Hawaii Tribune-Herald Sunday, April 16, 2017 3 2017 Merrie Monarch Festival Photo: HOLLYN JOHNSON/Tribune-Herald Halau Na Mamo O Pu‘uanahulu. Window of By JOHN BURNETT Hawaii Tribune-Herald OPPORTUNITY Hula is much more than a dance. King David Kalakaua, the Merrie Monarch, called it “the language of the heart, and therefore, the heartbeat of the Hawaiian people.” Hula also is the medium for master storytellers known as kumu hula. As such, the 54th Annual Merrie Monarch Festival and its centerpiece three-night hula competition will weave numerous storylines into an exciting resolution in the wee hours of Sunday morning, April 23, with the awarding of the traditional hula hardware to the kumu whose storytelling through dance the judges found most enthralling. Twenty-three halau are competing in this year’s “Super Bowl of Hula,” with 20 wahine groups and nine kane groups dancing in Friday night’s group Many talented halau seeking 2017 Merrie Monarch Festival titles See WINDOW Page 6
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