Na Mea Hula
Hula Case
Before the advent of the written language in Hawai'i, oli and hula, chants and dances, were used to record the histories, events, customs, and phenomena the islands. As there are many genres of storytelling, there are also many styles of chanting and dancing in Hawai'i, depending upon the content of the mele, or song. Oli is chanting that is unaccompanied by any instrumentation. There were genealogical chants that were thousands of lines long, requiring a rapid style of chant called kepakepa. Another style of chant, called ho'āe'ae, was used to express great love for another by elongating the vowels.
The teaching of dance in Hawai'i had a very strict hierarchical structure, with the kumu hula, the hula master, at the top. Hula schools had varied protocols depending upon locale and the training that the kumu hula had received. Knowledge was very important to Hawaiian people and was not offered to all. Before entering the hālau, or dance school, the students would chant out to their teacher, asking for permission to enter the space and to be taught the hula. If the students' plea was accepted, the teacher would respond with chant, giving the students permission to enter the hālau to learn.
Hula employs many different implements. One of the most sacred is the pahu, the drum. The pahu was not only used in the performance of hula; it was also used in the various temple ceremonies to announce the birth of a high-ranking chief. The pahu is usually made of a carved section from the trunk of a coconut or breadfruit tree with a piece of shark skin fastened to the top.