Welina! Welcome to this blog, a personal journal to document my journey in hula. You are invited to read and respond. Mahalo.
Tuesday, April 27, 2010
Lama
The lama (Diospyros sandwicensis and D. hillebrandii; family Ebenaceae), aka ēlama, is an indigenous ebony hardwood that was important to ka poe hula as well as traditional healers. Lama grew six to fifty feet high and often had galls or abnormal growths on its stem. The bark is black and smooth on small trunks, but rough on large, old trees. The leaves, pale green and glossy, are arranged in one plane alternately in opposite rows. The small greenish-white- or pink-petal flowers grow close to the twig. Lama produces edible bright red or yellow fruit borne in a cup like an acorn. D. sandwicensis is found in all types of forests of the islands from elevations, 15-4,000 ft; D. hillebrandii is found primarily on moderately wet forests only on Kaua‘i and O‘ahu from 492-1,500 ft. None are found on Ni‘ihau and Kaho‘olawe (Kapi‘olani Community College).
The word, lama, means “torch, light, lamp...enlightenment” (Pukui and Ebert). Such kaona was significant to the kupuna. The plant was considered sacred. The wood, which was very hard, close-grained and a rich reddish-brown color when old, was used in building houses for gods and other religious temples (Kamehameha Schools). They were also used for the tide gates of fishponds.
A piece of lama was wrapped in kapa dyed yellow with olena (tumeric) and placed on the hula altar as an embodiment of the hula god/dess, Laka, the sister/wife of Lono, the god of agriculture. Laka presided over the flora of the forest. And the presence of Laka that was manifested in the brightly draped lama signified the enlightenment that one could achieve through hula. Kumu Roselle Keli`ihonipua Bailey describes how the Hawaiians considered the forests sacred as well as “physically and spiritually dangerous” places where people could get lost, hurt or killed. Learning hula, she says, tames the “undesciplined body, spirit and mind, the forest personality.” Lama stood on the altar as a reflection of the hula practice that seeks enlightenment through poised discipline, respect and open consciousness (Ka ‘Imi Na‘auao O Hawai‘i Nei).
The wood was also used in the ancient Hawaiian healing arts. Lama was used to build the enclosure demarcating the place for healing. The structure, which was called the pa lama, was built in one day during daylight (lama) hours (ibid.). The bark, which was edible, was often mixed with kukui (Aleurites moluccana) and ulu (Artocarpis altilis) and applied to sores.
Bailey, Roselle. “Hula – A Way of Life” and “The Hula.” http://www.kaimi.org/hula.htm
Davenport, Cathy. “Hula Plants.” www.botany.hawaii.edu/ethnobotany/.../pdf/HulaPlants-111907.pdf
Kamehameha Schools. http://kms.kapalama.ksbe.edu/projects/2003/plants.
Kapi‘olani Community College. http://www.kapiolani.hawaii.edu/object/lamaplant.html
Friday, April 23, 2010
Thursday, April 22, 2010
Wednesday, April 21, 2010
Hula: A Way of Life
What is hula? According to Kumu Roselle Bailey, hula can mean many things.
poetry and prose of the Hawaiian people, the dramatization and immortalization of Hawaiian lifeline (aho)
recognition of spiritual essence (aka uhane)
discipline of craftmaking
practice of sensitivity with the environment
commitment to integrate body, mind and spirit
loyalty and aloha to the hālau and its kumu
The hula dancer's "job was not only to inspire and entertain and recall and attract, but also give knowledge and truth with spiritual understanding.""We are trained to control our self so we may live with and be of service to our fellow beings without compulsory obligation. We are taught to be sensitive, considerate, humble, protective, unafraid, adaptable, and attractive. We are instructed in the art of healing, though today we depend more upon our medical doctors. We are also trained to enlighten so we may encourage moral and spiritual improvement. Again, because of our life-style this part of the training covers a longer period of time. These objectives are achieved through listening, watching, practicing and praying."
Check out her awesome website: http://www.kaimi.org/archives/hulawayoflife.htm
poetry and prose of the Hawaiian people, the dramatization and immortalization of Hawaiian lifeline (aho)
recognition of spiritual essence (aka uhane)
discipline of craftmaking
practice of sensitivity with the environment
commitment to integrate body, mind and spirit
loyalty and aloha to the hālau and its kumu
The hula dancer's "job was not only to inspire and entertain and recall and attract, but also give knowledge and truth with spiritual understanding.""We are trained to control our self so we may live with and be of service to our fellow beings without compulsory obligation. We are taught to be sensitive, considerate, humble, protective, unafraid, adaptable, and attractive. We are instructed in the art of healing, though today we depend more upon our medical doctors. We are also trained to enlighten so we may encourage moral and spiritual improvement. Again, because of our life-style this part of the training covers a longer period of time. These objectives are achieved through listening, watching, practicing and praying."
Check out her awesome website: http://www.kaimi.org/archives/hulawayoflife.htm
Tuesday, April 20, 2010
Na kumu (and some hula genealogy)
Hālau I Ka Pono is led by Kumu June Kaililani Ryushin Tanoue (right), who was uniki (graduated) by Kumu Michael Pili Pang. Accompanying Kumu June on this day at Pa Hula were Kumu Cherise Mundon (center, a kumu hula sister of June's) and Kumu Maile Yamanaka (left, uniki under Aunty Māike Aiu Lake). Aunty Māiki was Kumu Michael's (ōlapa or dancer) and Kumu Maile's (kumu or master teacher) teacher. Aunty Māiki (Margaret Māiki Souza Aiu Lake) learned the traditions of hula kahiko from Kumu Hula Lokalia Montgomery, among others.
The performance at Pa Hula, Volcano
Pa Hula Dedication (September 6, 2009)
Hereʻs a photo of the Pa Hula of Hālau I Ka Pono at the Zen Life and Meditation Center in Chicago, where Kumu Hula June Kaililani Ryushin Tanoue resides. At ZLMC, she teaches and practices hula (http://jtanoue.wordpress.com/2010/01/01/hello-world/) as well as zen (http://www.zlmc.org/ with her husband Robert Joshin Althouse).
Cleaning Pa Hula, April 2, 2010
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)