A line of six men from Hālau O Kekuhi graced the stage in flowy, yellow skirts at this year’s Merrie Monarch Festival to perform their award-winning dance from 1977 to commemorate the participation of men in the annual hula competition.
When those same dancers crossed the stage nearly 50 years ago, the festival had only recently allowed men to compete. But now, there are increasing numbers of male dancers in hālau across the state.
This year's commemoration was so important to Kamuela Chun that he wouldn’t let a twisted knee derail his performance. When the time came, he thought to himself, “I’m going to dance.”
The 68-year-old said it was a full-circle moment to perform that very dance about a half a century later.
“Hula allows you to transcend, and it was a highlight. It was magical,” he said.
The Merrie Monarch Festival started its famed hula competition in 1971, but it didn't allow male dancers until 1976.
While men dancing hula was once stigmatized by Western influence, there have been a growing number of kāne hula dancers within 50 years.
“What’s happened is that there's been a renewed interest in developing one’s aboriginal identity as a Hawaiian,” Chun said.
The 63rd annual Merrie Monarch hula competition had 11 kāne groups participating.
That’s more than it was in 1976, when three hālau with kāne competed, including Hālau O Kekuhi under the direction of Kumu Hula Edith Kanaka‘ole, Hālau Nā Kamalei o Līlīlehua under the direction of Kumu Hula Robert Cazimero and the Kalihi Palama Culture and Arts under the direction of Kumu Hula Henry Pā.
‘Manly grace’
One thing is certain: When men dance hula, it’s a crowd-pleaser.
When generations of Waimāpuna dancers performed at the Ho‘ike, cheers erupted from the crowd as more than 130 hula kāne synchronously danced with wooden paddles and stomped to the beat of the ‘ipu, which is the gourd used as a percussion instrument in hula.
The Merrie Monarch Festival was created in 1963 to help boost business to Hawaiʻi Island, after a devastating tsunami and the decline of the sugar plantations.
In 1971, during the Hawaiian renaissance, the festival created the hula competition, but only women were allowed to perform. Why exactly only women were allowed to compete is not entirely clear although some speculate that tourism advertisements at the time depicting only female dancers created a stigma against male dancers.
Men were able to participate five years later after the festival grew in popularity — and so did interest from men wanting to dance hula.
“There are definitely more hula schools with men in them right now,” said musician Robert Cazimero, a kumu hula of Hālau Nā Kamalei O Līlīlehua.
Cazimero created one of the first male hula hālau and was part of the first lineup of kāne at Merrie Monarch in 1976.
“But it’s still very difficult to find men to dance hula,” he continued. “So my teacher told me a long time ago that to have a man dance hula for you is a privilege.”
The ancient dance of hula dates back thousands of years. In Hawaiian mythology, Hi‘iakia, the younger sister of the volcano goddess Pele, was credited as the first hula dancer.
According to Cazimero, men have been dancing hula for centuries, with links to the Hawaiian martial art, lua.
It’s a common misconception that hula is just for women.
Missionaries banned hula was banned in the 19th century; many of its practitioners during that period were often self-taught.
It wasn’t until the Hawaiian Renaissance in the 1970s where there was a revival of the Hawaiian language, music and cultural practices, including hula.
Cazimero said when his hālau danced back in 1976, they were often criticized for moving their hips too much. Most hula dance moves use ‘ami, which is a circular rotation of hips.
In spite of critics, his hālau pushed forward, and his style of dancing became known for what some call “manly grace.”
“It's so interesting now to be able to see so many male dancers and their teachers finding it comfortable enough to say that we are comfortable in moving our hips,” Cazimero said. “And that you may think that this is a feminine kind of thing, good for you, but it doesn't mean that we have to stop what we do.”
Fighting stigma
Kumu Hula Robert Keano Ka‘upu IV grew up watching Merrie Monarch. He was the only one in his family to dance hula.
“People did not want me to dance. I was the anomaly in my family,” he said.
He said there was a lingering stigma of hula kāne.
“We were fighting the stigma that hula is for māhū or hula is only for women,” Keano Kaʻupu said. “Toxic masculinity really played into people not wanting to dance “
It wasn’t until Merrie Monarch began evolving over the years when kāne was allowed to compete in the competition. Firemen and University of Hawai‘i football players were among those competing in the hula competition.
“More people see that hula can be masculine, and there is a grace and fluidity in masculinity," he said. “Hula has nothing to do with your sexual orientation. It was everything to do with a cultural practice.”
He credited the kāne hula dancers who have long worked toward “introducing hula back into the world.”
His hālau, Hālau Hiʻiakaināmakalehua, initially started with four girls and now has grown to more than 100 dancers — with men, women and children.
Ka‘upu said he didn’t see the hālau having 30 male dancers 10 years ago.
“We were having a hard time keeping three in the first eight years of the hālau,” he said.
Under his direction, his hālau recently took home the overall win at Merrie Monarch. The hālau’s win, along with Ka‘upu's professional and personal journey have been documented in the upcoming documentary, “Making The Line.”
“I'm in a daze," he said. "I didn't realize the magnitude of the overall festival winner, because I've never won it before.”
After watching Merrie Monarch pay tribute to all the men who have helped shape the Merrie Monarch hula competition, he is encouraged that more men are dancing hula.
He hopes more kāne will get into hula in the next 50 years.
“All you need are the right men that you can influence and affect positively and that will be infectious to others,” he said.
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