Traditional Hawaiian Music & Culture

    This blog will explore traditional music in Hawaii. I chose this culture because with the stress of everything in world plus exams, I want to relax and Hawaii felt relaxing. We all deserve a trip to Hawaii after a year like 2020, but I think my blog will be as close as we'll get to Hawaii for awhile. 

    I want to begin with listing the instruments and explaining how they work and what type of materials they are made from. The first instrument is the Ipu; it is a percussion instrument made from gourds. It comes in two forms; there is the ipu and the ipu heke. The ipu is made from one gourd and has an opening at the top; the ipu heke is made from two gourds and it is closed. This instrument is typically played for hula dancing. 

The next instrument is the kâ`eke `eke. It is described as a drum, but it doesn't look like the average drum. It's hollowed tube of bamboo and they are played by "striking the ground". The instrument comes in different shapes and sizes. This is also used for hula dancing music.

The third instrument is also a drum; it is called the Pahu. The Pahu looks more like a drum and it is one of the most important instruments in Hawaiian music. The Pahu is interesting because it is made from a log, but covered with shark skin. 

The last instrument I want to mention is the ukulele. This instrument was introduced to Hawaiian by the Portuguese. The Portuguese have an instrument called the machete de braga and the ukulele is similar to that. It is a small stringed instrument and most people are familiar with it.

Hawaiian music comes in the form of mele which is like chants. Mele tells the story of their ancestors and dancing is usually performed when the chants are happening. The dancing helps display the emotion that goes into the chants and the dancing tells the stories of their myths or legends.

Hula dancing began as a religious dance that was performed for kings, chiefs, and the community. They wear wristlets, anklets, and necklaces made from flowers and whale teeth. I thought this was a great video because it shows men doing hula.  Hula has primarily shown women doing the dances. The men show that Hula dancing means more to their culture than Americanized versions show in movies and television. I never thought about how much physical training goes into Hula dancing because it looks so effortless and beautiful.  

I had to include a video about women Hula dancing because the women in this video are amazing. They work hard and their bodies experience physical pain too. They talked about how they have bad knees from constantly bending their knees while dancing. I thought it was interesting how the men wear shorter skirts than women. Women used to wear shorter skirts until New England missionaries arrived in the 1820's. They encouraged the women to wear longer skirts to be more "modest".

One of the major artists from Hawaii is Amy Hanaiali’i. She gained popularity is the 90's and is known for her falsetto range. She started in theater and gained her confidence performing on stage. Her experience in theater helped her become comfortable speaking front of people. She been nominated by the Grammy's 6 times for Best Hawaiian Music Album and Best Native Roots Album. She collaborated with a guitarist named Willie K.

Sources:

https://www.homeyhawaii.com/blog/music/hawaiian-music-origins-and-evolution/

https://www.hilohattie.com/blogs/news/the-evolution-of-native-hawaiian-music

https://www.hilohattie.com/blogs/news/the-evolution-of-native-hawaiian-music

https://www.britannica.com/art/hula

https://www.khon2.com/living-808/community-living-808/amy-hanaialii-lends-her-talent-to-manoa-valley-theaters-virtual-fundraiser/