Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 32, Number 3, 1 March 2015 — A Christian view on hula [ARTICLE]

A Christian view on hula

Clark found two passages on hula that show the clash between Christianity and Hawaiian culture. Written with an antihula viewpoint, they nonetheless offer insight, because while the writers are criticizing it, they also provide detailed descriptions of performances. Here is an excerpt of one passage from 1858 about an event in Kamananui involving a teacher named Polu and his five male students. "I ko īakou hoomaka ana e huīa, ua kukuīi like īakou, a he mau meīe ma ko lakou mau waha me na leo hoanuunuu, a i ko lakou hooho ana a papai like na īima i na ipu, i ka lohe a ko 'u pepeiao, oia no ka leo o ka Hanehane e uwalo mai ana i ke kula i ka wa lailai o ka po, mahope o ke kuu ana o ke kai nui. O ko lakou mau kino, aole olu mai a koe, me he puhi la ipa i ka laau ka pakaawili lua o na wahi lima, me he ona bia la ka hikaka io ia nei. "O na wahi maka, hoohelelo no a hookokae, aole no he koa mai a koe, oi a no oi ; a i lakou e hoanaanau ana, lele pihoihoi iho la kekahi poe wahine maka keleawe a honi aku la me ka hilahila ole, e hahao ana ina wahi dala ma ka eke a Hagai. O kekahi poe hoi, kiola wale aku la i ko lakou dalai kumukuai no ka lealea; o kekahi poe hoi, ua umeia ko lakou naau, a ua hoikeia ko lakou ano ma ko lakou mau lehelehe i ke kakani o ka aka, hoohenehene lua. "I kekahi wa, uwa ae la ka anaina, lelele iluna na kanaka, oia no ka halulu o ka makani Kona e hoonaueue ana i ke uki o Ukoa. 'He lua ole ke akamai o na keiki o ka pouli i ka lakou oihana, mamua o ko na keiki o ka malamalama .' " "When they began to dance, they knelt together and they chanted on their own with rhythmic, undulating voices. When they called out, their hands hit their ipu together. When I heard it, it was the ghostly voice calling out on the plains in the still of the night after the settling of a rough sea. Their bodies were not pleasant; they were like eels struck by a stick and the writhing of their hands was like a drunkard staggering about here and there. "Their eyes darted about with excitement, not with firm bravery. And as they writhed about in jerking motions, some women jumped with excitement and with sparkling eyes and kissed them shamelessly and threw down money in Haggai's bag. Some people tossed money for the fun of it and some people were attracted and they expressed their interest on their lips as they roared with laughter in teasing. "At times the crowd shouted and jumped up and down, whieh was like the roar of the Kona winds causing the 'uki grass of 'Uko'a to sway. 'The ehildren of darkness are very clever at their work, more so than the children of light.' " ■