XXV.— THE HULA IWI-TMAT^MA 



The 1 ula jxri-uinainna — chesl-beatiiiii- hula — called also hula Pa- 

 J/nii." Avas an energetic dance, in which the actors, who were also the 

 singers, maintained a kneeling position, with the buttocks at times 

 resting on the heels. In spite of the restrictions imposed by this 

 attitude, they managed to put a spirited action into the performance; 

 there Avere vigorous gestures, a frequent smiting of the chest Avith the 

 open hand, and a strenuous moA^ement of the pehns and loAAer part of 

 the body called ami This consisted of rhythmic motions, sidewise, 

 baclcAA-ard, forAAard. and in a circular or ellii^tical orbit, all of Avhich 

 AA'as done Avith the precision AA'orthy of an acrobat, an accomplish- 

 ment attained only after long practice. It AAas a hula of classic 

 celebrity, and AA'as jDerformed AAithoul the accompaniment of instru- 

 mental music. 



In the mele uoaa- to be giA^en the poet calls \\\) a succession of })ic- 

 tures by imagining himself in one scenic position after another, be- 

 ginning at Hilo and passing in order from one island to another — 

 omitting, hoAvever, Maui — until he finds himself at Kilauea, an his- 

 toric and traditionally interesting i^lace on the AAindward coast of 

 the garden-island, Kauai. The order of traA^el folloAved by the poet 

 forbids the supposition that the Kilauea mentioned is the great cal- 

 dera of the volcano on HaAvaii in Avhich Pele had her seat. 



It is useless to regret that the ]>oet did not permit his muse to tarry 

 by the Avay long enough to give us something more than a single 

 eyeshot at the quickly shifting scenes which unrolled themseh^es be- 

 fore him, that so he might have given us further reminiscence of the 

 lands oA'er Avhich his Pegasus bore him. Such completeness of A'ieAv, 

 hoAvever, is alien to the poesy of HaAA^aii. 



" Paldni. French, so called at ^Moanahia because a woman who was its chief exponent 

 was a Catholic, one of the " poe I'aLlni."' Much odium has been laid to the charge of tlie 

 hula on account of the supposed indecency of the motion termed ami. Tliere can he no 

 doubt that the ami was at times used to represent actions nntit for p\iblic view, and so far 

 tlie blame is just. But the ami did not necessarily nor always represent ot)Scenity. antl to 

 this extent the hula has been unjustly maligned. 



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