For the second consecutive year, Ka Lā ʻŌnohi Mai O Haʻehaʻe, an Oʻahu hālau (school) led by nā kumu hula (hula teachers) Keawe and Tracie Lopes took top honors in both the group and solo divisions at the 61st Merrie Monarch Festival in Hilo, Hawaiʻi. Keawe is a Hawaiian language professor at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa and the director of the Kawaihuelani Center for Hawaiian Language at the Hawaiʻinuākea School of Hawaiian Knowledge, and Tracie is a UH Mānoa alumna.
- Related UH News story: UH Mānoa kumu hula leads hālau to Merrie Monarch victory, April 24, 2023
The wāhine (women) of the hālau captured the competition’s overall award with 1,201 points, a combination of scores acquired in both hula kahiko (ancient) and ʻauana (modern) performances. Their score surpassed their closest competitors, Hālau Ka Lei Mokihana o Leināʻala, which finished second with 1,199 points, and Hula Hālau ʻO Kamuela came in third with 1,195 points.
Their mele kahiko (song), Auhea Wale ʻOe E Ka Liko, honored King Kalākaua and compared the Hawaiian monarch to the rising Sun, one who is destined for greatness.
In the kāne category, the hālau took fourth place in both kahiko and ʻauana categories. Their mele kahiko, Waiʻanae Kū Kilakila, praised the moku (district) of Waiʻanae on Oʻahu and Mauna Kaʻala (Mt. Kaʻala), standing tall with its broad shoulders.
4th consecutive Miss Hula
Awards for the hālau follows their soloist, Kaʻōnohikaumakaakeawe Kananiokeakua Holokai Lopes, winning the Miss Aloha Hula title on April 4. Kaʻōnohi, a graduate student at UH Mānoa, follows the footsteps of her mother (Miss Aloha Hula 1994) and sister Piʻikea Kekīhenelehuawewehiikekauʻōnohi Lopes (Miss Aloha Hula 2022). This yearʻs win marks the fourth consecutive solo title secured by Keawe and Tracie’s hālau.
