Halau Na Lei Kaumaka O Uka of Kula placed second across the board in wahine kahiko, wahine ‘auana and the overall wahine divisions at the 52nd annual Merrie Monarch Festival in Hilo over the weekend.

The halau, led by kumu hula Napua Greig, scored 596 points in the wahine kahiko, or traditional hula, competition Friday and 591 in the wahine ‘auana, or modern hula, Saturday. The halau finished with an overall score of 1,187 points, just five points behind first-place wahine overall winner, Hula Halau ‘O Kamuela of Honolulu.

Members of the halau could not be reached by phone Sunday, but said earlier this month that the experience was more important than the prize.

“Each year we strive to bring life to our mele and gain a deeper understanding of our culture. Prizes are an added bonus,” Greig said. “For us, the journey is the true prize.”

The women finished the festival Saturday night with their ‘auana to “Matsonia,” a song written in and about Hawaii’s “golden age” of the 1920s. Hakumele Leialoha Kalaluhi writes of longing for her husband, who is a musician aboard the U.S.S. Matsonia, commentators said. Left behind, she feels cold and alone and must fend for herself until his happy return. The ship was the first form of public transportation between Hawaii and California, thus opening the visitor industry era, Greig said.

Television commentators said the ladies’ graceful dance movements mimicked the feeling of riding a boat, and complimented the dancers’ ability to move their long dresses without tripping while wearing bright red heels.

The 21 wahine dancers wore burgundy skirts and coral tops fashioned in the style of the era in which the song was written, adorned with white lei and white flowers in their hair.

The U.S.S. Matsonia played a pivotal role in establishing Hawaii’s image as a romantic paradise in the 1920s, television announcer William Van Osdol said after the halau’s performance.

“There’s going to be smiles on the halau members’ faces as they fall sleep tonight. But it may be a little while before they’ll be able to sleep,” he said early on in the competition Saturday night. A total of 28 groups – 10 kane and 18 wahine – competed in this year’s hula festival, performing Friday and Saturday nights.

On Friday, the women of Greig’s halau performed a kahiko selection to “E Manono,” a mele about the Battle at Kuamo’o in Kono. It honors Chiefess Manono, a descendent of the Piilani line of chiefs from Maui. Manono and her husband, Kekuaokalani, led the opposition to King Liholiho’s abolishment of Hawaiian religion and the kapu system. She died fighting for what she believed in, Greig said.

This year marked the Halau Na Lei Kaumaka O Uka’s 11th appearance at the world-renowned hula festival, and the second consecutive year that the all-female group has taken home the silver in the overall wahine division. Last year, the halau finished six points behind first-place winner Ka La ‘Onohi Mai O Ha’eha’e of Oahu.

Greig had no entries in the men’s division. Her halau’s soloist contestant, Anela U’ilani Ruth Fusano Tanigawa, placed fifth in the Miss Aloha Hula competition Thursday night.

The 23-year-old Makawao resident and University of Hawaii at Manoa graduate student finished the competition with 1,065 points to round out the top five. The winner was Jasmine Kaleihiwa Dunlap of Hula Halau ‘O Kamuela with 1,113 points.

Maui County’s other Miss Aloha Hula contestants were Kelsey Marie Ku’ulei Miliama Haina Galago of Halau Kekuaokala’au’ala’iliahi of Wailuku and Larriley Kehaulani Kaleonahe Kekahuna Rawlins of Moana’s Hula Halau of Molokai.

Halau Kekuaokala’au’ala’iliahi, under the direction of na kumu hula Iliahi and Haunani Paredes, entered its women in the competition’s wahine division for the first time this year. The halau took fourth in the kane ‘auana competition last year, but did not place in either wahine or kane divisions this year.

Moana’s Hula Halau of Molokai returned to the Merrie Monarch stage after more than a decade away, and, for the first time, without its beloved founding kumu hula, Moana Dudoit, who died in 2013 at the age of 73.

Though the Moana’s Hula Halau did not place in this year’s competition, kumu hula Raquel Dudoit (Moana’s sister) said that the group accomplished what it had set out to do – represent the island of Molokai.

“It was wonderful, we went in there and we shared our story, our hula, and I think we took it to the stage and we left it there for everybody to enjoy,” Dudoit said by phone Sunday morning. “It doesn’t matter if you win or lose, it’s just about sharing . . . the culture.”

Several of the Molokai halau’s 28 wahine dancers had never performed at Merrie Monarch before, so “it was a good learning experience” for them, she said.

Remembering her late sister, Raquel Dudoit said that the girls gave “110 percent knowing that (Moana Dudoit) was there with them.”

“We don’t want to be like everybody else, we’re not trying to please the judges, we’re just ourselves and we gonna dance how we want to dance,” Raquel Dudoit said. “We’re all from different islands and we all dance differently. I think Molokai was really proud of us.”

For a full list of festival winners, go to www.merriemonarch.com or www.k5thehometeam.com.

* Eileen Chao can be reached at echao@mauinews.com.