Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
fore the heartbeat of the Hawaiian people.' After the 'Merrie Monarch' died, the mon-
archy was soon overthrown, and hula faded again, until a 1960s and '70s Hawaiian cul-
tural renaissance brought it back for good.
Today, hula
halau
run by revered
kumu
hula are thriving, as hula competitions blossom
and some islanders adopt hula as a life practice.
Celebrating Hula
In hula competitions today, dancers vie in
kahiko
(ancient) and
ʻauana
(modern) categor-
ies.
Kahiko
performances are raw and elemental, accompanied only by chanting and thun-
derous gourd drums; costumes are traditional, with
ti
-leaf leis, tapa skirts, primary colors
and sometimes lots of skin.
Western contemporary influences - English-language lyrics, stringed instruments and
smiling faces - may appear in
ʻauana
dances. Some hula troupes even flirt with post-
modern dance styles.
Hawaii's own Olympics of hula is the Big Island's Merrie Monarch Festival (
Click
main islands. At touristy commercial luau, vigorously shaking hips and Vegas show-
girl-style headdresses might be entertaining, but they're more related to Tahitian dance
than to hula.
Island Music
The sounds of traditional Hawaiian music often feature falsetto singing and three instru-
ments: steel guitar, slack key guitar and ukulele. If you tune your rental-car radio to
today's island stations, you'll hear everything from US mainland hip-hop beats, country-
and-western tunes and Asian pop hits to reggae-inspired 'Jawaiian' grooves. A few con-
temporary Hawaii-born singer-songwriters, most famously Jack Johnson, have achieved
international stardom.
Browse classic and contemporary Hawaiian recordings online - including by Na Hoku
Hanohano award-winning musicians - from Mountain Apple Company
(
www.mountainapplecompany.com
) and Mele (
www.mele.com
)
.
