What is it Doc? What is it boy? Is it a kitty? Is it a pig? A mongoose?This week began the 40th annual Merrie Monarch Festival in Hilo Town. The Merrie Monarch is the Olympics of Hula, the premier hula competition in all the world. Halau (hula schools) from throughout Hawaii and the US come to dance, along with groups from throughout Polynesia.
The event also celebrates the life of King David Kalakaua, who reigned from 1874-1891. While the king was a Christian, he was also a proud Hawaiian with a strong penchant for reviving Hawaiian cultural practices. Kalakaua insisted that hula be performed at his coronation. This may sound innocent enough. But at the time, hula had been condemned by the Christian missionaries, who had convinced Kalakaua's predecessors to ban what they deemed pagan rituals, and the lewd and lascivious gyrations of hula that were seen as an offense to God. Many Hawaiian cultural and religious practices, including hula, went underground, taking place only in the most secluded areas of the islands. With a single, simple request in 1874, King Kalakaua lifted the ban and sparked a resurgence of Hawaiian cultural practices. He was henceforth known as the Merrie Monarch. Fortunately, at the time of Kalakaua's reign, there were still practicioners around the islands - kumu (teachers) and kahuna (expert craftsmen and healers) -who knew and practiced the old ways and could teach those for whom the traditions had been lost.
Today, the Merrie Monarch Festival is a celebration of all things Hawaiian, especially the ancient art of storytelling through hula.
A co-worker at the winery who had been to the arts, crafts and food venue in town this morning, brought back some poi balls. After much joking about the balls (especially the fact that you could buy them on a stick at the fair) we each tried one. None of us could really say we like poi, but the poi balls were actually very tasty; fried crispy on the outside, sweet and chewy on the inside. If I head down there tomorrow, I'll pick up a few. The Merrie Monarch parade is Saturday. We went last year and it was a very colorful affair. My parade favorites were the representatives from different islands, dressed in bright dresses or paniolo (cowboy) garb, adorned with beautiful leis, trotting along the bayfront on horseback. Even the horses wear leis.
I read today that Hawaii is the state with the highest number of millionaires per capita. We also learned that a neighbor's house down the road has no back wall. It's just a tiny three-sided structure with a blue plastic tarp for a fourth. There's a water tank, but no plumbing. The man who lived there appears to be gone. No one's seen him in a few months. But he lived there for years. Ron and I both used to give him rides home on occasion when we'd see him walking with groceries. He said he'd lost his license and had also lost a lung, which explained why he walked so laboriously up the road. We'd drop him off at his driveway. We couldn't see the house through the jungle. Now all the tangle of foliage is being cleared and you can see the structure from the road. A neighbor told us the man had been busted for drugs and had served some time. He seemed like a nice enough guy to me. Drug troubles aside, it really is unconscionable to me that, in a land of so much wealth, there are individuals and families living in such substandard conditions. I've seen this in other parts of the island; families living in unpermitted plywood and tarp shacks with no running water or electricity. Seriously. Right here in the USA. Of course, while Hawaii may officially be the 50th state, in many ways it is not, and will never be, America. Still, poverty is prevalent throughout our nation. The rich are exponentially richer than they've ever been. Many of them got that way by colluding with fellow CEOs, sitting on each others' boards of directors, ripping off average investors, paying employees peanuts while approving exorbitant salaries for one another, regardless of performance. While some own multiple vacation mansions which sit empty 50 weeks a year, sucking up the world's resources and spewing greenhouse gases, others live in dilapidated hovels. Then there's the problem of complete homelessness in America. Working families, where both parents hold full time jobs, living in tents (albeit on the beach in Hawaii) because they can't save enough money to pay a deposit, plus first and last month's rent on an apartment. I may be going out on a limb here, but I think the system is a little bit broken and needs some fixin'. To quote the ever so eloquent Charles Barkley, "I may be wrong, but I doubt it."
Sheesh. How'd I go from Happy Merrie Monarch Fest to a reflection on the haves and have nots in America? What is it Doc? What is it boy? Am I crazy?
A hui hou. Aloha.
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