The Hawaii Student Association aims to encourage the Aloha spirit while capturing the story of one of the most famed Hawaiian Mormons, Jonathan Napela, through its Culture Night performance, said organizers.
Members of the Hawaiian SA are preparing to tell Napela’s story with hula. Napela was among the first Hawaiian converts and translated the Book of Mormon into the Hawaiian language with George Q. Cannon, according to a BYU–Hawaii devotional address by English Professor Ned Williams in 2005. A statue of Napela and Cannon stands in front of the Cannon Activities Center, where Culture Night will be performed.
The hula will tell the story of Napela’s early life, his work as a missionary and his love life. The girl’s dance is about how his wife contracted leprosy and his subsequent visit to Moloka’i. Napela eventually passed away from leprosy himself, Williams said in his devotional address.
Celeste Grinnell, an exercise and sports science major from Washington, is participating in the Hawaiian SA for her first Culture Night. She said the association is unique due to the graceful style of hula. “I like how beautiful the movements are, and you feel really connected to the story just through the dancing,” said Grinnell.
The ballroom where the Hawaiian SA meets to practice in the evenings is full of students from different cultures. Throughout the practice, students are guided by music while following instructors, mirroring them as they learn the structured yet graceful dance style.
Kamakana Tataipu, a senior majoring in biomedical biology from Oahu, serves as president of the Hawaiian Association. He explained, “Our theme for this year is called ‘Pupuahi i holomua,’ which is to ‘Unite to move forward.’ So that’s our overall goal: to unite everybody to move forward in a common cause.”
Tataipu explained the Hawaiian SA is special because it can be spiritual as well as social, “Everybody hears about the ‘Aloha spirit,’ but until you can be a part of the Hawaiian culture, you won’t really understand the Aloha spirit.”
Tataipu said he has been dancing hula for five years. He emphasized the challenges of learning the dance. “People come from different backgrounds: people who have danced hula, people who have not danced hula ever, so it’s a little challenging. But it’s funny because I didn’t grow up dancing myself.”
Makana Rapozo, a junior majoring in International Cultural Studies and minoring in Hawaiian Studies from the Big Island, has been dancing hula since she was 6 years old. She said learning hula is just like learning any other dance. “For those who aren’t familiar with the dance, it’s kind of hard to grasp at the start. If you just keep practicing, you’ll get better.”
Rapozo has been in the Hawaiian SA since 2014. She said, “Our chapter is one of the most diverse chapters. We’re in Hawaii, so everyone from all different countries comes to Hawaii to learn more about the dance.”
Rapozo added, “Here in Laie, you learn a lot about other Polynesian cultures, especially Samoan, Tongan, and Maori. They are all great too, but I think we should focus more on Hawaiian [culture] sometimes.”
Both Grinnell and Rapozo said they encourage others to try out the Hawaiian SA. Grinnell said, “I mean, you live here! You might as well join the Hawaiian one.”
The Hawaiian SA meets every Tuesday and Thursday in the Aloha Center Ballroom from 9-11 p.m.