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Post by afriendlychicken on Apr 10, 2010 22:32:06 GMT -5
Hawai'i nei: My beautiful Hawai'i. I thought I'd share my families home land with all of you. I hope the aloha (love) and mana (spirit) of the culture, and people of Hawai'i, comes through in my writings. It's the first time I've ever tried this. I'll start it off with a look at MERRY MONARCH FESTIVAL Week, a celebration of Hawaiian culture, the one time of the year that our sleepy-little-town of Hilo, comes to life. It always starts on Easter Sunday. We have crafts fairs, hula shows, an art exhibition, music concerts, seminars, a parade where all the cultures of Hawai'i are on display, and the most important event: The Hula Competition. Finding images will be tough, but I'll see what I can conjure up. This is King David Kalakaua, Hawai'i's seventh king, nick-named "The Merry Monarch," for his love of the arts, and his re-establishing of the hula and other ancient Hawaiian practices, that were banned by the missionaries. The festival was named in his honor. I'll jump to the hula, which is the most interesting. There are two distinct forms of hula. One is the hula kahiko, which is the ancient form of hula and expressed the ancients views on religion, royalty, birds, sex, just about anything. The hula kahiko includes chanting and the use of ancient instruments: Ipu—single gourd drum Ipu heke—double gourd drum Pahu—sharkskin covered drum; considered sacred Pūniu—small knee drum made of a coconut shell with fish skin (kala) cover ʻIliʻili—water-worn lava stone used as castanets ʻUlīʻulī—feathered gourd rattles Pūʻili—split bamboo sticks Kālaʻau—rhythm sticks No modern instruments are allowed. Everything must be ancient, including the costumes worn. No make-up for the ladies. Sorry. The second is the hula auwana, or modern hula. Basically, this is the hula you will see at most luau's and tourist shows. Men wear aloha shirts and matching pants, and the women wear muumuu's. They dance to modern instruments, like the guitar, ukulele, stand-up bass and piano. The music they dance to can be sung in English or Hawaiian. The hula starts with the Miss Aloha Hula competition. These are the women that the kumu hula's, or teachers, feel are the best, for they must know everything about the hula, and speak Hawaiian fluently. Then comes the hula kahiko. You can see this by the costumes they are wearing. This is the hula I prefer. The photo of the women dancers was taken at the Merry Monarch Festival. Here's a sample of hula kahiko: Finally, there's the hula auwana. I can't seem to find a men's image, but you can see the women are wearing muumuu's. And here's a sample of hula auwana: Well, that's all for now. I want too thank a few of you out there; you know who you are; for suggesting this to me. Just let me know anything you want to know about Hawai'i, and I'll see what I can do to supply an answer. Till next time, Aloha.
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Post by caucasoididiot on Apr 10, 2010 23:36:13 GMT -5
Very cool! I especially liked the hula kahiko. I gather most of what I've seen in the past is the more modernized kind. I'd never even thought of it with male dancers, really.
I'm very curious about the language. Are there a many native speakers of Hawaiian these days?
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Post by afriendlychicken on Apr 11, 2010 2:19:33 GMT -5
Before, not a whole lot. It was a language that was pretty much heading for extinction, until the late 1960's, early 1970's. At that time, there was, what is now called, "The Hawaiian Renaissance." The native Hawaiians of that time gathered together to save their culture. Music, dance, arts, and language was what they concentrated on. The Merry Monarch Festival was one of the events created to save their cultural heritage, as well as to drawing in the tourist. Now, they have Hawaiian immersion schools, in which Hawaiian is the only language allowed to be spoken. It's taught in High Schools, and all the students at the different Kamehameha Schools, must learn to speak it. I was just surprised to find a fact that states 27,000+ people speak Hawaiian at home. So, Ijon, the language is starting to make a come back, and I hear it spoken more and more often.
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Post by spackle on Apr 11, 2010 9:13:12 GMT -5
Yay! Another cool thread to hang out in. Thanks for the hula links, they're amazing. I got to go to New Zealand about 15 years ago (pre-LOTR), and really got into Maori culture while I was there. Some of their dancing seems similar. The male dancing is performed by warriors, to show their strength and prowess. Is male hula the same?
I got to see one of the huge Maori ocean-going ceremonial canoes when I was there. It was on display in a train station, of all places. It was massive! And beautifully carved and painted. Though it was an antique, so the paint was a bit worn from use. Just amazing. Is there an equivalent in Hawai'i? Though again, it was a war canoe. I guess I have the impression that Maori culture is more focused on war than Hawai'ian culture. What's your take on that, Friendly?
The traditional musical instruments sound interesting. Fish skin drums! Neat.
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Post by ilmatto on Apr 11, 2010 11:00:33 GMT -5
I got to go to New Zealand about 15 years ago (pre-LOTR), and really got into Maori culture while I was there. Spackle if you ever get a chance see the old obscure sci fi film The Quiet Earth. Filmed in New Zealand, Maori references etc. The film doesn't focus on it or anything; it is peripheral.
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Post by solgroupie on Apr 11, 2010 11:00:51 GMT -5
very nice, chicken. most of what i know about hawaii is limited to what i learned about it on the brady bunch. it's a place i've always wanted to visit. about the language - do you speak it?
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Post by spackle on Apr 11, 2010 11:43:34 GMT -5
I got to go to New Zealand about 15 years ago (pre-LOTR), and really got into Maori culture while I was there. Spackle if you ever get a chance see the old obscure sci fi film The Quiet Earth. Filmed in New Zealand, Maori references etc. The film doesn't focus on it or anything; it is peripheral. Thanks, ilmatto, I'd heard of it but have not yet seen it. Onto the Netflix list it goes! Speaking of movies... friendly, what are your favorite Hawai'i movies? Are there any that represent Hawai'ian culture well?
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Post by ilmatto on Apr 11, 2010 11:49:52 GMT -5
Speaking of movies... friendly, what are your favorite Hawai'i movies? Besides Tora Tora Tora.
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Post by spackle on Apr 11, 2010 13:43:00 GMT -5
Speaking of movies... friendly, what are your favorite Hawai'i movies? Besides Tora Tora Tora. Right... besides war-a war-a war... uh! Question open to everyone, of course. About Hawai'i in times other than war, hopefully. Are there any?
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Post by callipygias on Apr 11, 2010 14:11:17 GMT -5
I hear good things about Code Name: Diamondhead.
Hey, Chicken, Kanaloa, God of darkness and the ocean, sounds wicked-cool, but... why is Papa a woman?
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Post by spackle on Apr 11, 2010 15:12:27 GMT -5
One thing about friendly living in Hawai'i, and most of the rest of us living in the lower 48 (ilmatto being a noted exception), this thread is going to have a call-and-response sort of rhythm to it. We can load him up with ideas and questions while he's asleep! Good morning, friendly. Sleep well? Now... how about that Hawai'ian mythology? Who are these people calli is talking about, and why is Papa a woman?
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Post by afriendlychicken on Apr 11, 2010 19:16:35 GMT -5
Yaaaaaawn, what's been going HOLY CRAP! I feel like crowfan! Some of their dancing seems similar. The male dancing is performed by warriors, to show their strength and prowess. Is male hula the same? I got to see one of the huge Maori ocean-going ceremonial canoes when I was there. It was on display in a train station, of all places. It was massive! And beautifully carved and painted. Though it was an antique, so the paint was a bit worn from use. Just amazing. Is there an equivalent in Hawai'i? Though again, it was a war canoe. I guess I have the impression that Maori culture is more focused on war than Hawai'ian culture. What's your take on that, Friendly? Hula dancing, male or female, can be about anything. They dance and sing about mosquito's..I'm not kidding. So, yes, there are war and power dances, as well as flirtatious ones. We do have a large ocean vessel, it's called the Hokulea. It's a double-hulled voyaging canoe and was built for a voyage to Tahiti, undertaken in 1976, to prove that the Hawai'ian islands wasn't found by accident. I'm not sure how it compare's in size to the maori vessel, but it's pretty huge. Hawaiians used too fight a lot of wars, especially between the islands. That's the importance of Kamehameha The Great. He decided to unite all the islands under one rule to stop all the fighting. He did not have a Napoleonic complex, as is stated at times. about the language - do you speak it? Unfortunately, no. A few of my relatives do, so if I have any questions, I can always get the answers. I do know a lot of words, as most locals use them in everyday conversations. It's not surprising to hear a sentence that has Hawaiian, Japanese, and English words all mixed-up. We don't know that we're doing that, so when local residents go on vacation, it confuses the heck out of people. I'll get to Hawai'i's Pidgin' English, soon. Speaking of movies... friendly, what are your favorite Hawai'i movies? Are there any that represent Hawai'ian culture well? I actually like Blue Hawai'i. I think the locals are shown quite well in that movie. Most of the time, movies make Hawai'i look like "Little California." Boy, is that image ever wrong. In a book by a physicist I've read, he mentioned coming to Hawai'i from the continent, and it was like stepping into a foreign country. Culture shock is a normal thing for folks who move here, and the average time of living here is only two years, before they move back to wherever they came from. I think the best representation of Hawai'i is in Hawai'i 5-0. Locals really do speak like Zulu and Kam Fong. Let's not go into Tora-Tora-Tora...although Pearl Harbor was , much, much, worse. Hey, Chicken, Kanaloa, God of darkness and the ocean, sounds wicked-cool, but... why is Papa a woman? It's because papa means flat, so the islands were born from a flat platform upwards. The full name is Papa-hanau-moku: The one from whom lands are formed. Most Hawaiian names are chopped off like that, to make it easier to say and remember. You should see the long names some people have. Kanaloa is supposed to be complimentary to Kane, the highest of the Hawaiian gods. Missionaries kind of influenced the stories, and Kanaloa changed to being a Hawaiian version of satan. Milu is the traditional satan figure in Hawaiian lore. Hawai'i mythology is really cool. I especially like stories about the menehune, Hawaii's version of leprechauns. One thing about friendly living in Hawai'i, and most of the rest of us living in the lower 48 (ilmatto being a noted exception), this thread is going to have a call-and-response sort of rhythm to it. We can load him up with ideas and questions while he's asleep! [/i][/quote] Dr. Spackle Johnson, MSTMD! Bad Dr....BAD!
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Post by ilmatto on Apr 11, 2010 19:58:21 GMT -5
Culture shock is a normal thing for folks who move here, and the average time of living here is only two years, before they move back to wherever they came from. I just assumed it was either the cost of living or "kill a haole day" that drove them back to the mainland.
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Post by spackle on Apr 11, 2010 20:36:14 GMT -5
Dr. Spackle Johnson, MSTMD! Bad Dr....BAD! *hangs head, hides in corner* I especially like stories about the menehune, Hawaii's version of leprechauns. Do tell! Please? And let's get this one out of the way early on.... are there going to be poo stories in this thread?
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Post by afriendlychicken on Apr 11, 2010 21:19:22 GMT -5
Culture shock is a normal thing for folks who move here, and the average time of living here is only two years, before they move back to wherever they came from. I just assumed it was either the cost of living or "kill a haole day" that drove them back to the mainland. Those help, too. I've lived through 42 kill a haole day's! Yea, I'm Portuguese, which isn't considered haole by the locals, but still, white is white. (For those of you playing along, in that phrase, kill means pick-on.) There are a lot of us embarrassed by this day, because it lacks the Aloha spirit. It just shows that racism is everywhere. It's really more of a "we don't like the attitude of people from the mainland" kind of thing. It's just a clash of cultures, where a lot of Hawai'i people feel that the "haoles" are trying to change Hawai'i to fit their view of us, instead of changing themselves and fitting in, and accepting the fact of what Hawai'i is really like. I've always felt that most move away because of the high cost of living, combined with not feeling like they fit in. Hawai'i people don't seem too like smugness, and I've heard mainland people referred to as "The Gods," a few times. If you can take a joke, are humble and like Heineken (hear that, crowfan!), you'll fit in nicely. .... are there going to be poo stories in this thread? I'll see what I can do. I do think that's the domain of the Japanese, though. Flatulence on the other hand....
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