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Beloved
Hawaii
History
Hula Dance
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Hawaiian Hula Dance
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Hula History
The hula is a rich tradition of Hawaii and has gone
through many stages in its history. Its origins are shrouded
in legend and according to one of them, the hula originated
when the goddess of fire, Pele, commanded her younger sister,
Laka to dance. Another legend says that Hi'iaka danced to
appease her sister, Pele. A lot of the present day dances
are based on this Hi'iaka epic and schools were begun to honor
Laka as well as temples that were dedicated to her. Until
the early twentieth century, ritual and prayer surrounded
all aspects of hula. The teachers and students were dedicated
to Laka, the goddess of hula and lived and trained in the
temples. Appropriate offerings were made regularly as well.
In the 1820's, the missionaries arrived in the islands and
brought with them Christianity. Queen Ka'ahumanu became a
Christian and ordered all heiau (sacred temple sites) and
images destroyed which ended the Hawaiian rituals. Gradually,
the significance of the dances was lost to general understanding.
The missionaries said that hula was 'suggestive' and 'heathen'
and so it was outlawed as a pagan practice soon after. The
hula went underground and was performed in secret so that
the art was not lost. It was during this time that the hula
received its reputation of being 'exotic' and was often performed
for the amusement and entertainment of the sailors and tourists.
In the 1830's, King Kamehameha III issued an edit granting
religious freedom and the missionaries, recognizing that the
hula could not be quelled, countered with the condition that
the dancers wear the Victorian-style high necked and long
sleeved gown in substitution of the pa'u. In 1874, Kalakaua
was elected as king and being fun loving, he enjoyed celebrations,
festivals, and traveling and earned himself the title of "The
Merrie Monarch." It was during his reign that the hula gained
the reputation of being the national symbol of Hawaii as he
had waltzes, classical music, and traditional hula performed
at his royal celebrations. According to the King Kalakaua's
words, "Hula is the language of the heart and therefore the
heartbeat of the Hawaiian people." |
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About Hula
The word hula itself refers to the movements and gestures.
However, the hula cannot be performed by itself with mele
which is the poetry; the most important factor. While mele
refers to the sung poetry, oli refers to the voice techniques
used to deliver the mele. Mele are chanted both in the rhythmic
manner and nonrhythmic manner. Mele records cultural things
ranging from sacred mele pule (prayers) and mele inoa (name
chants, mostly for chiefs) to topical mele ho'oipoipo (love
songs) and mele 'aina (songs praising the land). This is one
way used to classify the dances. Allusion is greatly used
and valued in the poetry. The hula movements and gestures
do not tell the whole story, but instead interprets the key
aspects of the mele. The older chant-accompanied dances can
be performed while either standing or sitting. In the standing
dances, the performers are divided into the 'olapa (dancers)
and the ho'opa'a who chant the mele and provide the percussive
instrumental accompaniment. In the sitting dances, the performers
are also the musicians. They will perform the gestures and
accompany themselves with the percussive instruments. While
the hand and arm gestures interpret the words, foot motifs
are performed continuously throughout the dance. A few of
the motifs are the kaholo, 'uwehe, 'ami, kawelu, and etc.
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Hula Styles - the Kahiko and the Auana
Another way to group the dances (used mostly by the
contemporary dancers today) is by hula kahiko (ancient hula)
and hula auana (modern hula). The hula kahiko uses dancing
and chanting to relate the proud and somber history, customs,
ceremonies, and traditions of the ancient Hawaii and the people
of Hawaii. The hula auana is the dance that is widely performed
today. It is the combining of dance and music for a more playful,
joyous, and spirited telling of contemporary life in the islands.
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Hula Instruments
The most tradition instrument used for the hula is the
drum called pahu. It stands two to three feet high and is
made from the trunk of either the coconut or breadfruit tree.
In accompaniment to the pahu is the puniu. The puniu is made
from half of a coconut shell with the skin of the kala fish
stretched over it. Another drum often used is the double gourd
called ipu heke. Other commonly used instruments are the 'uli'uli
(feather-decorated gourd rattle), pu'ili (split bamboo rattle),
'ili'ili (water-worn stone pebbles, two in each hand, played
in a manner similar to castanets), and kala'au (sticks). There
is a close correspondence between the foot motifs and the
rhythmic patterns of the instruments (particularly the ipu
and pahu). Nowadays, the traditional instruments used for
the hula has been replaced by the guitar and ukulele. |
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Hula Halau
The halau is a school that teaches hula. Each halau
is headed by the kumu who is the head of the school and the
teacher. The halau consists of the kumu, the 'olapas, and
the ho'opa'a. Each halau have important and formal protocols
which must be followed. A very formal protocol practiced by
all halaus is that before entering the school, you need to
give a chant asking permission to enter. The kumu will listen
to the chant and if they see that you are sincere in your
wish to enter, they will chant back giving you permission
to enter. If they see that you are not sincere though, they
will not answer and will have you chant again and again until
they see that you genuinely want to come in and learn what
they have to teach. |
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