Hula
Hula is a Hawaiian dance form expressing chant or song. It was developed in the Hawaiian Islands by the Native Hawaiians who settled there. The hula dramatizes or portrays the words of the oli or mele in a visual dance form.
There are many sub-styles of hula, with the two main categories being Hula ʻAuana and Hula Kahiko. Ancient hula, performed before Western encounters with Hawaiʻi, is called kahiko. It is accompanied by chant and traditional instruments. Hula, as it evolved under Western influence in the 19th and 20th centuries, is called auana. It is accompanied by song and Western-influenced musical instruments such as the guitar, the ukulele, and the double bass.
Terminology for two additional categories is beginning to enter the hula lexicon: "Monarchy" includes any hula which were composed and choreographed during the 19th century. During that time the influx of Western culture created significant changes in the formal Hawaiian arts, including hula. "Ai Kahiko", meaning "in the ancient style" are those hula written in the 20th and 21st centuries that follow the stylistic protocols of the ancient hula kahiko.
There are also two main positions of a hula dance: either sitting or standing. Some dances utilize both forms.
Hula dancing is complex, with many hand motions used to represent the words in a song or chant. For example, hand movements can signify aspects of nature, such as the swaying of a tree in the breeze or a wave in the ocean, or a feeling or emotion, such as fondness or yearning. Foot and hip movements often pull from a basic library of steps including the kāholo, kaʻo, kāwelu, hela, ʻuwehe, and ʻami.
There are other related dances that come from other Polynesian islands such as Tahiti, The Cook Islands, Samoa, Tonga and New Zealand; however, the hula is unique to the Hawaiian Islands.
Five hula genres can be placed across a spectrum with "the most ancient" on the left and "the most modern" on the right side. The Hula pahu and hula 'āla'apapa subcategories are ancient, originating before the introduction of Christianity. Thanks to well-preserved documentation, guidelines for performers to bring the poetic text back on stage remain clear in manuscript sources. On the other side of the continuum, hapa haole songs are relatively modern and they were also disseminated as notated sheet music, the joint effort of contemporary ethnomusicologists and songwriters. The other two hula types, hula ku'i and hula 'ōlapa are a challenge to editors in terms of textualizing and representing them within a critical edition. These two genres reflect the social transformation and westernization within the region, influenced by American economics and politics. More importantly, the same strophic text format is applied in both genres, constructed with two or four lines of text, with each of them commonly set to a uniform number of beats. During performance, it is a usual practice that the songs are separated into stanzas which are repeated by a brief rhythmic interlude. Among the genres of hula, the corresponding melodic structure and the strophic musical structure make modern hula ku'i and hula 'ōlapa distinguishable from the others.
Hula kahiko
Hula kahiko, often defined as those hula composed prior to 1894 which do not include modern instrumentation, encompasses an enormous variety of styles and moods, from the solemn and sacred to the frivolous. Many hula were created to praise the chiefs and performed in their honor, or for their entertainment. Types of hula kahiko include ālaapapa, haa, ōlapa, and many others. Today hula kahiko is simply stated as "Traditional" Hula.Many hula dances are considered to be a religious performance, as they are dedicated to, or honoring, a Hawaiian goddess or god. As was true of ceremonies at the heiau, the platform temple, even a minor error was considered to invalidate the performance. It might even be a presage of bad luck or have dire consequences. Dancers who were learning to do such hula necessarily made many mistakes. Hence they were ritually secluded and put under the protection of the goddess Laka during the learning period. Ceremonies marked the successful learning of the hula and the emergence from seclusion.
Hula kahiko is performed today by dancing to the historical chants. Many hula kahiko are characterized by traditional costuming, by an austere look, and a reverence for their spiritual root.
Chant (Oli)
was oral history. It was codified in genealogies and chants, which were memorized and passed down. In the absence of a written language, this was the only available method of ensuring accuracy. Chants told the stories of creation, mythology, royalty, and other significant events and people.The ʻŌlelo Noʻeau, "
Traditional chant types are extremely varied in context and technical components, and cover a broad range of specific functions. Among them exist mele pule, hula kuahu, kūʻauhau, koʻihonua, hānau, inoa, maʻi, kanikau, hei, hoʻoipoipo, and kāhea.
An important distinction between oli, hula, and mele is as follows: mele can hold many different meanings, and is often translated to mean simply, song. However, in a more broad sense, mele can be taken to mean poetry or linguistic composition. Hula and oli are two general styles in which mele can be used/performed. Generally, "all mele may be performed as oli, but only certain types such as name chants, sex chants, love chants, and chants dedicated to the gods of hula, may be performed as hula."
Hawaiian language contains 43 different words to describe voice quality; the technique and particularity of chanting styles is crucial to understanding their function. The combination of general style and the context of the performance determines what vocal style a chant will use. Kepakepa, kāwele, olioli, ho'āeae, ho'ouēuē, and
A law passed in Hawai'i in 1896 banned the use of 'Ōlelo Hawai'i in schools. This, in combination with a general usurpation of Hawaiian social, political, and linguistic autonomy resulted in a mass decline of the Hawaiian language, to the near brink of extinction. As a result of Americanization, including the spread of Christianity, many traditional chants became viewed as pagan and were ultimately forgotten. But a cultural resurgence beginning in the late 1960s, and carrying through to today has revitalized many Hawaiian practices, including spoken language and chant, and has been furthered by increasing support from various institutions, including Pūnana Leo Hawaiian language immersion schools, funded by the Hawai'i State Department of Education as well as major hula competitions such as the Merrie Monarch Festival, which officially began in 1971.
In hālau hula asking permission to enter the space in order to partake in the knowledge of the kumu is a key component to being a student. Many hālau use a variation of "Kūnihi," an oli kāhea, most typically done in an olioli style. Students often stand outside the entrance and chant repeatedly until the kumu decides to grant them permission to enter, and uses a different chant in response. This is an example of how oli is integrated into modern day cultural practices, within the context of hula training.
Oli is universally considered as the most typical type of indigenous music that is not constructed onto meters. In fact, the artistic expression of oli varies according to the circumstances where the performance is conducted, which is also the reason why there are five different articulatory vocal techniques were developed in oli repertoire. These five styles are:
- kepakepa: A conversational patter that is expected to be performed swiftly, where the syllables are usually too short to allow pitches to be identified.
- kawele: Comparing with the kepakepa, syllables are sustained a bit longer in kawele, but yet to be easily identified in pitches. It tends to be a more suitable form for recitation and declamation among Olis.
- olioli: It is regarded as the most commonly used kind of oli, which the sustained pitch monotone carries the poetic form in a more vocally-embellished way.
- ho'āeae: It uses sustained pitches more often and there can be multiple pitches following fundamental configuration throughout the musical context.
- ho'ouweuwe: it is exclusively applied as the laments in funeral.
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 cover
- Iliili—water-worn lava stone used as castanets
- Ulīulī—feathered gourd rattles
- Pūili—split bamboo sticks
- Kālaau—rhythm sticks