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wcerto
Ahonui
USA
5052 Posts |
 Posted - 02/18/2008 : 03:23:10 AM
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What a great weekend we had here on the northcoast -- ice and all. No mattah! Aunty Mapu taught 4 mele ma`i this weekend, three kahiko and one 'auana. She taught some with ipu. After each hula, Kihei would talk story about the chant or mele, giving its provenance, teaching the meaning, explaining the kaona. (Although not much kaona in mele ma`i). One gets a whole new perspective when one remembers that most mele ma`i were written when the person sung about was an infant, so the sentiments expressed in the mele would become a self-fulfilling prophecy. The whole idea was to perpetuate the race. It really was rather sad when you remember that toward the end of the monarchy, there were no heirs save Ka`iulani, who died at such a young age. Was the monarchy doomed to "die out" anyhow? Who knows.
Aunty Mapu's rules: Pa'u worn at your waist, not at your hips. Only put & writing tools on the floor, make sure you move them with your hands. Never kick them with your feet. Anything on the floor, walk around it, not walk over it. No pukas when lining up the rows. Resting position is hands at your waist, not hips. Just below your ribs is the waist. Never hide your hands when resting. Hands in front or to the side, but always completely visible. Otherwise, could be some nefarious goings on with hidden hands. Always do proper warm ups before beginning to dance. She was a phys ed teacher before being kumu hula, so she protects her haumana from injury by ensuring they malama kou kino. When using ipu, never let it tilt so as to spill the mana contained therein. When not using it, keep it sitting upright. If you have pants with belt loops, you better have a belt in those loops and your shirt better be tucked in.
Thoughts from Kihei: ona-ona is correct, actually, instead of o-now-na. He said his and his daughter's research indicates that the way kupuna spoke it as oh-na-oh-na is actually correct and that they (the "academics") perhaps went overboard discounting some of the pronunciations of kupuna. He said that Johnny Almeida's songs were very correct in language usage, as are Dennis Kamakahi and Na Palapalai and Ken Makuakane. He suggested looking at CD liner notes to see if an artist used a language expert on the recording. If so, you could then expect the language usage to be pono. He advised that for Kalakaua, mele have many references to birds such as his mele ma`i, and many mele all through his life, including Ka Ipu Lei Manu. And of course, feathers were so important to the ali`i, witness usage of kahili.
Keep the ears out for a new music group on O`ahu -- no CDs yet, but one coming hopefully soon. His daughter and two very talented gentlemen have formed a group and their music is wonderful. I'll give more particulars about them in a different post.
If you have a chance to see Halau Mohala `Ilima dance, please take advantage of the opportunity. They are not flashy, new style. They are elegantly steadfast to tradition. Understated, gracious, graceful and kolohe when need be.
Oooh-ooh -- I forgot to tell you about one of the best resorces for picking brains -- Dr. Amy Stillman, who teaches at Univ. of Michigan. Wow! She has authored many tomes and has been a consulted expert for many projects. She has worked with various artists on their CDs to ensure authenticity of the mele. She has quite the research library. She is an expert on "Kaulana na Pua" and found the sheet music in the Library of Congress when no one even knew it existed. She is an expert on hula olapa. She is a language expert, and still considers herself a hula haumana. Very modest, but oh so knowledgable. If you ever get a chance to talk to her, take advantage of it. Wow! And hey -- Ann Arbor is not so far away from us.
Mahalo nui loa to `Ohana de Silva. Dr. Amy Stillman and all who made the 3rd Annual Northcoast Hula Workshop a reality.
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Me ke aloha
Malama pono,
Wanda |
Edited by - wcerto on 02/18/2008 07:21:34 AM |
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