BYU sophomore Alema Ebana won his first Merrie Monarch Festival in 2021 and shared his experience with one of the most prestigious hula competitions in the world.
Known by many attendees as the "Hula Olympics,” the Merrie Monarch Festival is a week-long celebration of hula held in Hilo, Hawai'i.
The festival honors King David Kalākaua, who restored and perpetuated hula traditions. Competition is by invitation only.
When Alena Ebana was born, his father, Kipe Ebana, knew he wanted Alema to dance hula to perpetuate his culture and appreciate his identity as a Native Hawaiian.
When asked to join his uncle's halau, Alema said he would "give it a shot."
"He really grabbed to it. He really enjoyed it, he really wanted to do it," Kipe said.
As a little boy, Alema Ebana had been encompassed by the deep admiration and dedication to the art. His father's kumu, or teacher, taught him basic moves and gave him money to dance when he visited their home.
Ebana's first hula competition occurred in 2010, when his halau, or hula group, entered the Keiki Hula competition.
At 13 years old, Alema Ebana followed the steps of his father and went on to perform in his first Merrie Monarch Festival.
"People don't know the fact that men started hula. A lot of the times, people think hula started with women because they see the hula girl on the beach," Kipe said.
Alema is most inspired by fellow dancers in his halau, who he refers to as his hula brothers.
The preparation for Merrie Monarch is a rigorous process, and Ebana admired his hula brothers' willingness to practice while providing for their families and their example of charity and brotherhood.
“We’ve danced with each other for a long time, and the stretch to prepare for a competition is a long time, it's seven to eight months and it's all that for just six minutes on the stage,” Alema said.
Cruz Braun, one of Alema’s hula brothers, has known him since 2010 when they started dancing together in the same halau.
“I think me and him, we would always push each other to do our best. I would see him giving his all and I had to reciprocate that,” Braun said.
Hula has also allowed Alema to involve himself in nature.
"Our kumu teaches us to make our own adornments so we always have to go out, gather the plants," Alema said.
When the time came to perform on stage, Alema always envisioned something that was taught to him by a hula brother.
"I picture a storm, then all I do is just picture the clouds clearing up and then a sunny sky," Alema said.
According to the University of Hawai'i, hula was banned in public places for over 50 years by Queen Regent Kaʻahumanu after being influenced and converted to Christianity, viewing hula as a pagan ritual. It was only until King Kalākaua’s rule that the ban was lifted and hula could be performed again.
For Alema, continuing to dance is important because it is how he chooses to preserve his culture.
"Whether it be hula or you're good at anthropology, or good at preserving stories, or learning how to clean up the land, I think all that is a part of taking care of the land and preserving the culture," Alema said.
With the weight of his coursework and the arduous hours of practice each week, Alema said the hardest part of dancing in college is balancing everything.
"I think learning to deal with a lot of things at once and learning how to prioritize is a good lesson to learn," Alema said.
Aside from the scholarships, the places he has traveled and the people he has met as a result of hula, the most rewarding aspect for Alema is just getting to dance.
“I just like dancing, so I don’t know what the reward for dancing would be other than just dancing and the feeling you get when you feel like you’ve danced a sick song,” Alema said.
Currently, Alema is pursuing finance and is a member of the BYU Living Legends, where he continues to pay tribute to Polynesian culture through dance.