Moanikeala Hula Festival 2024

It’s not often Iosepa is moved out of its berth to make way for other things, but on October 5, 2024, that happened.

The occasion was the 33rd Annual Moanikeala Hula Festival. Our Hawaiian Village transformed into a full-on performance space, complete with a beautiful stage on the green, and dressing rooms (Iosepaʻs usual home) for the visiting dancers. There were also venues for food, jewelry, clothing, and even lomi massage. Extra seating accommodated guests who wanted to take in one or more of the hula presentations, while other guests could circulate as usual through the standard exhibits.

What is the Moanikeala Hula Festival?

Kekei dancer from Kahawainani group. Photo by Polynesian Cultural Center.

The festival is named for “Aunty Sally”—Sally Moanikealaonapuamakahikina Wood Naluai, the Polynesian Cultural Center’s first kumu hula (hula master). She filled the position from the time the Center opened in 1963 until her retirement in 1980, and continued as a consultant until her death in 2000.

Nine hālau and their kumu were represented:

• Napuananionapalionakoʻolau / Ohana—Nā Kumu Sunday Mariterangi / Ellen Gay DelaRosa
• Hula Hālau o Kekela—Kumu Hula Kekela Miller
• Ka Pā Nani o Lilinoe—Kumu Hula Lilinoe Lindsey
• Hālau Hula Makana a Ke Aloha—Kumu Hula Laʻai Felix
• Kawaipuʻilani—Kumu Hula Keith Awai
• Hālau I Ka Lima Kuhi Lani—Nā Kumu Hula TC and Kuhi Southard
• Kahawainani—Kumu Hula Yuko Kawamoto (This hālau came from Japan to perform)
• Hālau Nā Pua Kukui—Kumu Hula Ed Collier
• Ka Pā Hula o Ka Lei Lehua—Kumu Hula Snowbird Bento

Male dancer from traditional drum group Ka Pa Hula o Ka Lei Lehua. Photo by Polynesian Cultural Center.

Music for most of the program was by local musicians Ulu Vale, joined by two guest singers at various times. The final performance, by the hālau under Kumu Hula Snowbird Bento, was presented with traditional drums and chanting.

History of the Festival

Dancers from Hula Hālau o Kekela move in harmony. Photo by Polynesian Cultural Center.

For several of the people who originally organized the festival (and are still involved today), Aunty Sally is part of the fabric of their lives. Some are actual blood relatives, but all are part of the close-knit “genealogy” that hula performers have maintained for centuries. All of the festival founders were taught by Aunty Sally. Aunty Sunday Kekuaokalani Mariteragi and Aunty Ellen Gay Kekuaokalani Dela Rosa are Sallyʻs nieces. Uncle Cy Bridges and Uncle Keith Awai are also part of the legacy. Uncle Cy was unable to attend this year, but the others all presented dances with their hālau.

Another of the revered kumu hula who always participates in the festival is Aunty Kela (Kekela) Miller. Aunty Kela began dancing as a very young child, taught at first by her mother, a descendant of other kumu hula. When she was 19, Kela was selected as a dancer in the first cast at the Polynesian Cultural Center, working under Uncle Cy Bridges. She has continued dancing throughout her life, and has now been kumu hula for many years.

Aunty Kela Miller remembers the time when hula was in decline, and explained that the Laʻie community and the Polynesian Cultural Center were instrumental in reviving it. She said the Center leadership encouraged revival of this tradition, along with all the Polynesian cultures they work to preserve. She credits the Center with greatly influencing the preservation of the Pacific Island way of life. Because of that, Aunty Kela was honored to bring her hālau to dance in tribute to Aunty Sally.

The Future

According to Terry Panee, manager of the Center’s Hawaiian Village, the plan for the future of the festival is secure. He and his island ‘ohana plan to hold the event the first weekend of October every year.

Debbi Weitzell has enjoyed a long career writing and editing, and is excited to bring her experience to the Polynesian Cultural Center where there are lots of new things to explore and write about. She especially loves the Aloha spirit that seems to surround everyone and everything on the island. Her hobbies include landscape painting and family history. Also, since gardening is an entirely different ballgame on the island as compared to the desert, she is looking forward to owning a hibiscus plant that actually thrives. Debbi and her husband came to O’ahu from Tucson, Arizona.