The coronavirus pandemic forced everyone to evaluate how to stay safe in an uncertain environment. For Kumu Hula, or master teachers of Hula, it was no different. They originally convened to find a cultural response to the pandemic. Then, the conversations deepened.
About 200 Kumu Hula, or Hula teachers, have now signed on to a statement declaring what hula is, and how to protect its future. The Huamakahikina Declaration on the Integrity, Stewardship and Protection of Hula was drafted at a congress of hula practitioners this past September. Two of them joined The Aloha Friday Conversation to walk us through some of the major ideas.