'Auana Competition - 2012 Merrie Monarch Festival
Saturday, April 14, 2012 - Hilo, Hawaii
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| The King and Queen watched the dancing from their thrones |
This is the final night of the hula dancing part of the festival. The competition ran until about 11:30PM with the results not being announced until well after Midnight. We did not stay that late, preferring to read all about it in the Star Advertiser when we arrived home.
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| Traveler Al and Sherb |
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| Our friend, Jan |
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| The Page and Herald enter before the King and Queen and their standard bearers. |
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| The Royal Couple |
The dances on this final night of the Merrie Monarch Festival are in the " 'Auana " style which allows more experimentation and variety in costume and dance. The 'Auana mele (songs) can tell stories about events, feelings or describe places in Hawaii.
Overall Winners
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| Halau I Ka Weiku took the Overall First Place for the Festival for both styles of dance and 'Auana First Place honors for Kane. |
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| This mele (song) tells of a visit to a lavender farm. |
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| Here the dancers show the watering of the lavender at the farm. |
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| The ulili (gourds) are used as a percussive instrument. |
Wahine - Overall Honors
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| Halau o ke 'A'ali'i Ku Makani - First overall honors - Wahine |
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| 5th place in 'Auana - wahine |
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| Halau Mohala 'Ilima - 2nd Overall Honors - Wahine |
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| First honors in Wahine 'Auana |
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| Halau I Ka Weikiu - 3rd Place Wahine Overall, 2nd Honors in Wahine 'Auana |
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| The blue gowns played havoc with the color controls on my Canon - causing the skin tones to go off towards the orange - color corrected as far as it would go! |
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| Ka La 'Onohi Malo Ha'eha'e Helau - 3rd place honors in 'Auana |
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| Halau Ka Lei Moihana o Leina'ala - 4th Place Wahine 'Auana |
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| Halau Ka Lei Moihana o Leina'ala - 4th Place Wahine 'Auana
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'Auana Honors - Kane (Men)
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| Halau Kawaili'ula, 2nd place in Kane 'Auana - 2nd place honors in Kane Overall |
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| This mele is a procreation song, or " ma'i " to perpetuate a bloodline. In this case for a son of King Kamehameha. |
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| The dance motions and tempo of the mele are very erotic in nature. |
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| Halau Ka Leo o Laka I Ka Hinia o Ka La - 3rd place - Kane 'Auana |
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| The mele depicts the activities of the "Paniolo" or Hawaiian cowboys at a rodeo event. |
Photos of other groups in the 'Auana Competition
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| A helau from Oakland, California
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| This helau is from Oahu, Hilo on Hawaii and from San Mateo, California |
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| A helau from Las Vegas, Nevada |
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| A helau from Oakland, California |
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| Helau from Los Angeles, California |
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| Once again the blue gowns caused the Canon to render flesh tones in almost a bright orange! This and the next photo have been severely color corrected, but are still not rendered in true color. |
Next - 4 days of sightseeing on the Big Island of Hawaii including the top of Moana Kea, the largest mountain on earth by volume.
Please click the colored link to view my other blog about my more distant journeys - Travler Al's Wanderings
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