Hula Halau Manaola closes Mitsubishi Electric Championship at Hualālai with hula auana

Spectators gathered along the rolling green grass near hole 18 at Hualālai Four Seasons as the last of the golfers took their final shots during the Mitsubishi Electric Championship at Hualālai tournament.

Colors of gold washed over the golf course Saturday as dancers from Hula Halau Manaola, under the direction of Kumu Hula Nani Lim Yap, took to the green for their closing performance at sunset.

“This is the only golf tournament, I believe, that has a hula performance at the end of the tournament, so that makes this tournament very special, in my opinion,” said Chieko Madenokoji, who was one of the many spectators capturing the performance with her cellphone.

One of the dancers gave ti-leaf maile to the tournament’s champion, 52-year-old Stewart Cink of Atlanta, Ga., who shot a 193 for his fifth victory on the PGA TOUR Champions, for professional players 50 and older.

“We’re here on the Big Island and it is a very special place for us mainlanders to visit,” Cink said after accepting the trophy. “The vibe that we get when we come out here is so positive and so comfortable, and we just love it.”

Yap and her dancers have been part of the tradition to kick off the tournament for the past 30 years, starting with a kahiko (ancient) hula number on opening day and closing the event at the 18th hole with an auana (modern) hula number.

“To have a kumu hula that’s as well known and respected as Nani Lim with us for 30 years means a lot,” tournament manager Kelly Fliear said. “People come just to see that at the end the because it’s so beautiful, authentic, all of the above.”

Yap remembers their first year performing.

“We didn’t quite understand what our purpose for being there was,” Yap said, adding that over the years, it became clear that the halau provided a cultural connection and grounding with the golfers, spectators and everyone part of the PGA.

Yap described the opening performance as an awakening.

“I’ve enjoyed the camaraderie that we’ve had with the PGA people,” Yap said. “It’s like family when you see them again.”

Over the years, the kumu has brought a minimum of 10 dancers, all the way up to 30. This year, Yap had about 20 to 25 performers.

Two groups of dancers performed Saturday evening with the backdrop of Hualālai, shrouded in clouds. The first group wore red and white Hawaiian print dresses adorned with long white lei. The second group were attired in crushed velvet burgundy dresses with greenery in their hair and short white crownflower lei.

“In Hawaiian poetry, the mountains are always in the back of us, so when we look at that, they stand like our backbone when we look out towards the ocean,” Yap said.

At the base of Hualālai, Yap said bringing hula to the tournament provides cultural and a connection with the area.

“It’s not oftentimes that everyone in the crowd will understand what it is that we’re doing, but it is somehow, sometimes, that some people are actually touched by it,” Yap said. “They understand that this is something significant. It moves you.”

Yap said the halau looks forward to performing at the tournament because they love to share the hula.

“When they’re dancing, you can see it in their eyes, in their performance, in the movements of their bodies,” Yap said. “The dancers enjoy it. It’s all about sharing that true aloha.”

Yap said she had three generations of dancers who are coming through the halau. The group starts practicing for the tournament in December.

“We already know what mele we’re going to do already, because we’ve practiced those mele throughout the year,” Yap said.

While he has seen hula before, Cink said it was special being on the green with them. Cink and his wife had their photo taken with the halau. He said it just may become their Christmas card for next year.