Merrie Monarch Festival 2023 Results: Oʻahu hālau wins overall; Maui hālau takes kāne title

Ka Lā ‘Ōnohi Mai O Ha‘eha‘e under the direction of Nā Kumu Hula Tracie & Keawe Lopes of Oʻahu took the overall title at the 60th Annual Merrie Monarch Festival, in Hilo Hawaiʻi.

The hālau placed 1st in the overall wahine and wahine kahiko divisions, as well as 3rd in the kāne kahiko division and 4th in wahine ʻauana.

Their soloist, Agnes Renee Leihiwahiwaikapolionāmakua Thronas Brown was named Miss Aloha Hula 2023 on Thursday night.  

In their kahiko performance, 14 wahine dancers graced the stage in vibrant red clothing and green maile adornments, performing “Hanakahi,” in honor of Princess Ruth Ke‘elikōlani. In their ʻauana performance, eight women of the hālau danced “Kuʻu Lei,” a love song in which a loved one is likened to the special lei adorning her shoulders, according to the festival program.

The kāne of Ka Lā ‘Ōnohi Mai O Ha‘eha‘e performed “Ua Awakea” a song that describes four phases of the sun, earning a top three finish in the division.

Overall awards:

1. Ka Lā ‘Ōnohi Mai O Ha‘eha‘e, Nā Kumu Hula Tracie & Keawe Lopes (Oʻahu)
2. Hālau Nā Mamo O Pu‘uanahulu, Nā Kumu Hula William Kahakuleilehua Haunuʻu “Sonny” Ching & Lōpaka Igarta-De Vera (Oʻahu)
3. Hālau Ka Lei Mokihana O Leinā‘ala, Kumu Hula Leināʻala Pavao Jardin (Kauaʻi)

Kāne Overall awards:

1. Hālau Kekuaokalā‘au‘ala‘iliahi, Nā Kumu Hula Haunani & ʻIliahi Paredes (Maui): 1,217
2. Hālau Nā Mamo O Pu‘uanahulu, Nā Kumu Hula William Kahakuleilehua Haunuʻu “Sonny” Ching & Lōpaka Igarta-De Vera (Oʻahu): 1,215
3. Ka Leo O Laka I Ka Hikina O Ka Lā Kumu Kaleo Trinidad (Oʻahu): 1,206

Kāne Kahiko awards:

1. Hālau Kekuaokalā‘au‘ala‘iliahi, Nā Kumu Hula Haunani & ʻIliahi Paredes (Maui): 609
2. Hālau Nā Mamo O Pu‘uanahulu, Nā Kumu Hula William Kahakuleilehua Haunuʻu “Sonny” Ching & Lōpaka Igarta-De Vera (Oʻahu): 606
3. Ka Lā ‘Ōnohi Mai O Ha‘eha‘e, Nā Kumu Hula Tracie & Keawe Lopes (Oʻahu): 598
4. Ka Leo O Laka I Ka Hikina O Ka Lā Kumu Kaleo Trinidad (Oʻahu): 590

Kāne ʻAuana awards:

1. Hālau Hi‘iakaināmakalehua, Nā Kumu Hula Robert Keʻano Kaʻupu IV and Lono Padilla (Oʻahu): 619
2. Ka Leo O Laka I Ka Hikina O Ka Lā Kumu Kaleo Trinidad (Oʻahu): 616
3. Hālau Nā Mamo O Pu‘uanahulu, Nā Kumu Hula William Kahakuleilehua Haunuʻu “Sonny” Ching & Lōpaka Igarta-De Vera (Oʻahu): 609
4. Hālau Kekuaokalā‘au‘ala‘iliahi, Nā Kumu Hula Haunani & ʻIliahi Paredes (Maui): 608

Wahine Overall award:

1. Ka Lā ‘Ōnohi Mai O Ha‘eha‘e, Nā Kumu Hula Tracie & Keawe Lopes (Oʻahu): 1,231
2. Hālau Nā Mamo O Pu‘uanahulu, Nā Kumu Hula William Kahakuleilehua Haunuʻu “Sonny” Ching & Lōpaka Igarta-De Vera (Oʻahu): 1,230
3. Hālau Ka Lei Mokihana O Leinā‘ala, Kumu Hula Leināʻala Pavao Jardin (Kauaʻi): 1,229

Wahine Kahiko awards:

1. Ka Lā ‘Ōnohi Mai O Ha‘eha‘e, Nā Kumu Hula Tracie & Keawe Lopes (Oʻahu): 617
2. Hālau Nā Mamo O Pu‘uanahulu, Nā Kumu Hula William Kahakuleilehua Haunuʻu “Sonny” Ching & Lōpaka Igarta-De Vera (Oʻahu): 615
3. Halau Hula Ka Lehua Tuahine Kumu Kaʻilihiwa Vaughan-Darval (Oʻahu): 614 (tie breaker +1)
4. Hula Hālau ‘O Kamuela Nā Kumu Hula Kunewa Mook & Kauʻionālani Kamanaʻo (Oʻahu): 614
5. Hālau Ka Lei Mokihana O Leinā‘ala, Kumu Hula Leināʻala Pavao Jardin (Kauaʻi): 613

Wahine ʻAuana awards:

1. Hālau Hi‘iakaināmakalehua, Nā Kumu Hula Robert Keʻano Kaʻupu IV and Lono Padilla (Oʻahu): 617
2. Hālau Ka Lei Mokihana O Leinā‘ala, Kumu Hula Leināʻala Pavao Jardin (Kauaʻi): 616
3. Hālau Nā Mamo O Pu‘uanahulu, Nā Kumu Hula William Kahakuleilehua Haunuʻu “Sonny” Ching & Lōpaka Igarta-De Vera (Oʻahu): 615
4. Ka Lā ‘Ōnohi Mai O Ha‘eha‘e, Nā Kumu Hula Tracie & Keawe Lopes (Oʻahu): 614
5. Halau Hula Ka Lehua Tuahine Kumu Kaʻilihiwa Vaughan-Darval (Oʻahu): 609

Maui highlights: Men of Kekuaokalā‘au‘ala‘iliahi win kāne overall title

From Maui, the seven men of Hālau Kekuaokalā‘au‘ala‘iliahi, under the direction of Nā Kumu Hula Haunani & ʻIliahi Paredes of Wailuku, took first place honors in the kāne kahiko and earned 4th place in the kāne ʻauana division. Their combined effort earned them the Overall Kāne title for the second year in a row. Last year, the men of Hālau Kekuaokalā‘au‘ala‘iliahi swept both kāne and ʻauana divisions.

The hālau’s kāne group honored King Kalākaua in “ʻAlo I Ke Anu” in for their kahiko selection, and highlighted Upcountry, Maui in “Nani ʻUlupalakua,” composed by kumu hula and musician Emma Farden Sharpe for their ʻauana performance.

The women of Hālau Kekuaokalā‘au‘ala‘iliahi recounted the world travels of King Kalākaua in “Kuʻikuʻi Ka Lono” for their kahiko performance. On Saturday evening, they took guests/viewers on a journey aboard a neighbor island steamship in “Ka Loke O Maui,” which spoke of the windward cliffs of Keʻanae and the bays of Piʻilani, according to a festival program.

Also of Maui, Hālau Hula Kauluokalā performed a hula, recalling the glory of Mokuʻula, the residential complex of Kauikeaouli, King Kamehameha III, in Lahaina, Maui on kahiko night. In their ʻauana “Lei Lokelani,” on Saturday, the hālau shared the beauty of Maui and the lokelani blossoms.

On Friday, Hālau Nā Lei Kaumaka O Uka performed a mele inoa (name chant), “Ke ʻAla E Moana Mai” for Queen Emalani, which compared her to a lei of pearls. The women were dressed in white with green lei adornments and used an ʻulīʻulī gourd rattle for accompaniment. They then paid tribute to the late Uncle Johnny Lum Ho, in the mele “Mohala Ka Hīnano” on Saturday evening.

Hālau o Ka Hanu Lehua of Wailuku/Waikapū highlighted Kamehameha’s “elite force” of spear throwers in the mele “Hole Waimea,” a name chant honoring Kamehameha the Great during their kahiko performance Friday night. In their ʻauana selection, the hālau performed “He Aloha Moku O Keawe” which spoke of the peacefulness and beauty of the islands, according to festival literature. 

Miss Aloha Hula 2023 Results:

On Thursday night, Agnes Renee Leihiwahiwaikapolionāmakua Thronas Brown of Ka Lā ‘Ōnohi Mai O Ha‘eha‘e was named Miss Aloha Hula 2023 at the 60th Merrie Monarch Festival at the Edith Kanakaʻole Stadium in Hilo, Hawaiʻi. 

This is the third year in a row that the hālau from Pūʻahuʻula, Koʻolaupoko, Oʻahu, under the direction of Kumu Tracie and Keawe Lopes, took top honors in the soloist competition.

Results from Thursday night include the following: 

1. Agnes Renee Leihiwahiwaikapolionāmakua Thronas Brown – Nā Kumu Hula Tracie & Keawe Lopes (1,148) 1st place 
2. Breeze Ann Kalehuaonālani Vidinha Pavao – Hālau Ka Lei Mokihana o Leināʻala, Kumu Leināʻala Pavao Jardin of Kalāheo, Kauaʻi (1,144) 2nd place / 1st runner up
3. Meleāna Kamalani Mirafuentes– Hālau Nā Mama O Puʻuanahulu, under the direction of Kumu William Kahakuleilehua Haunuʻu “Sonny” Ching and Lōpaka Igarta-De Vera (1,143) 3rd place / 2nd runner up / ʻOlelo award
4. Karlee Pōhaikealoha Rita Chong-Kee  – Hālau Kekuaokalāʻauʻalaʻiliahi, under the direction of Nā Kumu Haunani and ʻIliahi Paredes (1,130) 4th place / 3rd runner up
5. Nohealeimamo Vaughan-Darval – Hālau Hula Ka Lehua Tuahine, under the direction of Kumu Ka‘ilihiwa Vaughan-Darval(1,129) 5th place / 4th runner up