Hula
Hula (/ˈhuːlə/) is a Polynesian dance form accompanied by chant (Oli) or song (Mele, which is a cognate of "meke" from the Fijian language). It was developed in the Hawaiian Islands by the Polynesians who originally settled there. The hula dramatizes or portrays the words of the oli or mele in a visual dance form.
There are many sub-styles of hula, with the main two categories being Hula ʻAuana and Hula Kahiko. Ancient hula, as performed before Western encounters with Hawaiʻi, is called kahiko. It is accompanied by chant and traditional instruments. Hula, as it evolved under Western influence in the 19th and 20th centuries, is called ʻauana (a word that means "to wander" or "drift"). It is accompanied by songs and Western-influenced musical instruments such as the guitar, the ʻukulele, and the double bass.
Terminology for two main additional categories is beginning to enter the hula lexicon: "Monarchy" includes any hula which was composed and choreographed during the 19th century. During that time the influx of Western culture created significant changes in the formal Hawaiian arts, including hula. "Ai Kahiko", meaning "in the ancient style" are those hula written in the 20th and 21st centuries that follow the stylistic protocols of the ancient hula kahiko.
There are also two main positions of a hula dance: either sitting (noho dance) or standing (luna dance). Some dances utilize both forms.
Hula dancing is a complex art form, and there are many hand motions used to represent the words in a song or chant. 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 kaholo, kaʻo, kawelu, hela, ʻuwehe, and ʻami.
There are other related dances (tamure, hura, 'aparima, 'ote'a, haka, kapa haka, poi, Fa'ataupati, Tau'olunga, and Lakalaka) that come from other Polynesian islands such as Tahiti, The Cook Islands, Samoa, Tonga and New Zealand; however, the hula is unique to the Hawaiian Islands.
All five hula genres can be placed at certain points on a spectrum that features “the most ancient” on the left and “the most modern” on the other side. Hula pahu and hula ‘ala’apapa are two subcategories that are always considered to be ancient, with origins sticky reflected before the introduction of Christianity. Thanks to the nearly intactly preserved repertoire that is even being played nowadays, the important guidelines that performers should follow for bringing 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 those songs were also disseminated as notated sheet music, which were the joint effort devoted by contemporary ethnomusicologists and songwriters. The rest of the two hula types, hula ku’i and hula ‘olapa leave a massive challenge to editors in terms of entextualizing and representing these two genres generally within a critical edition. These two genres show a reflection of the social transformation and westernization happened within the region when the American economy and political influence immerse more within. More importantly, the same strophic text format is applied in both genres, being constructed with two of four lines of text, with each of them commonly set to a uniform number of beats. During the performance, it is a usual practice that the songs are separated into stanzas which are normally repeated by a brief rhythmic interlude. Among all five genres of hula, the corresponding melodic structure and the strophic musical structure are elements that make modern hula ku’i and hula ‘o lapa distinguishable when compared to others.
- Wikipedia article: Hula
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