In pre-contact Hawaii, the predominant form of dress for women was the
pā‘ū.
This consisted of a rectangular piece of kapa (or tapa, which was
fabricated from the inner bark of wauke (paper mulberry) trees) that was
wrapped several times around the waist and extended from beneath the bust (for
royalty) or the waistline (for commoners) to the knee (it looked like a hula
skirt.)
After contact (and particularly in the early-1800s with the start of
the sandalwood trade in 1810 and then the whaling industry,) fabrics made of
silk, satin and gingham began to replace the kapa fabric for the pa‘u. This was especially true among the Ali'i.
An even more important change in dress began in the 1820s with the
coming of the New England missionaries, who sought to cover the bodies of
Hawaiian women, who traditionally wore nothing more than the skirt.
The missionary wives modified their New England-style dresses to adapt
to the hot, humid environment. They
replaced the high waistline of Western fashion with a yoke.
The end result was a basic design (referred to as a “Mother Hubbard”)
which was simply a full, straight skirt attached to a yoke with a high neck and
tight sleeves.
The missionaries established women's societies that advanced the notion
of modesty.
The diaries of missionary women report that Hawaiian women who had been
Christianized adopted the holokū as daily dress by 1822 and it became standard
dress of all Hawaiian women as early as 1838.
“All the women wore the native dress, the sack or holokū, many of
which were black, blue, green, or bright rose color, some were bright yellow, a
few were pure white, and others were a mixture of orange and scarlet.” Isabella Bird 1894
“At first the holokū, which is only a full, yoke nightgown, is not
attractive, but I admire it heartily now, and the sagacity of those who devised
it.”
“It conceals awkwardness, and befits grace of movement; it is fit for
the climate, is equally adapted for walking and riding, and has that general
appropriateness which is desirable in costume.”
(Isabella Bird, 1894)
Various stories place the naming of the garment very early in its
creation. According to one, the term
holokū was created from two Hawaiian words, holo meaning to go, and kū
meaning to stop.
Wearing the garment for the first time, the Hawaiian women are reported
to have said "Holo! Kū!" Very roughly translated, this means "We
can run in it - we can stand!"
The more commonly cited explanation for the term, holokū, suggest
native seamstresses, when sewing their dresses, would say
"holo!"(run) as they turned the wheel to operate the sewing machine,
and "kū" (stop) when they wished to stop at the end of a seam. Consequently, these two words were connected
and the term is explained.
The holokū was worn with a loose-fitting undergarment, the mu‘umu‘u
(meaning cut-off, shortened.)
Eventually, the mu‘umu‘u came to be worn as an outer garment, as well.
The muʻumuʻu in the early days was a dress for home wear. It was made
full and unfitted with high or low neck and long or short sleeves
It is the more comfortable muʻumuʻu that has challenged the present day
designers to create many variations for home, street and party wear.
Although it originated in Hawaii in the 1820s as a loose gown without a
waistline or train and was worn for everyday wear, the holokū today is a long
formal gown with a train.
For formal events, and other celebrations related to Hawaiian culture
and ethnicity, the holokū is the quintessential Hawaiian gown.
While both holokū and mu‘umu‘u continue to be very important in
Hawaii, it is the mu‘umu‘u that is regarded by most of the world as Hawaiian
dress and the holokū that is practically unknown outside of Hawai’i.
The image shows Kīna‘u returning from church in a drawing by
Louis-Jules Masselot, in 1837, wearing a holokū, as are others in attendance
with her.
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