Kaulana Nā Pua

The “King’s Band” (later known as the Royal Hawaiian Band) had its beginning in 1836; it continues today.  Founded by King Kamehameha III, it became a part of daily life by performing for the public, state occasions, funerals and marching in parades.

The band accompanied reigning monarchs of the time on frequent trips to the neighbor islands and brought their music to remote destinations of the kingdom, such as the Hansen’s Disease settlement at Kalaupapa on the island of Molokai.

“The King's Band” members in 1848 signed contracts to serve in the band, noting they "agree to serve under the orders of William Merseburgh, the captain appointed by His Majesty … (and) to meet from time to time for the purpose of practicing and improvement in instrumental music.”

“We agree to play for the king and for the other officers of the government whenever called on by our captain for such reasonable compensation as he shall award, not less than one dollar nor more than three dollars per man for any time not to exceed one day.”  (Hawaiian Star, September 22, 1906)

In the 1880s, the Royal Hawaiian Band played concerts twice a week in Queen Emma Square.

“One of our pleasant diversions was to go to and hear Captain Berger’s band play at Emma Square every Saturday afternoon.  … we all went and sat in the carriage just outside the park.  There was usually a crowd there, as it was very popular."  (Sutherland Journal)

After the 1893 overthrow of Queen Lili’uokalani, the Provisional Government under Sanford B Dole demanded a loyalty oath of all employees, including the musicians of the Royal Hawaiian Band.

Under a revised name, ‘Government Band,’ the musicians refused to do so; the striking bandsmen persuaded Ellen Kekoaohiwaikalani Wright Prendergast, a friend of Liliʻuokalani, to capture their feelings of anguish and pain in a song.  (Nordyke, HJH)

She composed Kaulana Na Pua o Hawaii, also known as Kaulana Na Pua (“Famous are the Flowers (Children.)”)

Click HERE for a rendition of Kaulana Nā Pua by Cyrus Green.

The band was told they would end up eating rocks if they didn’t swear allegiance, a threat that inspired one of the song’s verses: “Ua lawa makou i ka pōhaku, I ka ai kamahao o ka ʻāina,” which translates, “We are satisfied with the rocks, The wondrous food of the land” (also giving the song the name Mele Ai Pōhaku: The Stone Eating Song.)

The song is rich in kaona, hidden meanings, and its sweet melody belies the passions embedded in it. The band members then organized into the “Pana Lāhui Hawaiʻi”, “The Hawaiian National Band”, which under the leadership of José Liborno went to the United States to drum up support for the Queen and for Hawaiʻi’s continuing independence. (RoyalHawaiianBand)

The "Mele Aloha ʻĀina" song first appeared in Hawaiʻi Holomua on March 25, 1893, under the title "He Inoa No Na Keiki O Ka Bana Lahui" (A Namesong for the Children of the National Band).  (Stillman, HJH)

The credit line in the May 12, 1893 printing of the lyrics for "Kaulana Na Pua" also contains a date: February 10, 1893, barely one month after the overthrow of the monarchy.  (Stillman, HJH)

The song was sung on February 1, 1894, the royalist anniversary of the resignation of Royal Hawaiian Band members who had relinquished their jobs rather than sign an oath of loyalty to the Republic of Hawaiʻi. (Nordyke, HJH)

The lyrics mention four sacred chiefs that represent the major islands of the Hawaiian chain: Keawe of the Big Island of Hawaiʻi, Piʻilani of Maui, Mano of Kauaʻi and Kākuhihewa of Oʻahu. The words are treated with a spiritual tone of reverence and respect.  (Nordyke, HJH)

"Kaulana Na Pua" serves as a voice for the native Hawaiians in their protest against loss of self-determination and sovereignty. The powerful and reverent song symbolizes a pride of culture and a plea for understanding.  (Nordyke, HJH)

Today, the Royal Hawaiian Band is an agency of the City and County of Honolulu and is the only full-time municipal band in the United States.

The band performs and marches in over 300 concerts and parades each year including: city, state, and military functions; schools, community centers, shopping malls, retirement communities, graduations, and private events. Weekly public performances are held on Fridays at ʻIolani Palace and Sundays at the Kapiʻolani Park Bandstand.

The image shows Henri Berger standing in front of the Royal Hawaiian Band - 1889.  I have added other images to a folder of like name in the Photos section on my Facebook and Google+ pages.

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© 2014 Hoʻokuleana LLC

Ke Ala O Ka Hua Mele

Himeni & Na Aliʻi Compositions

Saturday, May 11th; Story Session: 5-6:15 pm; Performance: 7-9 pm
Hawaiian Mission Houses Historic Site and Archives

Ke Ala O Ka Hua Mele explores different eras of Hawaiian music. Integrating education with Hawaiian culture, Hawaiian Mission Houses is giving the public an opportunity to sit down and talk story with a panel of scholars, cultural practitioners, and kumu as they discuss the influences of missionaries, Aliʻi and others on the development of Hawaiian music.

Himeni & Na Aliʻi: Hawaiian Hymnals & Compositions by Hawaiian Monarchs
Featuring: Aaron Mahi, George Kuo and Martin Pahinui, the Kawaiahaʻo Choir, Kanani Kawika, Kalena Silva, Nola Nahulu, Kumu Hula Michael Pili Pang and Hālau Hula Ka Noʻeau

Aaron Mahi will moderate the free talk story panel from 5 - 6:15 pm that will include Kanani Kawika and Nola Nahulu.

After the free talk story, you can purchase pupu and drinks on the grounds, or bring a picnic lunch. Purchase admission to the 7 - 9 pm performance and enjoy George Kuo, Martin Pahinui, Kawaiahaʻo Choir, Kumu Hula Michael Pili Pang and Hālau Hula Ka Noʻeau presenting the best in dance and music the islands have to offer.

Saturday, May 11th
Free Talk Story Session: 5 - 6:15 pm
Performance: 7 - 9 pm
($30, pre-event pricing & $35, at the door pricing)

To reserve your tickets, call 447-3926 or book online.
Click here to be directed to the on-line reservation system.

The image is a flyer for the whole series (I am signed up for all.) The first one was great and we are looking forward to this next one.

Hoʻokuleana

Hula

“Hula is not just a dance, but a way of life, an ancient art that tells of Hawaiʻi's rich history and spirituality.” (this is attributed to many)

Hula combines dance and chant or song to tell stories, recount past events and provide entertainment for its audience.  With a clear link between dancer’s actions and the chant or song, the dancer uses rhythmic lower body movements, mimetic or depictive hand gestures and facial expression, as part of this performance. (ksbe-edu)

As hula is the dance that accompanies Hawaiian mele, the function of hula is therefore an extension of the function of mele in Hawaiian society. While it was the mele that was the essential part of the story, hula served to animate the words, giving physical life to the moʻolelo (stories.)  (Bishop Museum)

Today, we typically divide hula into two different forms, the hula kahiko (ancient dance) and the hula ʻauana, (also spelled ʻauwana - modern dance.)

Although the terms hula kahiko (ancient) and hula ʻauana (modern) are used to divide styles of traditional dance, these terms are a relatively recent classification of a practice with a very long history.  The dance has also undergone evolutions throughout its history, often being influenced by the political leaders and situations of the time.  (Bishop Museum)

“In the hula, the dancers are often fantastically decorated with figured or colored kapa, green leaves, fresh flowers, braided hair, and sometimes with a gaiter on the ancle, set with hundreds of dog's teeth, so as to be considerably heavy, and to rattle against each other in the motion of the feet.”  (Hiram Bingham)

“They had been interwoven too with their superstitions, and made subservient to the honor of their gods, and their rulers, either living or departed and deified.” (Hiram Bingham)

A common misrepresentation of history suggests that the American missionaries banned hula – they could not have, they did not have the authority.

However, it is true that they openly disapproved of hula (as well as other forms of dance and activities) as immoral and idle pastime.

As Bingham notes, they “were wasting their time in learning, practising, or witnessing the hula, or heathen song and dance.”

“Missionary influence, while strong, never wiped out the hula as a functional part of the Hawaiian society. Faced with this undeniable fact, the authorities sought to curb performances by regulation.”  (Barrere, Pukui & Kelly)

Despite efforts to eliminate hula, many of the ancient chants and dances were kept alive within families and passed to descendants.  (Bishop Museum)

In 1830, Kaʻahumanu issued an oral proclamation in which she instructed the people, in part: “The hula is forbidden, the chant (olioli), the song of pleasure (mele), foul speech, and bathing by women in public places.” (Kamakau)

Although it was apparently never formally rescinded, the law was so widely ignored, especially after Kaʻahumanu died in 1832, that it virtually ceased to exist.

In 1836, it is reported the French consul for Manila visited Honolulu, and attended a state banquet hosted by the King. Part of the festivities was a formal hula performance.

In 1850, the Penal Code required a license for "any theater, circus, Hawaiian hula, public show or other exhibition, not of an immoral character” for which admission was charged.

“No license for a Hawaiian hula shall be granted for any other place than Honolulu.”  (The law did not regulate hula in private, so the dance continued to be practiced and enjoyed throughout the islands.)

King David Kalākaua’s 1883 coronation included three days of hula performances and his 1886 jubilee celebrations had performances of ancient and newly created dances.

Reviewing older drawings of hula, it is clear that the attire of the dancers is different than what we generally associate with hula attire today (and throughout the last century.)

Men and women were topless in the original hula attire. Women wore a pāʻū, which is a wrap made of tapa cloth. Men wore malos, or loincloths, and other kapa wraps.

Hula attire was expanded with lei and decorations for dancers' wrists and ankles. Originally, some of these decorations were made of whale bone or dogs' teeth.

So, when and where did the grassy/leafy skirt that we know today come from?

Reportedly, the grass skirt was introduced to Hawaiʻi by immigrants from the Gilbert Islands (small atolls that are today part of the Pacific Island nation of Kiribati) in the 1870s and 1880s.

“Hawaiian hula during and after that period (Kalākaua era) influenced and was influenced by the dance styles of other Islanders, such as the incorporation of Kiribati-style grass skirts.”  (Kealani Cook, PhD dissertation)

By the early 1900s, hula performers in Hawaiʻi and the US continent wore grass skirts. Some hula performers still wear grass skirts today.

Today, grass skirts function as the international symbol for hula dancing.  The grass skirts sway with the dancers as they move their hips, creating a fluid movement.  Dancers also wear a variety of other apparel.

The image shows female hula (with dancers in their traditional pāʻū) as drawn by Choris in 1816.  In addition, I have included some other hula images in a folder of like name in the Photos section on my Facebook and Google+ pages.

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© 2013 Hoʻokuleana LLC