Love hula, love Hawaii
Mele Kalikimaka is the thing to say on a bright Hawaiian Christmas Day
That 's the island greeting that we send to you from the land where palm trees sway
Here we know that Christmas will be green and bright
The sun to shine by day and all the stars at night
Mele Kalikimaka is Hawaii 's way to say Merry Christmas to you [1]
(Robert Alex Anderson)
If ask people a question that which place has the most beautiful beach, sunshine and full of enthusiasm, I think most people will have the same answer, Hawaii. As we all know, Hawaii is the most famous holiday resort in the world, people who are from all over the world come here to enjoy the beautiful scenery, watch the hula dance and eat delicious food. However, people should also know the culture, which are the symbols of Hawaii, such as hula, chant and mele.
If you 've ever been to Hawaii or see some shows about it, you have undoubtedly enjoyed the exotic, hip-swaying dance called "hula." Beautiful island women and men "act out" the music through dance steps to tell stories, particularly their graceful arm movements. Hula was developed in the Hawaiian Islands by the Polynesians who originally settled there. When Captain Cook arrived in Hawaii in 1779, the Hawaiian people had been dancing hula for centuries. Hula was danced as part of a religious program in the old days. Then, when the missionaries arrived in the 1830’s, they convinced Queen Kaahumanu to prohibit hula because they thought hula was erotic. “It was described like this - "The natives would practice in the hot sun for days on end. Drums pounded, gourds rattled, singers chanted, and hundreds of dancers wearing garlands of green leaves and flowers and dog-tooth anklets moved endlessly to and fro in lines, their brown skin glistening with sweat, with no sign of boredom or tiredness," (Daws, 1968)”[2] And hula was popular after King Kalakaua made it opened in the 1870’s.
Today Hawaiian dance has an added political
References: 1. The lyrics of “Mele Kalikimaka” by Robert Alex Anderson 2. A brief history of hula. Retrieved from http://library.thinkquest.org/J0110077/hulahistory.htm 3. Torgersen, E. H. (June 2010). The social meanings of hula. University of Bergen. Retrieved from http://pacific.uib.no/people/Torgersen/The Social meanings of hula.pdf 4. Fellezs, K. (Spring 2007). Performing hawaiian. New York: Brooklyn College of the City University. Retrieved from http://depthome.brooklyn.cuny.edu/isam/NewsletS07/Fellezs.htm 5. Rowe, S. M. (2008). We dance for knowledge. Cambridge University Press. Retrieved from http://muse.jhu.edu/journals/drj/summary/v040/40.1.rowe.html