Hula, The Spirit of Aloha

Posted by Liberty on Jan 18, '07 7:37 PM for everyone

 

I was eight years old when I first witnessed a "hula dance". One day my little sister came home wearing a bright, tangerine grass skirts, coconut bra shells, and some flower leis on her hands and ankles. My eyes almost popped out of their sockets at the sight of her!

"What is going on?", I asked. "Why is she wearing those...those...what are those?", I continued to ask. My cute little sister just bounced over proudly to where our our stereo system was, pushed a little cassette button, and suddenly there was this melodious sound I have never heard of in my life. And then, she started swaying her hips, and moving her hands and feet to this sweet, foreign music!

My eyes were definitely out of their sockets by now, my jaw plastered to the ground. I stood there transfixed by this strange but wonderful event unfolding before me. That was the beginning of my love affair with the Hawaiian culture.

When I moved to the Hawaiian islands many years ago, one of the first things I decided I must learn was how to dance the hula. For me, hula is the soul of Hawaii expressed in motions and beats. The language of their heart and is therefore the heartbeat of its people. Being in love all my life with the spirit of this culture, I needed to feel its soul come alive in me through this wonderful, beautiful dance.

The origins of hula are sometimes shrouded in legends and myths. One thing is certain though. The hula is so much more than a dance. Every movement in hula has a specific meaning. A special story it wants to tell. Therefore, every expression of the dancer's hands and feet has great significance. One major rule of the dance is the eyes always follow where the hands go.

In the ancient days, it was performed as a religious rite to honor the gods and the chiefs. And when the early missionaries came to the islands, and almost abolished this wonderful tradition, hula became in danger of disappearing forever. Until the reign of King David Kalakaua, dubbed by historians as the Merry Monarch. King Kalakaua saved the day! It was during his reign that hula saw its renaissance. Hula was allowed back and encouraged to be performed again at luaus (parties), public occasions, and the theater.

When I enrolled in a halau hula (hula school), I chose to learn kahiko (ancient form of hula). The hula kahiko uses dancing and chanting to relate the proud and somber history, customs, ceremonies, and traditions of the ancient Hawaii and its people. I understood the importance of this tradition so I was in so much awe of my kumu(teacher) and the halau I belonged to. Respect and obedience are some of the kapu (rules) expected of anyone who is given the privilege to honor and observe this tradition.

As I have grown to know myself more, I realize that there is a part of my personality that is more at ease with the other form of hula, theauana (modern hula). You see when you dance kahiko, your expressions are more somber. More formal. Because the story you are trying to tell is more serious and royal in nature.

For somebody like me who loves to smile, it can be challenging sometimes. Now I think that auana fits my personality more. Though I will always love to perform kahiko at the same time. The hula auana is performed more widely today. It is a more playful, joyous, and spirited telling of contemporary life in the islands. Below is a video show of anauana hula. Go ahead. Bring your speakers' volume up and be mesmerized.

Hula can be a very forgiving and accepting dance. No matter what your age, you can dance the hula if you want to. But don't be fooled. the seemingly slow and simple steps are actually careful works of precision, coordination and dedication to the continued honing of this art. This is a most wonderful aspect of hula. From keikis (children) to your sweettutus (grandmoms), anyone can dance. As long as your hands and feet can move, you can hula. Bring your soul to it and you will give life to its mele (music).

Hula is one of the most sensuous, most imaginative dances I have performed. It is not only a very romantic dance, full of splendor but is also very athletic. It keeps one fit. A hula dancer uses the biggest group of muscles in the body. Your lower extremities. And your hands are always up making your hearts to work harder. You're also vocalizing the kahea (words) of the mele or chant as you dance. From head to toe, inside out, your whole body and essence move with this dance. Below is video show of a marvelous kahiko dance, produced bycocopalmpictures.com, kahea by Sonny Ching, kumu hula. Watch how beautiful this dance is. Listen to the wondrous, rhythmic beats as you continue reading the rest of the text.

Wasn't that breathtaking?

I will be remiss if I leave you without talking about some of the instrumentations used in hula. Many of them have actually survived from ancient times. Every kumu (teacher) who performs hula kahiko for example, uses a pahu or drum to accompany the movements and chanting. Pahu were ususally made from hollowed-out coconut tree trunks that were often intricately carved and covred with dried shark skin.

I have the photo of puniu or kilu only, which is a smaller drum made from coconut shell and covered with the skin of a fish. 

The puili is a piece of dried bamboo approximately two feet long thathas been a split into strips down to mostof its length. Dancers strike the two puili together or against their bodies to create a rattling sound.

Dancers also make pecussive sounds by striking two, small, flat river rocks, or ili'ili together. Like how one would using Spanish castanets. 

The most visible instruments uses are the ipu, dried Hawaiian gourds. They cut the top off the fruit, remove the insides and let to dry in the sun. They are used as drun-like instruments. Dancers, or the kumu, hold the ipu in one hand by the throat, and carefully strike it with the palm of the fingers of the other hand. Or it is struck against the body or pad on the ground, in rhythm to the hula. When you play the kahiko video above, the dominant drum-like sound you hear is from an ipu being struck as they dance.

Last but not the least, is the uli'uli. Its creation starts as well from a gourd dried and hollowed out, and after a few pebbles are put inside, it is often decorated with bird feathers. Dancers use them both in kahiko and modern auana.

Nowadays, the ukulele and guitar are common accompaniment to hula auana performances.

I hope you have enjoyed taking this journey with me.

I don't get to see my little sister now because she lives hafway across the globe from me. But the next time we see each other, I'm going to show her the authentic version of hula . Maybe, its her eyes which will bog out this time.

I believe that nothing captures the aloha spirit better than a hula can. And in the spirit of keeping this wonderful tradition alive, I leave you all with a montage of vintage hula pictures, as it journeys through time. Aloha.