On December 31, 1879, the cornerstone for ʻIolani Palace was laid, beginning construction of a new royal residence and political center for the Hawaiian Kingdom. The palace grounds later became a major stage for royal ceremonies and public cultural events, including hula. This set the physical and symbolic setting for a court-led cultural revival under King Kalākaua.
ʻIolani Palace was completed in 1882, giving the Hawaiian Kingdom a modern royal residence used for state functions and public ceremonies. Under Kalākaua, the palace was not only a political space but also a place where Hawaiian arts were supported and performed. This helped connect hula and music with the authority and visibility of the royal court.
A formal coronation ceremony for King David Kalākaua and Queen Kapiʻolani took place on February 12, 1883, at a pavilion on the ʻIolani Palace grounds. The coronation celebrations created high-profile occasions where Hawaiian traditions could be presented publicly. In this period, royal patronage helped hula return to public view after decades of social and missionary pressure against it.
During the February 1883 coronation celebrations, ʻIoane ʻŪkēkē and his troupe performed public hula each night on the ʻIolani Palace grounds, with festivities culminating in a large lūʻau on February 26. Contemporary reporting noted that the king faced criticism for supporting public hula at a time when it had been discouraged under missionary influence. These performances signaled a court-backed change: hula could again be seen as a valued public tradition.
From November 15–29, 1886, King Kalākaua’s 50th birthday was marked by a two-week “Silver Jubilee” with major public celebrations centered on ʻIolani Palace. The event supported large-scale pageantry and cultural presentation during a period when the monarchy used ceremony to strengthen national identity. Later organizers would explicitly model modern hula festivals on this kind of royal celebration.
In 1963, Hawaiʻi County leader Helene Hale launched what became the Merrie Monarch Festival in Hilo as a community event to encourage tourism and economic activity. The festival was named in honor of King Kalākaua (“the Merrie Monarch”) and his support for Hawaiian arts. This created a modern platform that would soon shift toward hula as its central focus.
In 1964, a committee delivered the first Merrie Monarch Festival, which initially included a mix of civic events and lighthearted contests alongside royal-themed pageantry. Although hula was not yet the main feature, the festival’s structure drew on imagery of King Kalākaua and the royal court. This early stage set up a later transformation toward a dedicated Hawaiian cultural event.
In 1971, under Dottie Thompson and George Naʻope, the Merrie Monarch Festival introduced a hula competition, shifting the festival toward Hawaiian cultural revitalization. The first competition was held at the Hilo Civic Auditorium and drew nine women’s (wahine) hālau. The contest helped make hula a visible, judged art form with clear standards and strong community attention.
In 1976, the festival opened competition to men’s (kāne) hālau, expanding who could be centered on the event’s biggest stage. This change increased participation and audience interest, and it encouraged broader training and performance opportunities. It also reinforced that hula is not limited by gender and can represent multiple roles and lineages.
As crowds grew, the Merrie Monarch hula competition moved from the Civic Auditorium to the Hoʻolulu Tennis Stadium (later the Edith Kanakaʻole Multi-Purpose Stadium). A larger venue allowed more spectators and better staging, supporting the competition’s rising prestige. This shift also matched a wider 1970s surge in cultural pride often called the Hawaiian Renaissance.
In 1978, constitutional changes in Hawaiʻi made English and Hawaiian the state’s official languages, a major symbolic reversal after long periods of suppression and limited public use. This political recognition supported wider efforts to restore Hawaiian language in education and public life. Because hula relies on Hawaiian language through mele (songs) and oli (chants), language policy helped strengthen hula’s cultural foundations.
In 1983, educators formed ʻAha Pūnana Leo to revive ʻŌlelo Hawaiʻi (the Hawaiian language) through immersion education. The movement soon opened Hawaiian-language preschools, creating a new generation of speakers and learners. This mattered for hula because fluent language learning supports accurate chanting, song interpretation, and transmission of traditional knowledge.
Building on work begun in 2000, the Hula Preservation Society has used digital tools to record oral histories and preserve materials connected to respected hula elders. Its Digital ʻUmeke project presents curated knowledge and historical resources for learning and teaching. This documentation helps sustain hula beyond any single festival or school by strengthening access to lineage-based memory and instruction.
On March 12, 2020, Merrie Monarch organizers announced the festival would not be held because of COVID-19 health and safety concerns. The cancellation disrupted a major annual gathering for hula practitioners, artisans, and audiences worldwide. It also showed how vulnerable cultural events can be to public health emergencies, even after decades of continuity.
In 2021, Merrie Monarch brought back competition without an in-person audience, broadcasting the events July 1–3, 2021. Performances were recorded earlier in June, showing how the festival adapted to protect participants while still presenting hula at a high level. This shift expanded remote viewing and reinforced that hula communities can maintain continuity even under major constraints.
In 2022, Merrie Monarch planned a return to a live audience, though with reduced capacity and pandemic-related limits. The reopening restored key parts of the festival experience: community gathering, shared observation, and public recognition of performers. It marked a transition from emergency adaptations back toward a more traditional in-person cultural setting.
Hawaiian Hula and the Royal Court Revival (19th century–present)