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ʻŌlelo Hawaiʻi · Hawaiian Language · Culture
E Ola Ka Merrie Monarch!
Long Live the Merrie Monarch!
NaluAsk Team ʻApelila 2026 Honolulu, Hawaiʻi 15 min read
I kēia pule, e hōʻea ana ka poʻe hula a me nā ohana mai nā ʻāpana like ʻole o ka honua i Hilo, Hawaiʻi. ʻO ka Merrie Monarch Festival ka hoʻomāikaʻi nui loa o ka hula a me ka moʻomeheu Hawaiʻi. E like me NaluAsk e mālama ana i nā ʻōlelo o ka honua, pēlā nō ka Merrie Monarch e mālama ana i ka ʻōlelo a me nā hana noʻeau o Hawaiʻi.
This week, hula practitioners and families from around the world gather in Hilo, Hawaiʻi. The Merrie Monarch Festival is the greatest celebration of hula and Hawaiian culture. Just as NaluAsk preserves the world's languages, the Merrie Monarch preserves the language and traditions of Hawaiʻi.
Ka MakahikiKa 63rd AnnualThe 63rd Annual Festival Ka WāʻApelila 5–11, 2026 April 5–11, 2026 Ka Wahi Hilo, Hawaiʻi Big Island of Hawaiʻi Ka Inoa Aliʻi Mōʻī Kalākaua King David Kalākaua
ʻO Wai ʻo Kalākaua?
Who Was Kalākaua?
ʻŌlelo Hawaiʻi
ʻO Mōʻī Kalākaua ka aliʻi hope loa o ka Mokuʻāina Hawaiʻi. Ua noho aliʻi ʻo ia mai ka makahiki 1874 a hiki i kona make ʻana i ka makahiki 1891. ʻO kona inoa aloha ʻo "The Merrie Monarch" no kona aloha nui i ka mele, ka hula, a me ka leʻaleʻa. Ua hoʻōla hou ʻo ia i ka hula i ka wā i kāpae ʻia ai e nā mikinele. He aliʻi koa ʻo ia no ka ʻōlelo a me ka moʻomeheu Hawaiʻi.
English
King Kalākaua was the last reigning king of the Hawaiian Kingdom. He ruled from 1874 until his passing in 1891. His beloved nickname "The Merrie Monarch" reflected his deep love for music, hula, and celebration. He revived hula during a time when missionaries had suppressed it. He was a warrior for the Hawaiian language and culture.
Ka Nani o ka Hula
The Beauty of Hula
ʻŌlelo Hawaiʻi
ʻAʻole ʻo ka hula he hana leʻaleʻa wale nō. He ʻōlelo ia. He moʻolelo ia. He pule ia. I ka wā kahiko, ʻaʻohe palapala Hawaiʻi, no laila, ʻo ka hula ka ala e mālama ai i ka ʻike, i ka moʻokūʻauhau, a me nā moʻolelo o nā kūpuna. ʻO ka hula ka waha o nā aliʻi. ʻO ka hula ka naʻau o ka lāhui.
English
Hula is not merely entertainment. It is language. It is story. It is prayer. In ancient times, there was no written Hawaiian language, so hula was the way to preserve knowledge, genealogy, and the stories of the ancestors. Hula was the voice of the chiefs. Hula is the heartbeat of the Hawaiian people.
Ka ʻIke Hawaiʻi — Hawaiian Wisdom
"I ka ʻōlelo nō ke ola, i ka ʻōlelo nō ka make." — In language there is life, in language there is death. The Hawaiian proverb reminds us that language is sacred — it carries the spirit of a people. This is why the Merrie Monarch matters. And it is why NaluAsk was built.
Nā Hana o ka Pule Hoʻomāikaʻi
The Week's Celebrations
ʻŌlelo Hawaiʻi
I kēia makahiki, ua hoʻomaka ka hoʻomāikaʻi ma ʻApelila 5 a pau ma ʻApelila 11. Nā hana nui o ka pule:
🌺 Ka Hula Kahiko — Ka hula kahiko, ka hula o nā kūpuna
🌺 Ka Hula ʻAuana — Ka hula hou, ka hula o kēia wā
🌺 Miss Aloha Hula — Ka hoʻokūkū no ka wahine hula ʻoi loa
🌺 Ka Hale Noʻeau — Ka hale hana noʻeau Hawaiʻi
🌺 Ka Parade — Ka neʻe ʻana ma nā alanui o Hilo
English
This year the celebration ran April 5–11. The week's major events:
🌺 Hula Kahiko — Ancient style hula, the hula of the ancestors
🌺 Hula ʻAuana — Modern hula, the hula of today
🌺 Miss Aloha Hula — The competition for the finest solo hula dancer
🌺 Hawaiian Arts Fair — The Hawaiian arts and crafts exhibition
🌺 The Parade — The grand procession through the streets of Hilo
Ka Pilina o NaluAsk a me ka ʻŌlelo
NaluAsk's Connection to Language
ʻŌlelo Hawaiʻi
Ua kūkulu ʻia ʻo NaluAsk no ka poʻe e ʻōlelo ana i nā ʻōlelo like ʻole o ka honua. E like me ka Merrie Monarch e hoʻomana ana i ka ʻōlelo Hawaiʻi, pēlā nō mākou e hoʻomana ana i nā ʻōlelo o ka honua āpau — ʻo ia hoʻi ka ʻōlelo Tagalog, Ilocano, Cebuano, Samoan, Español, 日本語, 한국어, हिन्दी, العربية, a me nā ʻōlelo ʻē aʻe he 136.
ʻAʻole pono e nalowale kekahi ʻōlelo. ʻAʻole pono e nalowale kekahi moʻomeheu. ʻO kēia ka naʻau o NaluAsk.
English
NaluAsk was built for people who speak the many languages of the world. Just as the Merrie Monarch honors the Hawaiian language, we honor the languages of the whole world — Tagalog, Ilocano, Cebuano, Samoan, Spanish, Japanese, Korean, Hindi, Arabic, and 136 more.
No language should be lost. No culture should disappear. This is the spirit of NaluAsk.
No ka Poʻe Hawaiʻi — For the Hawaiian Community
NaluAsk supports Hawaiian (ʻŌlelo Hawaiʻi) across all AI models including Claude and GPT-4o. You can ask questions, write messages, learn vocabulary, and have full conversations — all in ʻŌlelo Hawaiʻi. Because language is life. E ola ka ʻōlelo Hawaiʻi. — Let the Hawaiian language live.
E Hoʻomāikaʻi kākou!
Let Us Celebrate!
To every hālau, every kumu hula, every dancer who took the stage at the 63rd Merrie Monarch Festival — mahalo nui loa. You carry the spirit of Kalākaua forward. You prove that language and culture are worth fighting for.
And to the Hawaiian community in Hilo, across the islands, and throughout the diaspora — NaluAsk was built with you in mind. Your language matters. Your culture matters. Your story matters.
E ola ka ʻōlelo. E ola ka hula. E ola nō Hawaiʻi.
Let the language live. Let hula live. Let Hawaiʻi live.
E hoʻāʻo i NaluAsk
Try NaluAsk in ʻŌlelo Hawaiʻi
Chat with Claude, GPT-4o, and more — in Hawaiian, Tagalog, Samoan, and 142 other languages. No monthly subscription. Pay as you go.
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