The University’s 32nd Annual Luau is coming to McArthur Court this Saturday, an event members of the Hui O Hawai’i Club and the Pacific Islanders Club hope will bring the essence and culture of Hawaii to University students while providing an escape to home for themselves.
“It’s very traditional. There’s hula involved, fun and great food,” said Naomi Muronaka, a University freshman and native Hawaiian who said she has attended a luau every year of her life. “A luau is all about having fun; it’s a big party for everyone.”
Saturday’s luau will begin at 4:30 p.m. when an expected 1,000 students, faculty and community members take their seats while enjoying traditional music. Dinner is served at 5:30 p.m.
Muronaka said she is looking forward to the food the most because she misses it “more than anything.” The traditional dinner will consist of kalua smoked pig, shredded chicken, lomilomi, which is tomatoes and salmon, fresh pineapple and poi, a paste made from mashed taro root.
Kira Lee, co-director of the Oregon Hui O Hawai’i Club said the University luau is a legacy, and while the annual event has been going on for 32 years, students discovered the University held luaus as far back as 1934. She believes they weren’t held during World War II
“It’s an experience and a way to learn a lot about a culture and a people,” she said. “Being around the people and smelling the flowers, it’s just like being at home.”
Lee said the event makes sure to bring Hawaiian artists to the luau and this year the Hawaiian Grammy Award-winning band Kapena will play.
In addition to traditional food and music, students will perform traditional Hawaiian dancing, the hula. Lily Bender, who graduated last term, choreographed two of the hula dances, which are both hula auana, a modern style of hula dancing, she said.
“Generally you learn in a specific halau (school) and you have a specific kuma hula (hula teacher) who teaches you everything from the culture to the background and the lifestyle,” said Bender, who has been hula dancing since she was four years old. “It becomes part of you, and your hula brothers and hula sisters become like your family.”
In order to create the hula dances, Bender translated Hawaiian songs into English and then used her background in hula dancing to interpret the words into movements that tell the story of the musician.
A more serious hula piece is performed by the senior female dancers only and is “a really emotional song describing the relationship between a mother and child,” Bender said. A second dance is performed by 12 women and 12 men and is more of a playful piece about “wet cheeks from kissing.”
Jake Chang, a University senior and co-chair of the event, is dancing in the couples hula. Chang said he danced in the performance last year, when he first learned how to hula and had a great experience.
“When you’re in Mac Court you really feel away from Eugene,” he said. “We hope to give everybody that same feeling.”
Chang also made a film for this year’s event, which includes Hawaiian jokes and actors speaking in thick Hawaiian accents, he said.
“If it rains on Saturday, get out of the rain and come to Mac Court and be part of the show,” he said.
Tickets for the luau are available at the EMU Ticket Office and range from $10-$20. Tickets are $15 for University students.
Contact the people, culture and faith reporter at [email protected]