Hula Beyond The Ala #1

When I was young child, I would run in circles and play around my mothers pā‘ū as she taught her Hālau. I was so small that I could hide under her skirt and pop out and and make every one smile. She would entertain me for a little while then would give me the “eye” and the stern whisper under her breath for me to sit on the side, be quiet, and watch.

I observed my Aunties, the women right here in this very picture, as they would aiha‘a, bend their knees low just as my mother would show them how to and follow the motions of her hands and her hips. We would sit in a circle and they would share what they were researching about every chant and dance they were learning. I grew up watching them grow into who they are. So much of me is made up of what I have learned from seeing and feeling them love hula with a kind of commitment that is rooted in everything sacred.

When we were old enough, Lanakila and I became their hands and feet as they went through their ho’opa’a training and Hō‘ike to become ‘ōlapa. I still cry the best kind of tears when I think of seeing them pass each segment, hoping one day to find myself on the same journey to ‘uniki from my mother.

And now our time has come. My Aunties are now guiding us through our first segments with my mother leading the way. Seeing them sitting on the hill side, adorned in regalia with their Ipu in hand ready to chant us into the next phase of our training to one day become teachers was such a beautiful full circle moment. I know that every time I chant, it will be their voices that I hear with mine.

Kākua pā‘ū ahu nā kīkepa i ka pā‘ū