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September 16, 2022 by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

Hula

“Hula is not just a dance, but a way of life, an ancient art that tells of Hawaiʻi’s rich history and spirituality.” (this is attributed to many)

Hula combines dance and chant or song to tell stories, recount past events and provide entertainment for its audience.  With a clear link between dancer’s actions and the chant or song, the dancer uses rhythmic lower body movements, mimetic or depictive hand gestures and facial expression, as part of this performance. (ksbe-edu)

As hula is the dance that accompanies Hawaiian mele, the function of hula is therefore an extension of the function of mele in Hawaiian society. While it was the mele that was the essential part of the story, hula served to animate the words, giving physical life to the moʻolelo (stories.)  (Bishop Museum)

Today, we typically divide hula into two different forms, the hula kahiko (ancient dance) and the hula ʻauana, (also spelled ʻauwana – modern dance.)

Although the terms hula kahiko (ancient) and hula ʻauana (modern) are used to divide styles of traditional dance, these terms are a relatively recent classification of a practice with a very long history.  The dance has also undergone evolutions throughout its history, often being influenced by the political leaders and situations of the time.  (Bishop Museum)

“In the hula, the dancers are often fantastically decorated with figured or colored kapa, green leaves, fresh flowers, braided hair, and sometimes with a gaiter on the ancle, set with hundreds of dog’s teeth, so as to be considerably heavy, and to rattle against each other in the motion of the feet.”  (Hiram Bingham)

“They had been interwoven too with their superstitions, and made subservient to the honor of their gods, and their rulers, either living or departed and deified.” (Hiram Bingham)

A common misrepresentation of history suggests that the American missionaries banned hula – they could not have, they did not have the authority.

However, it is true that they openly disapproved of hula (as well as other forms of dance and activities) as immoral and idle pastime.

As Bingham notes, they “were wasting their time in learning, practising, or witnessing the hula, or heathen song and dance.”

“Missionary influence, while strong, never wiped out the hula as a functional part of the Hawaiian society. Faced with this undeniable fact, the authorities sought to curb performances by regulation.”  (Barrere, Pukui & Kelly)

Despite efforts to eliminate hula, many of the ancient chants and dances were kept alive within families and passed to descendants.  (Bishop Museum)

In 1830, Kaʻahumanu issued an oral proclamation in which she instructed the people, in part: “The hula is forbidden, the chant (olioli), the song of pleasure (mele), foul speech, and bathing by women in public places.” (Kamakau)

Although it was apparently never formally rescinded, the law was so widely ignored, especially after Kaʻahumanu died in 1832, that it virtually ceased to exist.

In 1836, it is reported the French consul for Manila visited Honolulu, and attended a state banquet hosted by the King. Part of the festivities was a formal hula performance.

In 1850, the Penal Code required a license for “any theater, circus, Hawaiian hula, public show or other exhibition, not of an immoral character” for which admission was charged.

“No license for a Hawaiian hula shall be granted for any other place than Honolulu.”  (The law did not regulate hula in private, so the dance continued to be practiced and enjoyed throughout the islands.)

King David Kalākaua’s 1883 coronation included three days of hula performances and his 1886 jubilee celebrations had performances of ancient and newly created dances.

Reviewing older drawings of hula, it is clear that the attire of the dancers is different than what we generally associate with hula attire today (and throughout the last century.)

Men and women were topless in the original hula attire. Women wore a pāʻū, which is a wrap made of tapa cloth. Men wore malos, or loincloths, and other kapa wraps.

Hula attire was expanded with lei and decorations for dancers’ wrists and ankles. Originally, some of these decorations were made of whale bone or dogs’ teeth.

So, when and where did the grassy/leafy skirt that we know today come from?

Reportedly, the grass skirt was introduced to Hawaiʻi by immigrants from the Gilbert Islands (small atolls that are today part of the Pacific Island nation of Kiribati) in the 1870s and 1880s.

“Hawaiian hula during and after that period (Kalākaua era) influenced and was influenced by the dance styles of other Islanders, such as the incorporation of Kiribati-style grass skirts.”  (Kealani Cook, PhD dissertation)

By the early 1900s, hula performers in Hawaiʻi and the US continent wore grass skirts. Some hula performers still wear grass skirts today.

Today, grass skirts function as the international symbol for hula dancing.  The grass skirts sway with the dancers as they move their hips, creating a fluid movement.  Dancers also wear a variety of other apparel.

© 2022 Hoʻokuleana LLC

Filed Under: Hawaiian Traditions Tagged With: Hawaii, Hula, Mele, Oli, Kahiko, Auana

April 18, 2017 by Peter T Young 1 Comment

Princess Lei Lokelani

At the corner of what is now Baker Street and Marina Boulevard in San Francisco’s Marina District was where the Hawaiian Pavilion stood during the Panama-Pacific International Exposition in 1915.

These Hawaiian shows had the highest attendance at the entire fair and launched a Hawaiian cultural craze that influenced everything from American music, to movies, to fashion. (Mushet)

“The hugely popular Hawaii pavilion … showcased Hawaiian music and hula dancing, and was the unofficial launching pad for ukulele-mania.” Hapa-haole songs were featured in the Hawaii exhibits and hula ‘auana, contemporary hula was born.

‘Princess Lei Lokelani’ performed traditional foot movements – ku‘i and ‘uwehe – to modern ‘ukulele and steel guitar songs – this also launched the hapa-haole hula phenomenon into broader markets. (Wianecki)

Today, hula has been divided into two main categories; hula ‘auana and hula kahiko, also known as modern hula and ancient hula.

Hula ‘auana are always accompanied by mele, and have soft and floating movements. The ‘auana is also inspired by the hula of the 20th century up until the late 1960s, including the hapa haole styled hula. (Torgersen)

The costumes of the hula ‘auana are different from the kahiko costumes, which usually involve a pā‘ū (hula skirt) and a top to match the pā‘ū for female dancers, and a malo (loincloth) for the male dancers, as well as anklets, wristlets and a headpiece made from traditional hula plants and flowers.

The ‘auana costumes often involve mu‘umu‘u (long dress or gown) for women and black pants, a shirt and sash for the men. The women often have large headpieces made from flowers and greens and may wear shoes as part of the costume.

The kahiko dances must always be danced barefoot, and the dancer is not allowed any jewelry or excessive makeup. (Torgersen)

By 1916, there were hundreds of Hapa Haole tunes written. That same year, reportedly more Hawaiian records were sold on the mainland than any other type of music.

And they came in all the popular styles of the day: in ragtime, blues, jazz, foxtrot and waltz tempos, as “shimmy” dances and–even–in traditional hula tempos, but jazzed up a bit.

In 1935, a radio program began, broadcasting live from the Banyan Court of the Moana Hotel on the beach at Waikīkī, and radios nationwide tuned in to hear “Hawaii Calls.” Not only did nearly every island entertainer cut his or her teeth on the program, many went on to become well known.

The ‘Princess’ was 15-year old Elizabeth Jonia Leilokelani Shaw; she and her family were a hit at the Exposition. “A native of Hawaii, Shaw went to Portland with her family, several of whose members are professionals, in 1906.”

“Her first professional appearance was at the Panama-Pacific Exposition at San Francisco, where she was featured for her beauty and talents as a dancer in the Hawaiian village on the zone.” (Variety, May 6, 1921) She was so popular that she was almost crowned ‘Queen of the Zone,’ missing the honor by just a few votes. (Wianecki)

For the next four years, she was doing vaudeville as ‘Jonia and Her Hawaiians,’ “in which she is assisted by her sister and a male Hawaiian orchestra of four pieces. Jonia’s efforts consist of two dances, one with her sister, who appears in male attire, and one as a solo.”

“The remainder is made up of work by the orchestra, one of the men handling a vocal solo with the others playing a duet with steel guitars.”

“The Jonia act is still suitable for vaudeville, notwithstanding the number of turns of this order that have been seen about during past season.” (Variety, May 11, 1917)

Elizabeth Jonia Leilokelani Shaw, aged 20, was stricken with pneumonia at Washington, DC. She was brought to Portland and died there April 18, 1921. (Variety, May 6, 1921)

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Elizabeth L. Jonia Leilokelani Shaw
Elizabeth L. Jonia Leilokelani Shaw
Elizabeth L. Jonia Leilokelani Shaw
Elizabeth L. Jonia Leilokelani Shaw
Hawaii Band and Dancers-(Shaw)-1916
Hawaii Band and Dancers-(Shaw)-1916
Jonia and Her Hawaiians
Jonia and Her Hawaiians
Princess Lei Lokelani Promotional
Princess Lei Lokelani Promotional
Aeroplane view main group of exhibit palaces Panama-Pacific International Exposition
Aeroplane view main group of exhibit palaces Panama-Pacific International Exposition

Filed Under: General, Hawaiian Traditions, Prominent People Tagged With: Hawaii, Hula, Kahiko, Auana, Hapa Haole, Princess Lei Lokelani, Elizabeth Jonia Leilokelani Shaw

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