The ancient hula honors history, the land, the gods, and the elements.
To dance the ancient forms of hula is to align with the seas, the wind, the land, spirits of place and the myths and legends handed down through time. Through a mix of indigenous peoples and those who later found their way to Hawaiian heiiaus (sacred temples) for refuge, the tradition of hula evolved, but the dances are still alive today, with the traditions handed down generation to generation. The chants are sung in the mele, gourd drums are played, and dancers dressed with items from nature express the tales and imagery of eons past. When the hula dancer from any halau (house of hula) prepares a performance, making leis to adorn the body is part of the ritual.
Plants in Instruments
Large gourds are often used as percussion for hula.
Although some hula dances are done with the voice as an instrument, the gourd -- or ipu -- figures prominently in many songs (mele) or ancient chants. The gourd is equivalent to the drum, used singly, or as two joined together. Flutes made of wood are sometimes used as well, but the gourd is more common. Much ceremony is involved with gourds, with specific customs and traditions applied to proper planting time and the proper people to do the planting. Today, the ipu is seen with almost every hula.
Maile
Leis are worn around head, neck, arms and ankles.
The "lei of royalty," maile leaves are woven together to make an open garland to hang around the neck of the wearer. While most leis are a full circle, maile is more of a drape and is usually made to hang to about the level of the waist or hips. Today, the maile is used for ancient hula by both men and women. This fragrant plant is native to the Hawaiian Islands, and only the leaves are used for making leis. Other traditional times for wearing maile leis are during marriages, graduation ceremonies, births, promotions or other celebrations. In hula, the celebration of life and its mysteries and wonders are announced with each expressive movement.
Ferns, Ti, Kukui
Ferns feature in many hula adornments.
Ferns are made into leis for head wear, wrist and ankle leis and more. A couple of different kinds of ferns can be used. These plants grow in many of Hawaii's jungles and rainy valleys. The kukui nut may be used in hulas, too. It is strung together as a lei and worn about the neck or made into bracelets. Ferns and other vines can be plaited, twined, and mixed with flowers, or the kukui nut can be intermingled with the ferns and worn as a choker for dance. Ti leaves can be strung together for skirts or woven with other vines and materials to create different styles of lei.
Flowers
Plumeria is a highly aromatic, five-petaled flower in the islands.
The beautiful and sweetly scented plumeria and pikake are used in leis during some hulas. These tropical flowers can be added to greenery in hair wreaths or to leis for the neck and limbs. Other flowers grown in the islands may feature in leis for dancing, too, such as white ginger, lihue, hibiscus and orchids. Some orchids grow wild around the islands, and all the other flowers can be found regularly. Although flowers worn in the hair individually may be more modern, the ancient hulas usually have only the leaves, vines or ferns. One way to see the variety of beautiful plants in use for the ancient dances is to attend the Merrie Monarch festival, an annual event with numerous hula presentations and competition.
Tags: ancient hula, handed down, leis during, made into, making leis, only leaves