Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 37, Number 3, 1 March 2020 — Becoming the Wind [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

Becoming the Wind

Kumu Hula Meleana Manuel will present her hālau, Ke 'Olu Makani o Mauna Loa, at the Merrie Monarch Hula Competition for the first time in April. She has graciously agreed to have Ka Wai Ola follow her and her haumāna on this journey. This is part one of a three-part series.

By Puanani Fernandez-Akamine The chilly Pu'ulena wind is well known to Hawaiians in Kīlauea, Waiākea and Puna. It sweeps down from the slopes of Mauna Loa bringing refreshment to the lowlands. This wind stirred songwriter Randy Parker to compose the song "Pu'ulena" and his lyrics captured the imagination of Kumu Hula Meleana Manuel. She envisioned the Pu'ulena wind traveling the earth, changing names as it encircled the planet touching other lands and cultures, and then returning to Hawai'i bringing renewal. This image of the wind brought to mind the motion of a dancer's pā'ū skirt and this, in turn, inspired the name of her hālau. "'Ke 'Olu Makani o Mauna Loa,' literally means 'The Gentle Wind of Mauna Loa,'" shared Manuel. "As the Pu'ulena wind blows, the dancers' pā'ū skirts replicate that gentleness, moving and breathing the life of hula from our kūpuna. It transcends through generations with just one gentle move. I wanted this wind that I knew from my home to be the focus of my hālau. Wearethemakani. Andwherever we go, we shall bring a breeze of refreshment." This year, for the first time ever, the Pu'ulena wind, embodied by the women of Ke 'Olu Makani o Mauna Loa, will refresh the prestigious stage of the 57th Annual Merrie Monarch Festival. Although it is the first time that Manuel will present her hālau at the Merrie Monarch, her involvement with the renowned competition dates back the 1970s. As a teenager,

As a high school student at Kamehameha Schools Kapālama, Manuel was influenced by kumu like Wayne Chang, Leina'ala Kalama Heine and Robert Cazimero. Later, after college, Manuel began studying under Kumu Hula Rae Fonseca. "Kumu Rae was young, just starting his hālau in Hilo. He had innovative ideas and strong, difficult movements and motions," shared Manuel. "Dancing with Kumu Rae was a revelation. Hula was not just a dance. It was life. I lived it, breathed it. It became my passion." Her last kumu was Unele George Na'ope. "He was the most wonderful man," Manuel recalls. "His witty charm was infectious. His personal style was

Manuel presented lei to participating kumu hula, she later danced in the competition under Kumu Hula Rae Fonseca, and over the years volunteered in various capacities for the week-long festivities. One year she was asked to portray Queen Kapi'olani on the Royal Court. An accomplished singer, Manuel has even been asked to sing the national anthem to open the competition. Ironically, despite her passion for hula, becoming a kumu hula was not something to whieh Manuel initially aspired. "I just wanted to be a line dancer," she confessed. "I enjoyed the synchronicity of dancing with my hula sisters." Manuel's path to presenting her hālau at the Merrie Monarch is not what one might expect. Manuel was adopted at birth by Arthur and Eulela Ulrich, an older eouple with no children. Arthur was from Pasadena, California and Eulela was from Lyons, Kansas. Both her parents worked for the military as civilians before the Pearl Harbor attack. The Ulrichs raised Manuel in Volcano, where she still lives, and when she was four years old, they had her begin hula. Over the years Manuel trained under several kumu, eaeh of whom have shaped her as a dancer and performer. Her kumu have included Lani Wong, Helen Ha'a, Kolani Chartrand, and Kepa Maly. Manuel fell in love with hula and by the time she was 1 1 years old, she had already performed in Canada and Europe.

eclectic, but his hula and knowledge were untouchable. He gave me a new life in hula, a new direction." In addition to having their daughter study hula, the Ulrichs gave Manuel another gift - although at the time it did not feel like one. They enrolled her in Japanese Language School at the age of seven. "That was something I was not comfortable with," said Manuel. "I'm not Japanese and the rest of the class were all Nissei and Sansei, the children of our Japanese neighbors who were trying to keep their culture alive. I had a hard time there because they all wondered why this Hawaiian girl was trying to learn their language." In retrospect, Manuel marvels at the foresight of her parents. She continued her study of Japanese through high school and college, becoming fluent in the language. And that opened other doors for her. Manuel briefly moved from Volcano to Kona in the early 1 990s. During that time she took a break from hālau and, with a background in Tahitian dance thanks to Kumu Lani Wong, began dancing in a Polynesian show. While in Kona, Manuel was offered the opportunity to travel with a small performing group to Japan. At that time, there was great interest in hula in Japan, although the "hula boom" as Manuel calls it had not started. That trip to Japan was transformational. The people there were excited bv the music, the dance, the costumes

and the flowers. Manuel was suddenly beseiged by requests to teach. "Every day somebody was knoeking on my hotel room door asking 'Can you teach us?'" remembers Manuel. It became overwhelming, but Manuel could not say no. Upon returning to Hawai'i, Manuel began studying hula under KumuGeorgeNa'ope. "Itwaskind of a turning point. I needed to finish so that I could feel right about teaching," she said. In the meantime, Manuel continued teaching hula informally as a community service in her garage at her home in Volcano. "Our eom-

(Above) Smiling shyly in her hula costume at a pholo shoot. Manuel was five when this pieture was laken. (Right) A pholo from the early days of her hōlau. These girls are practicing in Manuel's garage in Volcano,- Photo: Courtesy |

munity is so rural that kids in our area needed after-school activities. I wanted to help fill this void." She started with five or six little girls, but over the years her classes grew in size. During that time she also maintained her ties to Japan, continuing to teach there as well. By 2003 Manuel had completed her requirements to 'uniki. She had been teaching for over a decade at that point, how-

ever, for reasons Manuel still does not understand, Kumu George Na'ope did not invite her to complete the process until 2007. "A kumu always thinks differently," said Manuel, "and you ask no questions." So when Na'ope decided it was time, it was a complete surprise. "I had only two weeks to prepare kahiko and 'auana presentations, find musicians, costumes, lei and everything

that went with it," Manuel recalled, "and it had to be perfect because I was presenting to my kumu." The 'uniki was scheduled on Na'ope's 80th birthday and Manuel was overwhelmed to learn there would be 350 attending his party - and her 'uniki - including renowned kumu from across the pae'āina. "I think back to that time and about this hula 'tree' that we all eome from and the importance of a kumu continuing his traditions so that the tree never stops growing new branches and leaves. My kumu chose to do this infront of his friends. He wanted witnesses." When Manuel was invited last summer to present her hālau at the 2020 Merrie Monarch Festival, she was similarly shocked and overwhelmed. She recounts her disbelief upon receiving a very business-like phone eall from Merrie Monarch President and Organizer, Auntie Luana Kawelu. "I answered the phone and Auntie Luana was on the other end. She said, ' Aloha Meleana. This is Auntie Luana. This is your formal invitation to Merrie Monarch. Thankyou. Goodbye.' I stood there speechless for a moment...and then I called her back because I thought I heard wrong." Being invited to participate in the Merrie Monarch is an extreme honor for any kumu hula. Says Manuel, "this, to me, is the ultimate test. Can I do everything graciously and appropriately? Have I taught my haumāna to be respectful? Will it show when this makani comes onto the stage? How is this makani going to swirl around the stage for seven minutes, and how elegantly, softly and breathlessly will it leave the stage? And will this makani leave the audience breathless? That is my goal." ■

wf\ \ Wrjml 1 ■HI ^ Kumu Meleana Manuel. - Photo: Courtesy

A recent photo of the Volcano-based members of Ke 'Olu Makani o Mauna Loa in Hilo. - Photo: Courtesy