Ula (dance)
The ula is an ancient Tongan group dance, already reported by early European navigators like Captain Cook. It is also known as fahai-ula, which may be degenerated to fahaiula. Traditionally, it is performed after an ʻotuhaka. It is still danced nowadays, although less popular than its descendant the tauolunga. It used to be more popular before the arrival of Christianity and was the main dance, danced by women before the tau'olunga replaced it. The dance used to be fast paced, involved movement in the hips, legs, feet and upper body. However with the arrival of Christianity, the royal family completely altered the dance. Now the movements are more stiff and conservative.
Lyrics
Some older chants:Oiau, sia langi ula; i iē
fai mai sia tauolunga. io!
Tulopa he iau moe; io ē!
vasaleva iau moe; io!
Sina vai tava ā ē
he iē, ā ē.
Sina vai tafe lou lonā.
io, io, he lou lonā.
Tunotuna oe Ale-le-sā,
manuia oe saualuma.
Laulau tui Vaea ē,
Vaea lau mānaia.
These parts are from the beginning of the 20th century:
Tonga, Tonga ē,
tulituli faiva, he tuli faiva ē
pei kau mua pei kau mai
ke tau kalofi kuo tau e langi
tulituli faiva, he tuli faiva ē.
Tonga, Tonga ē,
tulituli faiva, he tuli faiva ē
ko e faiva ni ko hoto kakala
o lau taanga pea fola haka
tulituli faiva, he tuli faiva ē.
Tonga, Tonga ē,
tulituli faiva, he tuli faiva ē
kuo ke meai sioto founga
fiemālie tuku ke u ula
tulituli faiva, he tuli faiva ē.
And then there are still more variants.
Execution
The name split dance comes from the habit that the performers split up in two groups, one entering the stage from the left, the other from the right, until the two meet in the centre and merge into one or more rows. The performers are always girls, it is rare that boys will join.The dance movements are in essence very simple and limited. Most of the work, making supple, beautiful postures, is done by the hands and the head. The body remains quite stiff, and except for an occasional step or a kneeling, the legs are not much used either.
The dress of the girls is like that of the tauolunga, although the red dress is here most popular.