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PHOTOGRAPH BY PHOTO RESOURCE HAWAII, ALAMY STOCK PHOTO
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By Amy Alipio, TRAVEL assistant managing editor
Editor’s note: Enjoying this newsletter? Next week, we'll be introducing some exciting changes: a new name (Family Field Guide), a new look, and some new ideas to help you explore with your family and raise curious kids. Stay tuned, and if you’re not already signed up, do that here.
I’ve seen my share of hula shows over the years during visits to Hawaii, where I have relatives. But it wasn’t until a trip to Maui a few years ago to watch Hula O Na Keiki, an annual hula competition for solo dancers ages 5-17, that I got a glimpse of the nuances of the dance.
These seriously impressive kids not only had to perform a hula, in both kahiko (traditional) and ’auana (modern) dance styles, but also an accompanying chant in native Hawaiian. The contestants train for months, design their own costumes, and make their own plant-based adornments. Part of the competition involves an interview with a panel of judges.
As I learned, hula is more than just a pretty dance, but a complex cultural and spiritual practice with an ancient history for Native Hawaiians. “Hula is our highest expression of who we are. It’s our language put into motion,” master hula teacher Māpuana de Silva told Nat Geo. (Above, dancers compete in the annual Merrie Monarch festival on the island of Hawaii.)
As Rachel Ng reports, Hawaiian chants and dances honor gods and tell stories about weather patterns, the stars, the movement of the earth, and the genealogy of the chiefs. Each specific curl of the arm—or the precise position of feet or the gentle sway of the hips—conveys meaning.
During the 19th century, the dance was outlawed by missionaries and went underground. A craze for Hawaiian kitsch beginning in the 1930s led to flashy hula shows for tourists that were more like Hollywood productions. Now, Hawaiian cultural organizations are reclaiming and safeguarding a more authentic version of hula both for residents and visitors.
One of the best ways for families to learn more about—and help preserve—hula is to take part in lessons led by cultural ambassadors at many resorts on the islands. Or you might even look up a halau, a hula school, near where you live.
Taking the time to learn more about Hawaiian hula—or other cultural dance forms such as Irish step dancing or Cuban danzón—goes beyond just studying steps. Families also learn respect for the artistry and diligence it takes to carry on lasting cultural traditions. Check out this article for more surprising hula history.
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