HVNP to premiere kupuna talk story videos this week

To celebrate both National Park Week and the Merrie Monarch Festival, Hawaii Volcanoes National Park will debut a new video series that features community kupuna sharing knowledge through native traditions.

“Everything is hula. It’s the air, it is the sky. It’s the universe and beyond,” said kumu hula Meleana Manuel of Halau Ke ‘Olu Makani O Mauna Loa. “It has ‘ohana (family) in it. It has aikane (friends) in it. It has your personal growth. Hula has every single one of those connections.” Manuel is featured in one of the seven new videos.

In each short film, a kupuna shares powerful insight on how continuing Hawaiian traditions through future generations perpetuates the culture. The videos follow these remarkable community members and showcases traditions that were passed down to them, like hula, kalai ki‘i (carving), taro cultivation, and more.

HVNP will roll out a new video nearly every day of National Park Week, which started Saturday, April 19, with a fee-free day. The park will post the videos to its Facebook, Instagram and X accounts, and to the park website.

National Park Week overlaps the cherished hula celebration, the 62nd annual Merrie Monarch Festival, a week of hula performances, Hawaiian arts and other special events in Hilo. Thousands of participants come to Hilo to share, promote and revel in Hawaiian culture during this renowned and vibrant event.

The theme of National Park Week is “NP Playlist,” and HVNP invites everyone to “push play” and watch its enlightening films, produced by a talented hui of park videographers. Each video is accessible with closed captions in English and ‘Olelo Hawaii (Hawaiian language) and is audio described.

The new video series is supported by the park’s nonprofit partners, the Hawaii Pacific Park Association and the Friends of Hawaii Volcanoes National Park.