Kohala halau triumphant in return to Merrie Monarch
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By Wanda A. Adams
Assistant Features Editor
Lorna Lim-Ryder emerged from the backstage recesses of Edith Kanaka'ole Stadium in Hilo Saturday night to see a sight that caused her to stop dead, her mouth open and tears spouting: her sisters Nani Lim-Yap and Leialoha Amina on stage receiving the top award in the 41st annual Merrie Monarch Festival hula competition.
Deborah Booker • The Honolulu Advertiser
Lim-Ryder, who earlier that evening had begun and ended her halau's 'auana performance with a solo song as a tribute to her late brother and father, had ducked out of sight to feed her hungry infant daughter, Wehileimamo, so she almost missed the big moment.
Na Lei O Kaholoku — overall winner of the 41st Merrie Monarch Festival — showed that a relatively young and untried troupe in the hands of seasoned kumu hula can compete with veterans.
But perhaps her decision to take care of Wehi's needs, even when everyone in the stadium knew that the points were adding up for Na Lei O Kaholoku, revealed the group's character, which is intensely 'ohana-oriented. Their approach is very personal, avoiding crowd pleasers in favor of what Lim-Yap calls "stories we want to tell."
The compositions chosen for the contest included a classic by a relative of theirs, Uncle Bill Ali'iloa Lincoln, "Ku'u Milimili." And their kahiko chant, "Ka Huaka'i O Hi'iaka-i-ka-poli-o-Pele Ma Kohala Nui," was a story they very much wanted to tell, Lim-Yap said, because it relates a little-known piece of mythology set in Kohala, their family's home territory.
The Lim Family (which includes, in various configurations and on different occasions mother Maryann Lim, siblings Elmer "Kohala" Lim, Leialoha Lim Amina, Nani Lim-Yap, Charmaine Lim-Davis and Lorna Lim-Ryder as well as various real and adopted 'ohana) is known throughout the Islands for their talents in music and hula. Their late father, Elmer Lim Sr., was a noted slack-key guitarist. And their brother, James "Kimo" K.H. Lim, was an award-winning hula dancer.
The halau operated by Lim-Yap and Amina from Lim-Yap's Waikoloa home on the Big Island, for which Lorna Lim-Ryder is a longtime alaka'i (teaching assistant), had always done well at Merrie Monarch, winning the overall competition in 1993 as well as division awards in other years.
But after Kimo Lim's untimely death at age 29 in a 1997 helicopter crash, the halau withdrew from competition. Last year, Halau I Ka Wekiu's 'auana entry was a mele that Lorna had composed as a birthday present for Kimo and, she said, "that was part of helping us to decide that what we love to do should not be put on hold. That is not what Kimo would want."
When Na Lei O Kaholoku beat out powerhouse five-time winner Hula Halau O Kamuela in the wahine kahiko (old-style women's hula) division, the stands exploded. Later, Kamuela's young kumu Kau'i Kamana'o was philosophical about the loss, acknowledging that at least it took the pressure off a bit.
"It's very hard being on top but we had a beautiful time here," said Kamana'o, whose halau took first place in 'auana and second in kahiko. "I just asked my girls to do the best they could and they did. With the new judges (five of seven judges hadn't been part of the competition in recent years) it was hard to predict how things would come out."
Moments before emcee Kimo Kahoano formally announced Na Lei O Kaholoku's win (by which time everyone in the place had done the math and realized there had been an upset), a member of Olana Ai's hula troupe shouted out a sentiment shared by many in the stadium: "Welcome back, you guys."
Reach Wanda A. Adams at wadams@honoluluadvertiser.com.
