1897, the annexation of the Hawaiian islands by the United States of America becomes one of too many stories of colonialism. The rich Polynesian culture of the territory will forever be impacted by the Western invasion, the consequences being particularly devastating for the local language, \u014clelo Hawai\u02bbi. Once the main language, its banning from schools and all official languages will reduce it to a dialect spoken by less than 1% of the population. 150 years after the occupation, and with their language at the brink of extinction, Hawaiians decide to strike back: in the 1970s, the Hawaiian Renaissance was born, a movement envisioned to protect the traditional culture and, namely, the centennial practice under the name of \u00abHula\u00bb.<\/p>\n
The Hula, a traditional dance brought by Polynesians when settling in the islands, is an art that links the knowledge of generations with the transmission of the Hawaiian language. In the dark days of \u014clelo, Hula remained the thin thread that attached the language and culture of the islands\u2019 ancestors to the Hawaiian people, fighting against the tragic fate of many colonized territories. Here, it is important to understand that the Hula ritual contains a special connection between movement and communication. As some Hula masters argue, the essence of the practice is not in the dance itself, but rather in the language. In this vein, the centrality of Hula to Hawaiian identity lies not only in the system of communication it provides, but also in the messages it transmits. Hula songs accumulate centuries worth of information on the land: its history, its sacred places, its secrets.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n Darlene Ahuna - Ke Anuenue<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n