{"id":195063,"date":"2024-04-05T11:47:42","date_gmt":"2024-04-05T21:47:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/?p=195063"},"modified":"2024-04-08T13:55:49","modified_gmt":"2024-04-08T23:55:49","slug":"miss-aloha-hula-2024-uh-manoa-grad-student","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/2024\/04\/05\/miss-aloha-hula-2024-uh-manoa-grad-student\/","title":{"rendered":"Miss Aloha Hula 2024 is UH<\/abbr> M\u0101noa grad student"},"content":{"rendered":"Reading time: <\/span> 2<\/span> minutes<\/span><\/span>
\"Lopes
Lopes’ hula ʻauana celebrates Uncle George Holokai, a beloved hula master (photo credit: Bruce Omori, Merrie Monarch Festival)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

A graduate haumāna (student) pursuing a master\u2019s degree in communications<\/a> at the University of Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span> at Mānoa earned the Miss Aloha Hula title and Hawaiian language award at the 61st annual Merrie Monarch Festival. Kaʻōnohikaumakaakeawe<\/span> Kananiokeakua Holokai Lopes competed alongside 12 other contestants in the solo category held at the Edith Kanakaʻole<\/span> Stadium in Hilo on Thursday, April 4.<\/p>\n

\"Lopes
Lopes pays tribute to a place described as heaven on Earth and protected by royalty (photo credit: Cody Yamaguchi, Merrie Monarch Festival)<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n
\"Lopes
(Photo credit Cody Yamaguchi, Merrie Monarch Festival)<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n

Lopes\u2019 parents, Â鶹´«Ã½M\u0101noa alumna Tracie Lopes and <\/abbr>UH<\/abbr> Mānoa Kawaihuelani Center for Hawaiian Language<\/a> Director R. Keawe Lopes are also her kumu hula, leading Windward Oʻahu-based<\/span> hālau Ka Lā ʻŌnohi<\/span> Mai O Haʻehaʻe.<\/span> 21-year-old Ka\u02bb\u014dnohi, who is fluent in ʻōlelo<\/span> Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span> (Hawaiian language), also earned a BA<\/abbr> from the university\u2019s Hawaiian language department.<\/p>\n

“One of the goals in Kawaihuelani is for our predominantly Hawaiian population of students to acquire their language and realize a sense of self through ʻōlelo<\/span> Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span>,” said C. M. Kaliko Baker, a Kumu ʻōlelo<\/span> Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span> at UH<\/abbr> M\u0101noa. “That sense of self was evident in the way that Ka\u02bb\u014dnohi carried herself last night. She absolutely knew who she was.”<\/p>\n

Soloists are judged on a variety of criteria, everything from posture, expression, costume authenticity and mele (song) interpretation. Each contestant is required to dance both hula kahiko (ancient) and ʻauana<\/span> (modern).<\/p>\n

For her kahiko portion, Lopes shared mele Aia Ka Lani Kua Kaʻa<\/span> I Luna<\/em>, which transported audiences to Lanikūhonua, a revered cultural refuge at Ko Olina. The West Oʻahu<\/span> abode, once frequented by aliʻi<\/span> (royalty), holds great significance to her parents\u2019 hula lineage.<\/p>\n

Lopes\u2019 mele ʻauana<\/span> honored her namesake, the late Uncle George Ainsley Kananiokeakua Holokai, a revered kumu hula. Draped in golden strands of lei kukunaokalā, she danced Kanani Holokai<\/em>, likening Uncle George to a gentle breeze that dances across the land.<\/p>\n