Kumu Shelsea Ai Apana, who took the reins of Halau Hula Olana of Pearl City in 2013, was inspired by the 2018 Kilauea Volcano eruption for her choice of mele this year.

The mele tells of Pele’s youngest sister and her journey to Kauai to fetch Pele’s lover, longing all the while to return to her friend Hopoe in Puna. The journey was a treacherous one for someone so young and inexperienced, yet Hi‘iaka carried it out, she said.

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Video by Marie Hobro / Special to the Star-Advertiser