“Aloha! Aloha!”
This greeting rang throughout the Kiewit Fitness Center last Saturday evening as the Hui O Hawaii club celebrated its annual Lu’au. The theme this year was Na Mo’olelo O Hawai’i, meaning “The Stories of Hawaii.”
What started as just a small potluck gathering around 40 years ago has turned into an extravagant celebration of the Hawaiian culture. Two Creighton alumni from 1981 said back in their day, only 100 people might have attended. They couldn’t believe how much the tradition has grown over the years and continues to do so. This year, more than 930 guests filled the KFC. The ticket sales surpassed expectations of Arts & Sciences senior Shawna Sunagawa, the Lu’au Chair, who said the numbers were up from last year’s 900 attendees.
Hosts for the event, Arts & Sciences junior Christina Dano and Business freshman Xavier Imperial kicked off the festivities at 5 p.m. by introducing musical entertainment from Arts & Sciences junior Kieran Caberto, a senior member of the Hui O Hawaii club. She and her guitar player sang a variety of songs for more than an hour, including popular hit songs such as Beyonce’s “Crazy in Love.”
While enjoying Caberto’s singing, guests could browse items from the Country Store or bid on gifts from the silent auction. Parents and families of the Hui O Hawaii members donated all the prizes and sent them in the mail. Items for sale included ranged from paintings from local artists to sauces and cookbooks.
The dinner began with a prayer in the native Hawaiian language by the Rev. Kyle Shinseki, S.J., a Jesuit who was born in Honolulu and serves as the club’s moderator. He first thanked God for ohana, the Hawaiian word for family. He then gave thanks for the “spirit of aloha that gathers us here this evening.”
Guests then began the mad dash toward the food lines, where local chef Nay Baccam, along with help from Arts & Sciences junior and kitchen manager Korey Higa, Arts & Sciences junior and food chair Rhys Ishihara and members of the club, cooked traditional Hawaiian dishes such as Kālua pork, Korean style short ribs, steamed rice, seared barbecue chicken and a coconut-flavored dessert called haupia. Sunagawa said they worked to create a cohesive menu that would provide the attendees with a taste of local cuisine. They must have succeeded because the food was the favorite part of the event for many.
Arts & Sciences senior Eric Stanek said that, despite being at Creighton for four years now, this was the first Lu’au he has attended, and the delicious food was by far his favorite part.
“Other than the food, I really liked the dancing,” Stanek said.
The Rev. Paddy Gilger, S.J., agreed. When asked his favorite part of the night, he took no time to provide “food” as his answer.
Gilger also said that the Lu’au is the perfect time to reconnect with people from the Creighton family that he does not frequently get to visit.
“[It’s] good just to see people. There’s a lot of alumni that you wouldn’t get to see otherwise,” Gilger said.As attendees finished their dinner, the hosts kept the program rolling. The skit, called “How the Islands Were Created,” provided entertainment through jokes, acting and dancing. Arts & Sciences sophomore Aaron Ponce played TuTu, a Hawaiian word that means grandparent. Throughout the skit, TuTu would explain to his grandchildren a story about an island of Hawaii. Afterward, the Hui O Hawaii dancers performed a dance from that island. The dances were choreographed by the entertainment chairs, Nursing Junior Kaylee Arakaki and Nursing sophomore Jorji Yamaguchi, who also helped develop the storyline for the skit.
“Every year around 14-16 new dances are choreographed, learned, and rehearsed starting around the beginning of September,” Sunagawa said.
Every one of them represents a different culture, tradition or island. Some dances were upbeat; some were slower and serious, others were chants, and others used props such as gourds and poi balls.
TuTu stressed that these differences are important because not all Polynesians are
the same. They share a common heritage and a group of islands, but they all have distinct types of dances that differentiate the islands.
In addition to food, there was also dancing Arts & Sciences sophomore Brisha Howe said she is “always really surprised at how good the students are at hula dancing.” She added that hula dancing is a difficult skill to learn and the women make it
look amazing. The dancers involved the audience in several ways, even inviting them to come up to the stage to learn to hula. They taught the audience three Tahitian moves and then turned on some music to let them show their newly-learned skills.
The program events culminated with a huge finale as all the men performed a dance called the haka. Originating in New Zealand, the haka is a dance performed before a battle in which warriors are shirtless and wear body paint.
Arts & Sciences sophomore Tammy Tran, a member of the Hui O Hawaii club, said traditionally, the dance intends to scare the enemy and proclaim the warriors’ strength and domination.
“But now it can be performed to welcoming guests or occasions or funerals or to acknowledge great achievements,” Tran said.
Finally, the senior women in Hui O Hawaii performed a hula dance dedicated to their parents. The entire club then gathered on stage and led the audience in the singing of Hawai’i Aloha, the anthem of the native Hawaiian people.
Almost 1,000 people — not just Creighton students or faculty, but people from all over the community — came out to enjoy food, dancing, prizes and entertainment. But Sunagawa and the rest of Hui O Hawaii want to stress that there is so much more to the evening.
It is not just about having something fun to do on a Saturday night, Sunagawa said.
It is about uniting different cultures and showing students the value of diversity on Creighton’s campus.
“Lu’au is an event that the Hui takes a great pride in because it allows us to share our culture, which many people in the Midwest do not really know about,” Sunagawa said. “It gives us the opportunity to share in our past experiences and help us explain to others our customs, traditions and general way of life.”
On behalf of Hui O Hawaii members, Sunagawa wants to thank their families back home, the Omaha community and the Creighton family for helping make the event such a success for so many years.
“We hope to see just as many students at the Lu’au next year. We truly appreciate the support of everybody that helped throughout the entire process,” Sunagawa said.
Members of the Hui O Hawaii club perform during the annual Lu’au celebration. The theme of this year’s Lu’au was Na Mo’olelo O Hawai’i, which means “The Stories of Hawaii.”
