Hula Beyond The Ala #6

Last year we were invited to share time and space with @bobthedragqueen, @itsshangela, @eurekaohara and the @werehere ‘ohana for their episode spotlighting @lanakilamangauil & @kekoaopololu as they shared their stories of being māhū in Hawai’i.

They were very respectful of the protocols of our people and asked if we would open the show with aha. It was so powerful and so in alignment that @kaumakaiwa, @4uila, @laakeaomaunalei and I gathered together to bring oli and hula from our ceremonial time on the Ala on the Mauna to this space.

We adorned in our traditional regalia and chanted together for the first time in a long time - deeply honoring our mountain and the traditions passed down to us by our kūpuna and mākua. We reminisced about the incredible amount of queer people who danced, chanted, and led the aha in 2019, every day, three times a day for months on end. It was so healing and so beautiful to celebrate that.

I wore a pā‘ū made by my beloved @hopoelehua in symbolism and reverence for the ancient love shared between Hōpoe and Hi‘iaka in the Mo’olelo o Hi’iakaikapoliopele. In this story, Hōpoe, was the first keeper of the sacred art of Hula. She was also the beloved to Hi’iaka, sister to Pele. Pele turned her to stone when Hi’iaka didn’t return quick enough for her liking from her journey to fetch Lohiau from Kaua’i. Hi’iaka mourned from her soul for the loss of her love.

Māhū love was then and still is an integral and intrinsic part of who we are as a people.

I am so grateful that this show creates spaces for conversation, for release, and, for healing. Māhū people in Hawai’i have experienced the pain and suffering of the prejudice and homophobia that came with colonization and it’s mission to indoctrinate us into belief systems that came from the outside world.

This is us celebrating that we are still here, still queer, still dancing, still chanting, still LIVING and still SERVING MĀHŪ REALNESS honey!

‘Alaneo