art of the hula :: essays research papers

gArt of the HulafWhat is integrity thing that stands out in most peoples minds when they think of Hawaii? well-nigh people would probably say the hula bound. The hula dance descended from, or can be traced to Polynesia and India. The Hula was a form of poetry for the Hawaiians in all of its sacred and ceremonial forms.In hula dancing, the hands atomic number 18 very important they tell a story. However, more important argon the chants. Chanting is an extension of speaking that started as a means of communication to the gods. The hula can be performed with or without music, but not without the chant. Bamboo sticks, drums, and gourds, atomic number 18 some of the instruments that are played to support the chanting. The chants are very poetic and have many levels of meaning. They believe chanting is a very personalized way of expressing feelings and thoughts on a higher level of communication. The topics of the chants may hold warfare, death, sex, birth, chiefs, gods, the beaut y of the island and water, or even surfing. This exotic culture was hidden from the arena until 1778, when Captain James Cook and his men became the first westerners to discover the islands of Hawaii. When they arrived at Kauai, the islanders performed the hula dance as a way of greeting the strangers. after in 1820, Christian missionaries from New England came to the islands, armed with the Bible and narrow-minded thoughts. They were ball over by the heathenish hula, and tried to abolish the dance. The missionaries eventually convinced the royalty, which had been born-again to Christianity, to make the hula dance illegal. It was hard for the Hawaiians to retain their culture because the missionaries outlaw the Hawaiian language from the schools. However, the Hawaiians treasured their culture and dance, and did not let them die.In 1874, King David Kalakaua came to the throne. He is credited with returning the ancient hula dance to the people. European clad, he was known as the M errie Monarch. He dined with prominent figures including the ever-corrupt professorship Grant. He had mastered ancient chants taught to him by his grandmother. During his reign, he brought a potbelly of European style to the hula dance. He integrated hymn sing and band music into traditional hula dance forms. The ukulele and sword guitar were also introduced. It was also during this period when the ti leaf skirt appeared as a hula dance costume.