History of the Hawaiian Hula Dance
The Hula dance is associated with Hawaii and luaus and while
everyone knows what the hula is very few people are actually
knowledgeable of its origin, not even the Hawaiians. According
to Hawaiian history there is no information available as to who
performed the first hula dance or why, however it is a common
agreement that the original hula dance was performed by a god or
goddess, making the dance sacred to Hawaiians. And this dance is
sacred to men and women in Hawaii because the hula was danced by
both sexes despite some information stating only men danced the
hula. This information is incorrect and actually men and women
both were involved in the sacred hula dance.
There are many types of Polynesian dances; however the hula is
one of a kind and completely different than other dances in this
area of the world. The origination of the hula was used for
rituals and ceremonies, however this changed over time and
eventually the hula was a dance used strictly for entertainment.
When dancing the hula individuals truly must become one with the
dance and the actions, objects, or images they are imitating in
their hula dance. The hula is a very meaningful dance and every
movement of the body represents something. In addition to this,
the hands are very important in the hula dance as well. When the
individual is dancing the hula they may be imitating a palm
tree, war, plants, and even animals. Because of this when the
individual is dancing they are transforming themselves mentally
into the object they are portraying through dance. Basically,
the hula dancer is telling a story through the movements of the
body and hands and as a result it is very important to watch.
Chants also accompany the hula dance and while they used to be
the most important part of the dance to portray what was
happening they are no longer so and the movements are most
important. You will notice the difference if you see a portrayal
of old style hula dancing compared to new style hula dancing.
While both are still hula dancing and fun to watch, the first is
more ritualistic and the second more entertaining.
The hula dancers wear a costume in order to perform the hula
dance. This consists of leis made of flowers around the neck or
even the shoulders. A grass skirt is also used and is made of
tapa and known as a pau. The dancers also wear anklets made of
whale bone or even dog teeth. The whole ensemble makes up the
vision of the hula dancer the whole world is aware of.
In the past, when hula was danced as a religious ritual rather
than simply for entertainment the rules regarding the hula dance
were very strict and individuals involved in hula dancing school
were required to follow them while they were learning how to
dance. Generally, students were required to follow all rules and
behave properly while obeying their hula teacher in all
requests. Some of the rules stated that hula students could not
cut their fingernails or even their hair. Other rules stated
hula students could not engage in sex nor could they eat certain
foods that were forbidden. As a result, the life of the hula
dancer in hula school was very strict, yet all of the rules were
for a purpose that believed the students would learn to dance
the hula better if they did not engage in the forbidden
activities.
Today there are two types of hula, hula kahiko and hula auana.
Hula hahiko is the old style that was described above and
generally includes percussion, chanting, and the traditional
costumes. Hula kahiko is traditional and ritualistic and the
chanting tells the story more than the dance moves. However, for
the more entertaining hula auna there is music, guitars,
entertaining costumes to enhance the dance, ukuleles and even
songs. This type of hula uses body movements and the hands to
really tell the story because it is easier for tourists to
understand.
While the hula dance has been around for thousands of years and
always been popular it almost disappeared in the 1800s when
missionaries arrived in Hawaii. The missionaries believed that
hula dancing was devilish and against God and tried to convince
the dancers of their wrongdoing by dancing the hula. However,
King Kalakaua did not want the traditional dance of the islands
to disappear simply because the missionaries did not understand
what the hula was all about in the first place so he took action.
As a result, King Kalakaua developed his own group of hula
dancers and encouraged them to learn the hula dance, the old
style hula, and fortunately the hula did not disappear and still
remains a very important dance of the islands and even today
there are hundreds of hula schools on all the Hawaiian islands
that teach the hula dance, old style, to the students. Even
today many of the hula schools have strict rules like the old
hula schools implemented.
There are even hula schools and groups that teach old style hula
dancing to people on the mainland so while hula remains an
important part of Hawaiian culture the culture is spreading and
many people show an interest in learning how to hula dance.
When you visit Hawaii, no matter what island you visit, you will
certainly see plenty of hula dancing from old style to the newer
and more entertaining hula and regardless which one you like the
most you should definitely attend festivals or dances that
exhibit both styles so you can see the performing arts of the
island and learn about the culture, history and the people of
Hawaii. You never know, you may learn a few hula moves yourself.