Lovely Hula Girls with Swaying Hips

Written by Karry MacDonald | 01 September 2009

Hula, beyond the coconut bra!

Part one of two

Hula – a symbol of Hawaiian entertainment enjoyed by tourists at luaus, has morphed and traveled far from its origins.

To explore the history of hula is to wrap yourself in Hawaiian history and mythology. Ancient Hawaiians had no written language. All communications beyond the spoken word took place in the form of chants and hula. Hawaiian genealogy, mythology, prayers to the gods and goddesses, and the handing down of culture, history, and stories were conveyed through chant and hula.

Originally called Ha’a, the name changed to hula in the 19th century. The islands of Hawai’i, Kaua’i, Oa’hu and Molokai each claim to be the birthplace of hula. In Hawaiian mythology, the goddess, Hopoe, is considered the first dancer, while Hi’iaka is said to have first performed hula to appease Pele, her sister. Hi’iaka and her friend, Hopoe, respected the forest and were kindly looked upon by Laka, the deity of the wild plants of the forest. Laka became the revered patroness of hula as she inspired the journey of taming the undisciplined, analogous to the training of the haumana hula (student of hula) training their body, spirit and mind

Exceptional qualities of dedication, grace, posture and respect were required of haumana hula. Good posture added to the dignity and sacredness of the dance, which many feel sets hula apart from other Polynesian dances.

Haumana hula built a temporary structure, the halau hula (hula school), to house themselves and their kumu hula (source or teacher of hula). Kumus and the most accomplished dancers were highly respected and often made life long commitments to hula. Dancers were either h’oopaa, those of greater experience or maturity, who would kneel or sit; or olapa, the most agile, and usually younger dancers, who would perform standing. Each hula consisted of mele (poetry) and the physical gestures; all had to be memorized.  

Halau hulas, all with eastern altars devoted to Laka, stringently adhered to rules regarding meticulous hygiene, not cutting hair or nails, and food restrictions. Male and female haumanas, housed together, were expected to remain chaste. Any breach brought a penalty.

When the haumana hula passed from their undisciplined state to one of spiritual enlightenment and physical poise, it was time for the ai’lolo, or graduation ceremony. After dismantling the halau structure, they went through a purification ritual in preparation for their uniki’, or debut hula performance. At Ke’e, Kauai, stands an important historical site, Ke Ahu a Laka (altar of Laka), a sacred place visited today, as in ancient times, by na po’i hula (hula people) with offerings.

A modern falsehood states that in ancient times only men danced hula. This seems unlikely given that the Hawaiians were originally a polytheistic society which, like other polytheistic societies, endowed their gods and goddesses with human attributes and jobs. It is illogical that female humans were forbidden to participate in an act first danced by a female goddess, Hi’iaka, and overseen by a female divinity, Laka. Furthermore, in 1778, Captain James Cook recorded seeing women dance on Kaua’i. Enough said.

Hula was strongly connected to religious and spiritual practices performed under the direction of a kahuna or priest as a part of the worship in the heiau (temple). This ancient style hula, kahiko, is serious, pious and assertive, has “sharp” physical movements, along with chanting and drumming, and is always preceded with an invocation. The pahu, a sharkskin covered log drum, was used in the most sacred dances dedicated to the gods. 

It has been erroneously asserted that the missionaries banned hula. True, they believed hula, and all dance, was immoral, lewd, and an idle pastime, but they lacked the authority to outlaw anything.

Before the missionaries’ arrival in 1820, there existed 300 different types of kahiko hula, including:   ala’a-papa, a formal, noble, standing hula accompanied by the ipu (gourd drum);  the solemn, kneeling kuo’lo;  the hula ki’i, a dramatic play which, interestingly, included a performance with marionettes; hula u’li-'uli’, accompanied with small colorful seeded gourd rattles, along with food offerings to Laka; and hula Pele, preceded by prayer and offerings to Pele, danced to honor kings and ali’i. The continuation of ali’i progeny was very important to the Hawaiian social order, not unlike that of Tudor England. To encourage ali’i procreation, there was the hula ma’i, which honored the genitalia of the ali’i. I can’t help but think the first missionaries saw a bit too much of this hula for their tastes.

The missionaries’ arrival, in and of itself, would probably not have had such a crushing effect on Hawaiian culture and hula had it not been for a history-making event involving kapu following King Kamehameha I’s death in 1819.

Kapu was introduced by the Tahitian priest, Pa’ao, in about the 13th century. It was the primary Hawaiian social control mechanism. In modern language, kapu means “forbidden”, also “sacred” and “privileged”. Kapu limited access to certain geographical areas to royalty only. It determined hierarchy, gender roles and social behavior. For example, if the shadow of a commoner crossed the shadow or body of royalty, the penalty was death. Kapu also forbade women from eating certain foods like pork, varieties of red fish, and most types of banana. Most importantly, kapu forbade the sexes from eating together. Kapu reflected order – order in society, order in the universe. As the gods and goddesses kept order, the ali’i’s kept order through kapu. Without kapu, society broke down.

Following the death of a reigning monarch, ten days of chaos followed with many Hawaiians engaging in forbidden activities, until the new monarch reinstated kapu. Then all order immediately returned, except in 1819, when the actions of a strong-willed queen put in motion the suppression of Hawaiian culture for decades to come.