Ula (dance)

It is also known as fahaʻi-ula (split dance), which may be degenerated to fahaʻiula.

[1] It is still danced nowadays, although less popular than its descendant the tauʻolunga.

The name split dance comes from the habit that the performers split up in two (or more) groups, one entering the stage from the left, the other from the right,[2] until the two meet in the centre and merge into one or more rows.

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.

Fū - any dance starts with a cupped hand clap to get started with the rhythm
Girls, (perhaps portraited on Malaspina 's visit to Vavaʻu in 1793), performing different dances. From left to right: hiko (juggling), ula, meʻetuʻupaki (or a female equivalent), ʻūpē or fisipā (clicking the fingers)