XIX.— THE HULA NIAU-KANI 



The hula niau-kani was one of the chissic dances of the halau, and 

 took its name from the musical instrument that was its accompani- 

 ment. This was a simple, almost extemporaneous, contrivance, con- 

 structed, like the jew's-harp, on the principle of a reed instrument. 

 It was made of two parts, a broad piece of bamboo with a longitu- 

 dinal slit at one end and a thin narrow piece of the same material, 

 the reed, which was held firmly against the fenestra on the concave 

 side of part number one. The convexity of the instrument was 

 pressed against the lips and the sound was produced by projecting 

 the breath through the slit in a speaking or singing tone in such a 

 way as to cause vibrations in the reed. The manner of constructing 

 and operating this reed instrument is suggestive of the jew's-harp. 

 It is asserted by those who should know that the niau-kani was an 

 instrument of purel}^ Hawaiian invention. 



The performer did not depend simply upon the musical tone, but 

 rather upon the modification it produced in the utterances that were 

 strained through it. It would certainly require a quick ear, much 

 practice, and a thorough acquaintance with the peculiarities of Ha- 

 waiian mele to enable one to distinguish the words of a song after 

 being transformed by passage through the niau-kani. 



As late as about thirty or forty years ago the niau-kani was often 

 seen in the hands of the native Hawaiian youth, who used it as a 

 means of romantic conversations and flirtation. Since the coming in 

 of the Portuguese and their importation of the itku-lele, the taro- 

 patch-fddle, and other cheap stringed instruments, the niau-kani has 

 left the field to them and disappeared. 



The author's informant saw the niau-kani dance performed some 

 years ago at Moana-lua, near Honolulu, and again on the island of 

 Kauai. The dance in each case was the same. The kumu, aided by 

 a pupil, stood and played on the niau-kani, straining the cantilla- 

 tions through the reed-protected aperture, while the olapa, girls, kept 

 time to the music with the movements of their dancino-. 

 132 



