Take a journey with Halau Palaihiwa O Kaipuwai

Enter the collective consciousness of hula Saturday at the Kaua‘i Community College Performing Arts Center with the island’s oldest halau. Halau Palaihiwa O Kaipuwai will chant and dance a journey of ancestral places that go by the name “Ha‘ena.”

“These are chants and dances that have been part of ‘aiha‘a since time immemorial. It’s rare (ancient Hawaiians) would include observers outside the halau,” said Kumu Hula Kehaulani Kekua.

“Ha‘a Ha‘ena — Entering the Consciousness of Hula” is a classical hula kahiko theatre production written and directed by Kekua, granddaughter of the halau’s founder, Kumu Lo‘ea Helen Kaipuwai Kekua Waiau.

Kekua carries on the hula tradition rooted in Kaua‘i and formerly called “‘aiha‘a.”

“‘Aiha‘a means to internalize humility,” she said. “The ‘‘ai’ means ‘to internalize,’ and the ‘ha‘a’ means ‘low, bent knees.’ Our teachings remind us we pull our energy from the ground. The lower to the ground, the higher the frequency (connection to the ancestors).”

More than a dance recital, “Ha‘a Ha‘ena” reveres the connection between all the Ha‘enas in the Hawaiian chain. This reflective journey guides observers through chant, dance and storytelling by paying tribute to the Ha‘ena on the Northeastern island of Mokumanamana, Kaua‘i and Hawai‘i Island.

“Ha‘ena” means “the intense breath of the sun.”

“Only in the last 15 years am I understanding the spiritual and cosmic alignments that have to do with the movement of the sun,” Kekua said. “The god Kane is associated with the sun.”

The traditional chants the halau will perform Saturday are ones Kekua has been studying most of her life.

 “The traditional chants provide insight and information untampered with by invaders. As practitioners we have to have a grasp on what’s in these chants. They are vital to our sustainibility,” she said. “The idea of ‘Ha‘a Ha‘ena’ is to look at the whole. Hula is about regenerating life cycles. The dancer… becomes that living altar of hula and the circle of the lei, a symbol of that ongoing cycle. Hula is the healing of the land and environment.” 

Hawai‘i’s eastern portal is at Ha‘ena on the Big Island, “where the first breath of the sun is felt,” she said. “Ha‘ena on Kaua‘i is at the most western portal. These cyclical movements have generated life unwavering since the beginning of time. These chants are all the formulas and codes on how to live.”

In October Kekua and 45 of her students went to Big Island to dance at Ha‘ena, and then last weekend spent two days visiting the sacred sites of Kaua‘i’s Ha‘ena.

“It’s important for our halau to be in our Ha‘ena so they can appreciate the sacredness — but even more important is the understanding of the alignment between the Ha‘enas as portals.”

A portal is the body of energy that provides the greatest amount of mana at a global level, connecting  ancestors and descendants in experiences that have been guided by the formalities of hula rituals and practices of ‘aiha‘a, she said.

Kekua’s expectation of her dancers is one of complete embodiment of these ancient instructions.

“Our ancestors understood our earth was suspended. They observed, respected and internalized (nature),” she said.

“Ha‘a Ha‘ena” is not only a tribute to place, but describes “the intense breath of the sun and that of the dancer mingling with the atmosphere — it’s reciprocal, a dance through the breath,” Kekua said. “The dancer needs to transport his or her audience to that place the chants speak to. For the dancer it takes years to groom them on how to hold that imagery in their body. That is why it is important to go to the places (the chants are about).”

Pre-concert festivities begin at 4:30 p.m., with the performance starting at 6 p.m. Tickets are $25, advance; $35, at the door. Ticket outlets include: Magic Dragon, Princeville; Island Soap and Candle Works, Kilauea;  Kaua‘i Music and Sound, Waipouli, and from any halau member. Tickets  also available at kaieie.org on-line.  

More information is available by e-mailing halaupalaihiwa@kaieie.org or calling 346-7574. 

• Pam Woolway, lifestyle writer, can be reached at 245-3681, ext. 257 or pwoolway@kauaipubco.com.