Kumu Hula: Keepers of a Culture (1989) - full transcript

(chanting in foreign language)

- I think the challenge
of a person today

is wanting to learn how to chant

or may be beginning to
want to approach the door

to open and enter
into the room in which

one can learn how to chant.

And then in order to
get to that point,

we need to try to
look for that voice,

look for that chanting voice.

To find it in each one,

because, you know, that
chanting voice is in each of us,



even though, probably,
when hum to ourselves

or if you're just singing
at the top of our heads,

and into a song that
we hear on the radio.

It's gonna be a more
Western kind of voice

because that's what
surrounds us today.

It's that Western
kind of singing.

So, the Hawaiian
sound is something

that we should all strive for.

And then it's something
that we should believe

that we can attain.

(chanting in foreign language)

(speaks in foreign language)

(chanting in foreign language)

- You have your different
size of hula drums



that are used for dancing.

You have your great,
big tempo drums,

and then the small bangos.

The size of it makes the
difference of its tone.

And you have a little
small one like this.

(drum)

It has a different sound,

and then you have a real
small, little head like this.

You have a higher sound.

(drum)

All right?

And then if you have a
great, big one like this,

then you have one of those.

(drum)

(drummer sings in
foreign language)

- And your last
motion is here, right,

when you're down, okay?

So that you stay
in that position,

and then you're just showing
the fire you're devising, okay?

So, you move your hands,

and you use to go
one, two, three,

okay, that's two,

one, two, down, one...

All like this.

Yeah. Scooping up,
raising and up, fire.

Okay, try it. Ready?

Go, down! One, two, three, four.

Beautiful, beautiful.

(drummer chants in
foreign language)

- If any of you plan to become
instructors in the art form,

you have to remember
this masculine style

and the more feminine, soft
and gentle style of hula, okay?

So, in this dance, I want
that strength. I want that.

- [Voiceover] Yeah.

- We call it, I don't
know, I'm trying to reach,

just like this wind
blowing right now.

Just strong this
wind is blowing.

That's what I want
applied in the dance.

Here we go,

(speaks in foreign language)

(drums)

(chanting in foreign language)

(speaks in foreign language)

- And welcome to Lanikuhonua.

We're gonna begin the show.

First, we proudly present,
an award-winning halau,

headed by its kumu hula,
John Kaha'i Topolinski,

and the beautiful ladies
and the handsome men of

Ka Pa Hula Hawaii.

(chanting in foreign language)

(drums)

(man speaks in foreign language)

(drums)

(chanting in foreign language)

(dancers speak in
foreign language)

- [Voiceover] We'd like
to bring our keikis

back at this time, and
they'd like to share with you

a tune entitled I Ali'i No 'Oe.

(guitars)

(group sings in
foreign language)

(speaks a foreign language)

- Her questions was

(speaks in foreign language)

which translates as

- [Voiceover] Where
is your hula halau?

- Where is your hula halau?

My hula halau is
on the Big Island,

the island of Hawaii, in Hilo,

and we were born
and raised in Hilo,

and we were brought up in
the hula kahiko tradition,

which means that my grandmother
was originally our teacher,

and she taught us
how to do the hula

when we were little kids,

four, five, six years old.

The hula has been our tradition,

my grandmother with
her uncle before her,

with my mother, and now
with my sister and I.

(drums)

(chanting in foreign language)

(speaks in foreign language)

(speaks foreign language)

- Was the question,

which translates as?

- [Voiceover] Who
is your mother?

- Who is your mother?

My mother was Edith Kanahaole,

and she died a few
years ago, in fact.

Nine years ago.

But my mother was the one
that actually taught us

besides dancing,
taught us how to chant,

and taught us the many kaunas

that the chants have.

(drums)

(chanting in foreign language)

(drums)

- Because we are a halau
from the Big Island,

because my grandmother
was from the Big Island,

and it goes back many
generations from the Big Island.

The eruption of Pele, and all
of these different activities

of the volcano, not only
the eruption itself,

but the steaming, the ups
and downs of the lands

because of volcanic activities.

And also the growth as well,

the kinds of vegetation
that they get there.

All has to do with Pele
as far as we're concerned.

So our dancers are
what we call aiha'a,

and aiha'a is, you stay
close to the ground.

The ground is where we
get our energy from,

so you don't see us leaving
the ground at any time.

Some of the other
dancers may have dances

that were choreographed,
where you have actually

both feet leaving the ground.

In our halau,
that's not our style

because that's where we
get all of our energy from,

from the ground, and the ground
again is representative of,

represents, rather, Pele.

Pele, herself, the
ground is filial.

(chanting in foreign language)

(speaks foreign language)

- And I'm happy to
be here at Hulihe'e,

and sitting here on the video

and talking about the hula.

More especially, we're happy
to be here at Hulihe'e Palace,

where this was also the home

of the last Hawaii's
ruling monarch,

David La'amea
Kamanakapu'u Kalakaua,

who was responsible
for reviving the hula,

after being lost for about
75 years in our islands.

Kal|kaua believed that the hula

is the language of the heart,

and, therefore, the heartbeat
of the Hawaiian people.

Hulihe'e had also
served as the home

for two of Hawaii's great
masters of the hula:

the late Lokalia Montgomery,
who was a teacher of teachers;

and Hawaii's premier
dancer, Iolani Luahine.

They brought the hula back to
Hawaii, the ancient dances,

and taught the
dances to all Hawaii.

I was very fortunate to
take lessons and study under

both Iolani and Lokalia.

Iolani was such a
great dancer, you know,

she never danced the
same song the same way.

So, to be able to
be a good olapa,

you have to watch the dancing,

and Iolani danced

just at what came, you know,

and you have to watch your
feet movements, and just this,

so that the drum.

You feel her, she
was so great that

sometimes when I chant for her,

I get so carried away and I
forget, you know, she's dancing

and just get into a
trance with this lady,

she was so great.

Auntie Lokalia, being
the teacher of teachers,

studied she's very, very
strict teacher, you know,

no talk, no play, no
nothing, just work, you know.

One time, me and Auntie,

Auntie Lokalia was a big woman,

at one time I said to her,

"Auntie, how come,
when you dance,

"all the windows don't shake?"

She lived in this old house,

and when she danced,
the windows never shook.

So I said, "but how come when
I dance, everything shakes?"

She said, "Because you're
not good yet, that's why."

So that answered that question,

didn't answer anymore about it.

(flute)

(chants in foreign language)

In the hula, there are
different phases of the hula,

like going to school, you know,

you start at preschool,
kindergarten,

high school and college.

The hula is the same way.

It takes many, many years
of hard work and learning.

And the first phase
of the hula, you know,

to learn to chant, then to hopa,

then become an olapa, a dancer,

and from there, you
go to another...

(speaks a foreign language)

Finally, you uniki,
or you graduate,

graduation from this
space, like high school.

And, then, you start
again, like college,

and you begin all over again

and be able to become a kuhula,

because today,
everybody has one uniki,

every year, you know.

In all my 49 years of teaching,

I have given, teaching
thousands of youngsters.

I've give only six teacher's
diplomas in 49 years,

so, you know, it's hard work.

And I have so many good dancers,

but lots of people
are good dancers,

but not good teachers.

Some people are not
good dancers, but
they're good teachers.

I know several like
that, you know.

(chanting in foreign language)

To be able to interpret
the dance, you know,

like people say, you know

this halau does this,

and this halau does that.

You know, the Hawaiian language,
especially in the hula,

tells a story, and the
important thing is that

Hawaiian words mean so
many different things.

So one teacher would interpret

this meaning to fit her or him,

and the other one
this way and that.

So when you watch them dance,

somebody says, "Oh,
that one's wrong."

But it isn't wrong,
they're not wrong.

They're just doing their
own manau with this dance,

because the hula, to me,
is the ability to create

one's most inner feelings.

(speaks in a foreign language)

- Good afternoon and
welcome to Kaleiho Kona.

This afternoon, we are
here to perform the arts

that have been passed
on to our generation

by Mrs. Lokalia Montgomery.

This afternoon, we
have presented for you,

Halau O Kaleiho'ohie,

which is in the true tradition
of Hawaiian chant and dance.

My name is Nalei
Aloha Napaepae-Kunewa,

and I am also
Keiki Okoinu Okuna,

as well as my haumana,

and my students are
also from Kona, Hawaii.

(birds chirp)

(chants in a foreign language)

(drum)

The mele that we will
begin with is entitled,

A Ka Luna O Pu'uonioni.

It is in honor of
the goddess Pele.

This mele was taught to me
by Mrs. Lokalia Montgomery,

and it is accompanied
with the ili'ili,

following A Ka
Luna O Pu'uonioni,

we will then do
Ulei Pahu I Ta Motu,

which is a unique
hula that speaks about

a young Hawaiian man who, for
the first time in his life,

sees a foreign ship, and
it is done with the step

that is called the ulili.

These dances have been passed
on from Mrs. Montgomery

to me in our hula halau.

(group speaks in
foreign language)

(percussion)

(chanting in foreign language)

(drum)

(chanting in foreign language)

(drum)

- When you get the title
of being a kumu hula,

to me a kumu hula title is, wow!

Wow, she's a kumu hula!

And I expect you to know all
of the deities of the hula.

I expect you to know all of

the vegetable manifestations
of the deities.

I expect you to know what
kinds of dyes you can make

from all of these different
vegetable manifestations.

I expect you to know how to
make different kinds of lei

and what the different
styles represent,

what the different
flours represent.

I expect you to know how
to translate those chants,

not only at the literal level,

but also the kaunas
of the chants as well.

To me, that is a kumu hula.

So when somebody tells me
that there is a kumu hula,

I have a great deal of
respect for that title,

except today the
title is being abused.

I mean, any Tom, Dick and
Harry and Jane and Mary and Sue

can be a kumu hula.

You know, so they
can just go out

and learn to dance
for a little while.

They don't even have to go out,
they can just watch it on TV

and say, "I can do that!"

You know, and then
they start practicing,

put on their records,
start practicing.

"I can do this. I'll
start teaching!"

And so they pull in
a lot of students

and they start
teaching the hula,

and then, they, because
they are teaching,

they are recognized
as being a kumu hula.

Okay, to me, that
is not a kumu hula.

(speaks in foreign language)

- I am Mrs. Louise
Leiomalama Beamer.

I was married to my
husband, Pono Desha Beamer,

way back, so way back, 1923.

And I learned all of my hula,

everything about
the hula I learned,

from my mother-in-law,
Mrs. Helen Desha Beamer.

- I'm Tita Beamer Solomon.

This is my mama.

I was very privileged to
have three kumu hulas,

my great-grandmother,
Isabela Desha,

my grandmother, Helen Desha,

and, of course, my mama.

Mama taught hula
over 50 plus years,

and I've taught hula over 40.

Mama went off to Bing
Crosby, to with Bing Crosby

the Waikiki Wedding,
and we all went.

I shared our hulas
with Hollywood.

It's a way of life
with us, our hula,

and we dearly love our hula.

Malama?

- Aloha, Mai.

My name is Malama Solomon,
and my sister and I, Hulali,

having been dancing hula
since we were two years old.

- My name is Hulali
Solomon Covington,

and as my sister said, I
am presently the kumu hula

for Beamer Solomon
Halau O Po'ohala.

But because I am also
a school teacher,

our hula has really been
kind of on a part-time basis.

Unlike mom and grandma
whose emphasis was

on the 'auana or
the modern hula,

I really favor the kahiko,
or the ancient hula.

And when I teach our halau,

I do a lot of work with
the wawae or the feet.

To me, the feet patterns
is what's important.

- So we'd like to give
you a brief demonstration,

and Hulali will
choreograph the steps.

(drum)

(chanting in foreign language)

As you can see, in the
Beamer Method of hula,

we use the heel and the hip.

(chanting in foreign language)

This is the reach tap.

It's on the ball of the feet,

and it's connected
with the hips.

The sway,

With the bend of the knee
and the straight back.

(chanting in foreign language)

With the uehe, also we
use the heel and the hip.

(chanting in foreign language)

(speaks in foreign language)

* We should be together

* In a little hula heaven

* Over the silver sea

* Gay and free together

* In a little hula heaven

* Under a koa tree

* Days would be lazy

* And sweetly crazy

* Til skies grew hazy above

* And we'd be all alone together

* In a little hula heaven

* Living a dream of love

(orchestral music)

(singing in foreign language)

* Days would be lazy

* And sweetly crazy

* Til skies grew hazy above

* And we'd be all alone together

* In a little hula heaven

* Living a dream of love

- I've seen the hula
change, you know,

the styles of hula
change, and, of course,

you have hula that comes
from Oahu and Kauai,

you have hula that
comes from Molokai,

you have hula that
comes from Hawaii,

and all of these hulas are
done in different styles

and originally done
for different reasons.

And, so, you'd expect that
our hula would look different.

(drum)

(chanting in foreign language)

(drum)

(chanting in foreign language)

- Whenever you go
to a new place,

you have to feel good
about that place,

so allow the place
to come out to you,

instead of just going there
and taking whatever you can,

make a lot of noise,
and do whatever,

throw things around.

Allow the place
to come into you,

and you feel what that
place is all about.

(ukulele)

(singing in foreign language)

- We're here at Ka Ulu
O Laka in Ha'ina Ke'e,

the most used hula platform

on the island of Kauai.

In fact, in the state,
it's been in continuous use

since antiquity.

I'm Roselle Bailey.

We're the caretakers
of this place.

Ka Ulu O Laka and Kauluapaoa.

We are from the
organization called

Ka 'Imi Na'auao O Hawai'i Nei,

nonprofit tax-exempt
organization.

Our philosophy in our school

is to search for the truth
in the Hawaiian culture,

and to give the dignity
to the Hawaiian culture

back to the Hawaiians
and for everyone

to understand the Hawaiian
people, the Hawaiian culture.

We take care of this
place, and we sponsor

Eiho Ola'an here, or
Uniki, or Aho'okuku.

And that's a major step

because this place
belongs to antiquity.

It is not just
mere preservation,

it then becomes perpetuation.

- This is the district of Kaana

on the island of Molokai.

And this, in the
traditions of Molokai,

the birthplace of the hula.

It was here, many,
many generations ago,

that the hula was
first performed

and kept only within
the La'i La'i family.

And many people from
the outside islands,

from Hawaii, Maui, Lanai,
Kauai, would come here

to his place on the top
of Maunaloa in Kaana,

to enjoy the hula and watch.

Many people for
generations came here

and wanted to learn this art

from this family
that dwelt here.

And it was during the time

of a woman called
Pao Ula Kinauhu,

who was very skillful
in the art of the hula

that people came to her,

begging her to ask to
be taught the dance.

So, she agreed and
told the people

that under the conditions that
they would learn the hula,

this special gift under
her laws and her couples,

and the people agreed.

And many of them
came here to learn,

and there were too much for
Kapoa Ula Kinao to handle.

So to help her with
the amounts of people

that came here to
learn the hula,

she had taught her
youngest sister,

and her youngest sister learned
the hula very, very quickly.

And, at the completion
of her work in the hula,

Kapoa Ula Kinahu Unikitu,
graduated her sister,

and gave her three names by
which she was to be known

and would teach the hula by.

The first name was Ulu Nui,

and the second name was Laia,

and the third name was Laka.

And by those three
names, she left,

and Laka left the
top of Maunaloa here,

and journeyed westward
to the island of Niihau.

And there, she spread the hula.

Then, moving to Kauai, then
Maui back track to Lanai,

and then off in the
distance to the Big Island.

And when she reached
the Big Island,

(speaks a foreign language)

She was very old and, there,
she spread the hula there.

And after knowing that
she was soon to die,

she returned here, back to Kaana

to live out the
rest of her days.

And when she died, the people
buried her under this hill

that we are sitting
here, Punana.

And after her death, the
people praised, Mulu Ka'i

as Mulu Ka'i Kahula
Piko, which means

Mulu Ka'i the
center of the dance.

And as generations
became far removed

from the reality of Laka,

they began to elevate
her and deify her

unto a goddess as
she is known today.

This particular hula
is an honor of Laka

and speaks of her travels
from island to island,

done in punana.

We do for you Huli Ana
O Laka I Lehua Moe.

(drum)

(chants in foreign language)

On the wind-swept
plains of Kauluapaoa,

is a small hill

that is called Pu'u Li'i,

and on this hill,
as legend goes,

was the home of a dog god,

whose name was Poki Komanumanu.

And he was very helpful
to the fishermen,

and the fishermen would
go out past the hill

and into the ocean to fish.

If there was danger, the
dog would howl in the wind.

And when the old Hawaiians
heard this howling in the wind,

they would quickly
come back into shore,

for they knew that there
would be danger approaching.

And during times of war,

the dog god Poki Komanumanu

would turn himself
into a giant cloud,

which covered the whole
flats of Kauluapaoa,

and as the enemy approached,

this thick fog would appear,

and they would lose their way,

many times crashing into
the reef losing their lives.

And the people loved this dog,

and they created this chant
in memory and in honor

of this dog god Poki Komanumanu.

And within the chant, because
of the howling of this dog,

the chant is interwoven
with howling,

glorifying the dog god Poki
Komanumanu of Kauluapaoa.

(drum)

(chants in foreign language)

(howls)

(chants in foreign language)

(howls)

(chants in foreign language)

(howls)

(chants in foreign language)

(howls)

(chants in foreign language)

(breathes heavily)

(chants in foreign language)

(breathes heavily)

(chants in foreign language)

(howls)

(chants in foreign language)

(breathes heavily)

(chants in foreign language)

(breathes heavily)

(chants in foreign language)

(howls)

(chants in foreign language)

(howls)

(chants in foreign language)

- Many people write songs,

but the hula is not like
any other kind of dancing,

you know, ballet's ballet, and
what they did 150 years ago,

the same ballet is the
same thing 150 years ago.

But the hula changes,
because each teacher,

every day is new sounds,

every day the teacher
must create a new song.

And many of them don't
speak the language,

so they take out the dictionary

and literally take these
songs and put it together.

Some ladies would say, "Oh,
that halau is not doing right,

"and this halau is."

They are still doing it right

because they are
translating the song.

Hawaiian songs mean
so many things,

but what was the intent of
the composer is important.

So if he doesn't know the
kauna or the hidden word

in this particular
chant or song,

the songs doesn't go through,

or else, if you're lucky
enough to know the composer,

then you know the
manau of the composer.

- The sounds that I do are
mostly the older songs,

and when I do these songs,

most of the older people get up

and really dance
and sing to them.

But, today, we have a tradition.

We're honoring the young.

We want the young to follow in
the steps of the old people,

and the song that were
doing today is Moani Keala.

It's done for an area
around the volcano.

It's about a, it's a cold area,

it's about a cold wind,
but a friendly wind,

and the sky's
enlightening this girl

to this friendly
wind, which says,

(speaks a foreign language)

Hey, it said, "Here you are."

It says, "You're so cold
but I know you're friendly."

It said, "You're
gonna do anything,

"let's do it before
it's too late."

(ukulele)

(sings in foreign language)

- Today, when students
come to our halau,

they really expect to be
dancing all over the floor

and doing kaholo here
and moving all about.

But when I was young,

we did normal hulas,

which meant you
sat on the floor,

and normal hula is
a sitting dance.

And in a sitting dance,
it's very different

because you have to memorize
all the words of the mele.

You don't have someone
else chanting for you.

And I went through that
for about three years,

but I was really pakiki, real...

(speaks in foreign language)

I stuck it out not matter what.

That's what I wanted,
and I stuck it out,

and I'm happy I did.

Here we have a noho
hula, a sitting dance,

using the puniu, the
coconut shell knee drum.

The dancers will tell you

the story of Kiha
Wahini, immortal,

the goddess of the
island of Maro.

(drums)

(chanting in foreign language)

(speaking in foreign language)

This is my husband,
Charles Kauluwehi Maxwell,

and he's really my support.

Sometimes, I feel
I'm just tired,

he's like, no, you can
do it again, you know.

He's the ahola of the halau,

full of joy and help
and always there,

giving me his kakua, which
I deeply appreciate it.

Sometimes, we don't
tell them, you know.

But I do.

- There's so many different
types of so-called kahiko hula

that I think we're
losing the essence

of the traditional form of hula,

which is the original
olapa that was brought

by the Pele Sisters
from Tahiti long ago.

(drum)

- The Pahu was a very,
very important instrument

in the hula.

And during ancient
times, the pahu was used

for ceremonial
dances, sacred dances

performed in the temples
in ancient Hawaii.

And these dances were
performed only by the men.

These dances were
known as the hula pahu,

hula meaning the dance and,
of course, pahu, the drum.

As the chanter or the
priest beat upon the drum,

to the ancients, it sounded
like thunder in the heavens,

or it sounded like the crash
of the waves upon the shore.

And these are the
natural sounds of nature,

the force and the
power of nature,

and the hula is nature.

It is the force and imitative

of nature through man's body.

And so these two things,
these two forces,

these two natural forces
blended together evenly,

and that is why the
pahu and the dance

were so sacred and so
important to be put together.

(chanting in foreign language)

(drums)

(speaking in a foreign language)

(drums)

- Actually, I think
what the problem is,

is the language.

I know when I was growing
up, and I was a young girl,

a lot of people
spoke the language.

Today, they're
speaking the language,

but they're speaking
more a book language,

and if you take what
your kupuna told you,

and you take what the book
tell you, it may vary.

And so, they're having
this pilikia, this problem,

since the audience does
not know the language.

They're gonna really
dramatize the dance

to get it across, to
get the message across.

Before, just one
wink of the eye,

and a little lift
of the eyebrow,

no more need be said, right?

But that's the problem
that we have, the language,

and if you take the
simplicity and work on it,

I think you can get
the message across.

Original, the way it was.

- Upon the death
of David Kalakaua,

his sister Liliuokalani
inherited the Hawaiian throne.

Along with the regality,
she inherited, too,

the troubles of this
little Hawaiian kingdom.

(dancers speak in
foreign language)

(drum)

(dancers chant in
foreign language)

In 1881, when David
Kalakaua traveled

on his famous world tour,

his sister the princess
Liliuokalani took over duties

as regent to the
Hawaiian kingdom.

(dancers chant in
foreign language)

And one of her first
duties was to travel

upon the royal train Lanakila
to oversee her kingdom.

And it was true that she
traveled from Honolulu

to Mawanalua and then
beyond to Halawa.

(dancers chant in
foreign language)

Upon her journey, as she
glanced about the country,

she marveled at the beauty
of these Hawaiian islands.

Glancing about on that journey,

she marveled to see the
great industry of her people.

It didn't take long before
the train arrived at Mainana.

The place called Pearl City
and this island called Oahu.

It wasn't long,

and the people had been waiting

for her arrival since morning.

She spoke once to the conductor,

"Let us bring our train
to a stop here at Manana."

(dancers chant in
foreign language)

And, there, upon her
arrival, the citizens

and the native-borns
of Hawaii honor Pearl.

Great aloha.

To acknowledge her presence,

the cheers of aloha,

for she was their royal ali'i.

And as the train departed
there for Honoulukili,

swaying back and
forth, she waved

and cheered on by her subjects.

There, at the archway of
the train, where she stood,

turning this way and that way,

with greetings of aloha.

And, so praises are
sung to honor her name,

the name of Liliuokalani,

the last ruling
monarch of Hawaii.

And we will honor the
names of our ali'i

to the dance and
the art of hula.

And so the hula will
continue to live on

among the young of Hawaii.

(dancers speak in
foreign language)

(drum)

- The hula is the most important

part of the Hawaiian culture.

What we have now is remnants
of that past culture,

but it's so important,
because everything else

of the culture has
been obliterated by
the Western culture,

has been intermingled,
has been diluted.

So, if our hula is also diluted,

then we have nothing
pure to go back to.

- You know, I'm
really a stickler

for keeping things traditional,
especially the hula kahiko.

And know what, kahiko
is self-explanatory,

and it means of the old.

But, today, lots of
people write chants

and called this kahiko.

It isn't if you wrote
the thing last month.

But someday it will be kahiko,

because then, it will be old,

50 years from now,
75 years from now.

It's just like our
chants we have today.

But we don't want to discourage

these young people from writing.

This is very important
that they carry on.

But what I think they
should be writing about,

instead of writing
about something old,

because it has already been
handed down to us already,

they should be writing about
things happening today,

so there will be some
kind of history of Hawaii.

(Hawaiian music)

(singing in foreign language)

- [Voiceover] One, two,
three, four, up, down. Aloha!

(applause)

- As I said earlier,
they can stand on here,

as far as I'm concerned.

(mumbles)

But kahiko, keep it traditional.

So that at least
we have something

that still belongs to Hawaii,

and the hula is Hawaii.

The hula is the
history of Hawaii.

Remember, we had no
written language.

Everything was put in your
mind, you have to remember,

handed down from one generation

to the next
generation each time.

- Even if other things are
being introduced to us,

which, you know, I
don't necessarily like,

the continuation of
hula is important.

(speaks a foreign language)

- This is a hula pahu.

It's a very old chant,
a traditional chant,

and it has an important message.

It's a prophesy, and it
tells the people of Hawaii

to hold on to your culture.

It is very, very important.

Hold, hold fast.

(drums)

(group chants in
foreign language)

(drums)

(group chants in
foreign language)

(drums)

- Ladies and gentlemen,

(speaks in foreign language)

thank you for joining us here

at the Kamokila
Campbell Hula Festival

here at Lanikuhonua.

Our next halau to
perform for you

under the direction
of their kumu hula,

Lydia Kauakahi, please welcome.

Halau Kahanuola A Me Ka'ehukai,

and the musical
accompaniment of I Kona.

(Hawaiian music)

(singing in foreign language)

(applause)