral