THE LUAU
Nothing says Hawaii like a sunset luau, hula girls, and a fire dance. Of course, it was not the roasted pig nor the fire dance that got the attention of my teenage grandsons, last week in Maui.
The Drums of the Pacific Luau at the Hyatt Regency Maui Resort is an expensive venture — more so by bringing along all my children and most of their children and their children. (Actually, the under-three crowd got in for free.) The reason I am sure it was expensive is that MK will not tell me how much the VIP tickets actually cost. The only one missing was my granddaughter, ME, who is serving a mission in Texas. She will just have to read about this in the Island Park News. I have a feeling that I will be making this up to her sometime in the future.
The three-hour luau came with a Mai Tai greeting, Kukui nut lei keepsake, authentic imu (rock pit where they roast the pig) demonstration, hula lessons, Polynesian drumming, and performances from the South Pacific nations. The three-course plated dinner was served tableside, with an open bar with local spirits, wine, traditional cocktails, and Diet Coke — it was the unlimited Diet Coke that took me to the men’s room at halftime. I drank so many soft drinks that I could hardly contain myself. Whenever my glass was half full, our waiter, Steve, would bring another fresh drink. By the time the Hawaiian men in colorful loin-cloths carried the roasted pig through the audience, I had to dance out right behind them.
While I was out, I passed by the beautiful luau girls in their hula outfits — grass skirts and coconut shells. When I sat down back at our table, I realized that the hula girls would go right past the VIP section where my unsuspecting teenage grandsons were sitting next to the aisle. They did not know that I was making a video of their reactions.
As the hula girls danced by them, the boys did a double-take — even the most casual observer could tell what team they were playing for. They were like dogs on point, watching the procession go to the stage. Intermittently they put their heads down together at the table for a little conference. In unison, they looked up, eyes forward, only to return to the huddle again. The boys did this a few times during the hula and never seemed to lose focus. NKT, our 12-year-old granddaughter, took great interest in their response. Sitting at the other end of their table, she checked out the boys looking at the hula girls in coconut shells, then studied the hula girls on the stage to see what the boys were looking at, and then back to the boys -- quickly looking back and forth, smiling broadly as she realized what was happening. The entertainment was great — their reaction to the entertainment was even better.
Mark Twain attended a hula show in 1866 and mourned the decline of the ancient ceremonial and religious performance, which he labeled “the lascivious dance that was wont to set the passions of men ablaze in the old heathen days, a century ago.”
The graceful hula dancing we saw last week was not particularly religious, but the luau did begin with a beautiful prayer of gratitude and blessings for all who attended. All I can say about that is my grandson’s prayers were answered.
Ever vigilant,
RT
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