Hula

Hula, as it evolved under Western influence in the 19th and 20th centuries, is called ʻauana (a word that means "to wander" or "drift").

During that time the influx of Western culture created significant changes in the formal Hawaiian arts, including hula.

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.

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 ʻŌlelo Noʻeau (Hawaiian saying or proverb), "'O 'oe ka luaʻahi o kāu mele," translates loosely as "You bear both the good and the bad consequences of the poetry you compose"[5] The idea behind this saying originates from the ancient Hawaiian belief that language possessed mana, or "power derived from a spiritual source"[5] particularly when delivered through oli (chant).

Oli was an integral component of ancient Hawaiian society, and arose in nearly every social, political and economic aspect of life.

Traditional chant types are extremely varied in context and technical components, and cover a broad range of specific functions.

Among them (in vague descending order of sacredness) exist mele pule (prayer), hula kuahu (ritual dance), kūʻauhau (cosmogeny), koʻihonua (genealogy), hānau (birth), inoa (name), maʻi (procreation/genital), kanikau (lamentation), hei (game), hoʻoipoipo (love), and kāhea (expression/call out).

"[6] Hawaiian language contains 43 different words to describe voice quality; the technique and particularity of chanting styles is crucial to understanding their function.

Olioli is a style many would liken to song, as it is melodic in nature and includes sustained pitches,[6] often with 'i'i, or vibrato of the voice that holds vowel tones at the ends of lines.

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.

This is an example of how oli is integrated into modern day cultural practices, within the context of hula training.

The most important thing for performer to master is decide which style the poetic text can be perfectly fitted into and figure out the way that can flawlessly combine both the text and the oli style according to the given context, such time limits and the particular situation where the oli is delivered.

[4] The dog's-tooth anklets sometimes worn by male dancers could also be considered instruments, as they underlined the sounds of stamping feet.

As a sign of lavish display, the pāʻū might be much longer than the usual length of tapa, or barkcloth, which was just long enough to go around the waist.

Hula performed for spontaneous daily amusement or family feasts were attended with no particular ceremony.

It was documented that early Hawaiian musicians did not really focus on elaborating pure instrumental music but simply used the nose-blown flute that can only produce no more than four notes.

It is during this period that the grass skirt began to be seen everywhere although, Hula 'auana costumes are usually more western-looking, with dresses for women and pants for men.

For slow, graceful dances, the dancers will wear formal clothing such as a muʻumuʻu for women and a sash for men.

Often there is a hierarchy in hula schools - starting with the kumu (teacher), alaka'i (leader), kōkua (helpers), and then the 'ōlapa (dancers) or haumana (students).

According to one Hawaiian legend, Laka, goddess of the hula, gave birth to the dance on the island of Molokaʻi, at a sacred place in Kaʻana.

American Protestant missionaries, who arrived in 1820, often denounced the hula as a heathen dance holding vestiges of paganism.

With the Princess Lili'uokalani who devoted herself to the old ways, as the patron of the ancients chants (mele, hula), she stressed the importance to revive the diminishing culture of their ancestors within the damaging influence of foreigners and modernism that was forever changing Hawaii.

Ritual and prayer surrounded all aspects of hula training and practice, even as late as the early 20th century.

Vaudeville star Signe Paterson was instrumental in raising its profile and popularity on the American stage, performing the hula in New York and Boston, teaching society figures the dance, and touring the country with the Royal Hawaiian Orchestra.

In response to several Pacific island sports teams using their respective native war chants and dances as pre-game ritual challenges, the University of Hawaii football team started doing a war chant and dance using the native Hawaiian language that was called the ha'a before games in 2007.

Since 1964, the Merrie Monarch Festival has become an annual one week long hula competition held in the spring that attracts visitors from all over the world.