Eric Johnston’s knees were knocking together. His heart was racing. He wondered if he would even be able to make it across the stage without his legs buckling under him. There were hundreds of people lined up all the way around Edith Kanaka‘ole Multipurpose Stadium in anticipation of the start of the Merrie Monarch Festival.
Eric Johnston’s knees were knocking together. His heart was racing. He wondered if he would even be able to make it across the stage without his legs buckling under him. There were hundreds of people lined up all the way around Edith Kanaka‘ole Multipurpose Stadium in anticipation of the start of the Merrie Monarch Festival.
Korallisa Wilson leaned over and offered Johnston a piece of advice. “Think of it as practice,” she said. “Just look above everybody’s heads.”
So Johnston did just that: He looked straight ahead and blocked everyone out. He made it to his seat and by the third day of the festival, his knees no longer shook.
That was three years ago when Johnston, 52, and Wilson, 49, served on the 49th Annual Merrie Monarch Festival Royal Court as the kaka‘olelo (counselor) and kahu (administrator to the queen/pastor), respectively. They repeated their roles again the following year for the 50th anniversary of the festival.
This year they have the honor of being the festival’s mo‘i kane and mo‘i wahine, King David Kalakaua and Queen Kapiolani. While the responsibilities of being a Royal Court member are not new, they know this position of prestige means all eyes will be focused on them. For Johnston, a maintenance worker for the state of Hawaii, receiving the news that he had been chosen as the 2015 mo‘i kane gave him “chicken skin.”
“I was in shock,” he remembers, scratching his beard thoughtfully. (This is the beard he has been growing for eight months in preparation for his portrayal of the king, who was famous for his mutton chop). “I still am. It’s such a prestigious position.
“King Kalakaua is the one who brought back the hula, who brought back the Hawaiian people who were suppressed all those years,” says Johnston, a graduate of Castle High School, who has lived on the Big Island for 20 years. “All of our hula, our religion and our language were pushed aside. King Kalakaua brought back the spirit of the Hawaiian people. That’s what I love about him. He gave us pride to be Hawaiians again.”
Johnston and Wilson come to these royal roles with an already established rapport. After all, it was Wilson who helped Johnston get through his very first night as a Royal Court member.
Wilson, a longtime dancer for the late Ray Fonseca and Halau Hula O Kahikilaulani, has been a part of the festival in many ways over the years. She competed as a dancer for more than 20 years, helped dress dancers backstage, and volunteered in the Merrie Monarch Festival office with whatever was needed.
“(The late) Auntie Dottie Thompson was like a mother to my kumu (Fonseca),” recalls Wilson, a graduate of Waiakea High School and UH-Hilo. “He used to get us involved in anything to do with the festival.
“I was really honored when I got the call (to be the mo ‘i wahine) but I wasn’t expecting it,” says Wilson, an office manager at Salvation Army Family Intervention Services. “I’m not one for the limelight. I’m more behind the scenes.”
Wilson, who chose her younger sister, Pikake Wilson-Kealoha, as her kahu for the court this year, says she is most looking forward to seeing the performances and reminiscing about when she used to dance on that stage.
“The whole festival is just amazing. It’s like a reunion for the people who have been in hula for years,” she says. “That’s when we get to see everybody we haven’t seen for a while. And this year I will have the best seats in the house!”
Wilson says even if she isn’t dancing hula, she always will be a part of the Merrie Monarch Festival. “Anything Aunty Luana needs, she can always count on us,” says Wilson. “Being from this island, that’s one of the opportunities we have to be as close to this festival as we are. It’s really special.
“The Merrie Monarch Festival means a lot to me,” she adds. “There is a saying from King Kalakaua’s time that is part of our halau creed. It says, ‘Hula is the language of the heart, and therefore, the heartbeat of the Hawaiian people.’ Merrie Monarch is much more than a competition or a celebration. It is showing the history of the people. Through that, we still live on.”
The Royal Court plays an important role in the Merrie Monarch Festival — much more than just a visual representation of the monarchy. It’s a role that Wilson feels is not truly realized by most. For instance, you would not, in those days, exit the building before the Royal Court exited first. This was a matter of respect.
Royal Court coordinator U‘ilani Peralto explains, “The Royal Court represents the revitalization of hula. King Kalakaua is the beginning of that revitalization. He brought it back to life and back to the people. He is the reason this can exist today.”
Therefore, every year, the Merrie Monarch Festival selection committee takes care to find two individuals in the community who exemplify the spirit of King Kalakaua and Queen Kapiolani, and their pride in the Hawaiian culture.
“Eric and Korallisa have already represented themselves well as members of the Royal Court and they have the knowledge and the years of experience with the festival as well,” says Peralto. “We knew bringing them together they would understand who they were representing, and they would honor their roles as mo‘i kane and mo‘i wahine.
“This representation is not learned, it’s through participating and volunteering their time that they are able to embody their roles and demonstrate the Hawaiian culture best.”
The Royal Court will make appearances throughout the Merrie Monarch Festival week, including riding in the parade. There are 22 Royal Court members in total, including the kaka‘olelo, kahu, ladies-in-waiting, kahili bearers, chanters and pu kane (conch-shell blowers).