If you are fortunate enough to be coming to Hawaii during the first week of April, you’ll have a chance to see the world’s preeminent hula festival. The Merrie Monarch Festival, held each year in Hilo, is a colorful week of Hawaiian cultural celebration and competition among hula halau of all ages. A halau is a Hawaiian word meaning a school, academy or group. Literally, the word means, “a branch from which many
leaves grow.” These days, a halau usually describes a group who studies and practices hula, with the goals of preserving Hawaii’s rich and living culture, and sharing their art with others by performing.
The teacher in a halau is the kumu hula, where kumu means source of knowledge, or just teacher. The most organized and elite halau have a… Read More
