Hula

Hula is a beautiful dance form from the Hawaiian Islands, created by the Native Hawaiians who settled there. It is a way to express chants called oli or songs called mele through movement. The dance tells a story or shows the meaning of the words through actions.

There are two main types of hula: Hula ʻAuana and Hula Kahiko. Kahiko is the ancient style performed before the world met Hawaiʻi, using chants and traditional instruments. ʻAuana developed later under Western influence and uses songs with instruments like the guitar, the ʻukulele, and the double bass. Dancers can either sit or stand while performing, and they use their hands, feet, and hips to show feelings, nature, or ideas.

Hula is complex, with many hand movements that represent words in a song or chant. For example, hands can show the sway of a tree or the motion of ocean waves. There are also similar dances from other Polynesian islands, but hula is special to the Hawaiian Islands.

Hula kahiko

Hula kahiko is the traditional form of hula dance that was created before 1894 and does not use modern instruments like guitars or ukuleles. It includes many different styles and feelings, from serious and sacred to light and fun. Many of these dances were made to honor chiefs and were performed just for them. There are several types of hula kahiko, such as ʻālaʻapapa and haʻa, and today it is simply called "Traditional" Hula.

Many hula dances are special and spiritual, dedicated to Hawaiian gods or goddesses. Just like in old ceremonies at the heiau, even a small mistake could be seen as very bad. Dancers learning these dances had to be very careful and were sometimes kept apart until they learned properly. Ceremonies celebrated when they finished learning and could perform.

Hula kahiko today is performed by dancing to old chants. These dances often use traditional costumes and have a serious, respectful look, showing respect for their spiritual history.

Chant (Oli)

Hawaiian history was told through spoken stories, not writing. These stories were kept in memories through special chants and genealogies. Without writing, chants were the best way to keep history accurate. Chants told about creation, myths, kings, and important people and events.

There are many types of chants, such as prayers, ritual dances, stories about the beginning of things, family trees, births, names, and more. Chants can be performed with or without dancing. While all chants can be performed without dance, only certain types, like name chants and love chants, can be performed with dance.

The Hawaiian language has many words to describe how a voice sounds when chanting, which is very important for the meaning of the chant. Styles include kepakepa, which sounds like fast talking, and olioli, which is more like singing with smooth notes.

A law in 1896 stopped the use of the Hawaiian language in schools. This, along with other changes, almost made the language disappear. But starting in the late 1960s, people began to bring back Hawaiian traditions, including the language and chants, with help from schools and festivals.

In hula schools, students ask permission to learn from the teacher through chants. This shows how important chants are even today.

Oli, or chanting, is a key part of Hawaiian music. It changes based on where and when it is performed. There are five main styles of oli, each used for different situations and feelings.

Instruments and implements

• Ipu—single gourd drum
• Ipu heke—double gourd drum
• Pahu—sharkskin covered drum; considered sacred
• Puniu—small knee drum made of a coconut shell with fish skin (kala) cover
• ʻIliʻili—water-worn lava stone used as castanets
• ʻUlīʻulī—feathered gourd rattles (also ʻulili)
• Pūʻili—split bamboo sticks
• Kālaʻau—rhythm sticks

Dress/outfits

Traditional female dancers wore a simple wrapped skirt called a pāʻū, but often went without a top. Today, this style has changed. The pāʻū might be much longer than before, made of many yards of tapa, a kind of bark cloth. Dancers might also wear decorations like necklaces, bracelets, anklets, and many lei (in the form of headpieces (lei poʻo), necklaces, bracelets, and anklets (kupeʻe)), and other accessories.

Sometimes, dancers wear a skirt of green kī (Cordyline fruticosa) leaves over the pāʻū. These leaves are special and were only used by certain people in holy dances.

Traditional male dancers wore a simple loincloth called a malo, but they might also wear a bigger one made of many yards of tapa. They also wore necklaces, bracelets, anklets, and lei.

The materials for lei were collected from the forest after special prayers. After a sacred dance, the lei and tapa were considered holy and were left as offerings.

Performances

Hula dances for everyday fun or family meals were easy and relaxed. But when dancing for chiefs, it was very important to do everything perfectly. Chiefs would travel to different places, and the people there had to welcome them with food, housing, and entertainment. Hula dances were a way to show respect and honor to the chief.

Performances for chiefs often started with men dancing and ended with women. There were dances about the chief's family, name, and even holy dances for Hawaiian gods. All these dances had to be done without any mistakes, which would be seen as bad luck and disrespectful.

Important visitors from other places, or even from far away, were also welcomed with hula performances.

Hula ʻauana

Modern hula grew from blending traditional Hawaiian dance and song with Western styles. This new style, called hula ʻauana, often tells stories that include events from the 1800s onward. The costumes are less revealing, and the music has a strong Western influence.

The songs in hula ʻauana are sung like popular music, with a lead voice and sometimes harmony. These songs can be about many things—people, places, events, or feelings. Dancers often use string instruments like the steel guitar and bass to accompany the music. They might also use a special rattle called an ʻUlīʻulī. Costumes for hula ʻauana are usually Western-style, with dresses for women and pants for men. The colors and designs of the clothing help tell the story of the song. Dancers may perform in bare feet or shoes, depending on the dance.

Training

Hula is taught in special schools or groups called hālau. The teacher of hula is known as the kumu hula. The word kumu means "source of knowledge" or "teacher".

In many hula schools, there is a clear structure. It usually starts with the kumu (the teacher), followed by the alaka'i (the leader), kōkua (helpers), and then the 'ōlapa (dancers) or haumana (students). Not every hālau follows this exact structure, but it is common. Most hula hālau have a special chant that students say to ask for permission to enter their practice space. After saying the chant, they wait for the kumu to respond. Once the kumu finishes their response, the students are allowed to enter. One famous chant used for this is called Kūnihi Ka Mauna/Tūnihi Ta Mauna.

History

There are many legends about where and how hula began. One story says that Laka, the goddess of hula, created the dance on the island of Molokaʻi. Another story tells of Hiʻiaka, who danced to calm her sister, the volcano goddess Pele. There are also tales of Pele dancing the first hula when she found a safe place to live on the island of Hawaiʻi.

In the 1800s, new leaders from America who followed different beliefs did not like the hula and asked that it not be performed in public. But people still enjoyed it in private. Later, King David Kalākaua and Princess Lili'uokalani helped bring hula back as a way to celebrate Hawaiian culture.

In the early 1900s, hula began to change as it was shown in shows for tourists and in movies. Some people kept the traditional ways alive, and interest in hula grew again in the 1970s. Today, the Merrie Monarch Festival is a big event where dancers from around the world come to celebrate hula.

Films

Here are some films about hula:

• Kumu Hula: Keepers of a Culture (1989) Directed by Robert Mugge.
• Holo Mai Pele - Hālau ō Kekuhi (2000) Directed by Catherine Tatge
• American Aloha : Hula Beyond Hawaiʻi (2003) By Lisette Marie Flannery & Evann Siebens
• Hula Girls (2006)
• The Haumana (2013)
• Kumu Hina (2014)