Master artist Kawika Keikiali`i Alfiche (left) and 2008 apprentice Eileen Maka Aniciete (right). Photo: Sherwood Chen.

Photos and documentation from 2008 Apprenticeships, from Sherwood Chen's files

Kawika Keikiali`i Alfiche

Hula (Hawaiian Cultural Arts)

Hula (Hawaiian Cultural Arts)

“The great thing about our traditions is it’s not just a dance and movement. It comes with great kuleana (responsibility). It is very important to our cultural community, for it is the voice of our culture.”

– Kawika Keikiali`i Alfiche

Kawika Keikiali`i Alfiche offering a Mele Aloha (song of greeting) in Barcelona, Spain. Photo: Marc Marín Fotografía.

Hula is a Hawaiian dance form accompanied by oli (chant), mele (traditional song), and pa`ahana (musical instruments and implements). Its many styles have been divided into two main categories. Kahiko (ancient hula), as performed before Western encounters with Hawai`i, is accompanied by traditional drums and/or implements. `Auana, which evolved under Western influence in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, is accompanied by song and musical instruments such as guitar, `ukulele, and bass.

Hawaiian music and hula have always been prevalent in Kawika Keikiali`i Alfiche‘s life. Since he was a teenager, he has learned from three kumu hula (teachers of hula). He is one of six students who completed the traditional graduating process `uniki under the instruction of Kumu Hula Rae Kahikilaulani Fonseca of Hilo, Hawai`i, an `uniki of Master Kumu George Naope. Kawika also trained with Tiare Maka Olanolan of Hanalei, Hawai`i, and Aunty Harriett Keahilihau-Spalding of Keaukaha, Hawai`i. In 1994, Kawika started his own Hālau hula (school).

 

Kawika Keikiali`i Alfiche’s students from around the world dance to one of his compositions, 2019.

 


Apprenticeship Program

2023 apprentice Anjal Pong. Photo: Courtesy of the artist.
2023

Hula (Hawaiian Cultural Arts)
with apprentice Anjal Pong

During this apprenticeship, Kawika will guide Anjal Pong in making and learning four types of hula: Puniu (coconut knee drum), `Uli`uli (featherless gourd rattle), `Ulili (triple gourd top), and Lapaiki (small skinned drum). The pair will also study the styles of oli (chant) which accompany these implements, along with their kaona (layered meanings/symbolisms).

 

 

 

2008

Hula (Hawaiian Cultural Arts)
with apprentice Eileen Maka Aniciete

2008 apprentice Eileen Maka Aniciete. Photo: Sherwood Chen.

 

 

In 2008, Kawika guided Eileen Maka Aniciete through an in-depth study of several hula, including Puniu (coconut knee drum), `Uli`uli (featherless gourd rattle), and the rare `Ulili (triple gourd top) and Lapaiki (small skinned drum). They also focused on the accompanying oli and mele for each, exploring their layered meanings.

 

 

 

 

 

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