- 340 pages
- English
- ePUB (mobile friendly)
- Available on iOS & Android
About This Book
Unwritten Literature of Hawaii: The Sacred Songs of the Hula (1909) is a collection of hulas and essays by Nathaniel B. Emerson. Translating previously unwritten songs, interviewing native Hawaiians, and consulting the works of indigenous historians, Emerson provides an entertaining and authoritative look at one of Hawaii's most cherished traditions. "For an account of the first hula we may look to the story of Pele. On one occasion that goddess begged her sisters to dance and sing before her, but they all excused themselves, saying they did not know the art. At that moment in came little Hiiaka, the youngest and the favorite. [âŠ] When banteringly invited to dance, to the surprise of all, Hiiaka modestly complied. The wave-beaten sand-beach was her floor, the open air her hall; Feet and hands and swaying form kept time to her improvisation." As an American born in Hawaii who played a major role in the annexation of the islands as an author of the 1887 Constitution of the Hawaiian Kingdom, Emerson likely saw himself as a unifying figure capable of interpreting for an English-speaking audience the ancient and sacred tradition of the hula, a Polynesian dance often accompanied with instruments and chanting or singing. Combining critical analysis with samples of popular hulas in both Hawaiian and English, Emerson works to preserve part of the rich cultural heritage of the Hawaiian Islands. This edition of Nathaniel B. Emerson's Unwritten Literature of Hawaii: The Sacred Songs of the Hula is a classic of Hawaiian literature reimagined for modern readers.
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Table of contents
- Cover
- Title Page
- Copyright
- Contents
- Introduction
- I. The hula
- II. The halau; the kuahuâtheir decoration and consecration
- III. The gods of the hula
- IV. Support and organization of the hula
- V. Ceremonies of graduation; début of a hula dancer
- VI. The passwordâthe song of admission
- VII. Worship at the altar of the halau
- VIII. Costume of the hula dancer
- IX. The hula alaâa-papa
- X. The hula pa-Ăpu, or kuĂłlo
- XI. The hula kiâi
- XII. The hula pahu
- XIII. The hula Ășli-ulĂ
- XIV. The hula puĂli
- XV. The hula ka-laau
- XVI. The hula Ăli-Ăli
- XVII. The hula kĂĄ-Ă©ke-Ă©ke
- XVIII. An intermission
- XIX. The hula niau-kani
- XX. The hula ohe
- XXI. The music and musical instruments of the Hawaiians
- XXII. Gesture
- XXIII. The hula pa-hua
- XXIV. The hula pele
- XXV. The hula paâi-umauma
- XXVI. The hula kuâi Molokai
- XXVII. The hula kieléi
- XXVIII. The hula mĂșâu-mĂșâu
- XXIX. The hula kolani
- XXX. The hula kolea
- XXXI. The hula manĂł
- XXXII. The hula ilĂo
- XXXIII. The hula puaâa
- XXXIV. The hula ohelo
- XXXV. The hula kilu
- XXXVI. The hula hoo-na-nĂĄ
- XXXVII. The hula ulili
- XXXVIII. The hula o-niu
- XXXIX. The hula kuâi
- XL. The oli
- XLI. The water of Kane
- XLII. General review
- A Note About the Author
- A Note from the Publisher