Responsibility and respect
These are some of the foundational concepts we try to impress upon our members and our community, especially our younger volunteers. In today's world, it is not uncommon to see trash littering our parks, our rivers and lakes, and our streets. We are a community-building organization. By showing others how our actions affect our community and the world around us, we are helping to shape a more environmentally conscious generation. We teach responsibility when we discuss recycling, in the context of the Polynesians, but we also do so through our Costume Responsibility Program.
Through this program, our keikis (young ones) learn to manage their costumes. Each volunteer is expected to maintain and care for the costumes assigned to them, ensuring they are protected, and are kept in wearable condition. Costumes that are lost are expected to be paid for, so there is a large incentive for our volunteers to maintain their costumes.
At the same time, old and worn costumes are often reworked into new costumes for different performances, demonstrating our commitment to using every available resource and not wasting anything that can be reused.
~Te Mau Ta'ata Anuanua
Through this program, our keikis (young ones) learn to manage their costumes. Each volunteer is expected to maintain and care for the costumes assigned to them, ensuring they are protected, and are kept in wearable condition. Costumes that are lost are expected to be paid for, so there is a large incentive for our volunteers to maintain their costumes.
At the same time, old and worn costumes are often reworked into new costumes for different performances, demonstrating our commitment to using every available resource and not wasting anything that can be reused.
~Te Mau Ta'ata Anuanua
Maori Poi Balls
"Poi" is the Maori word for "to beat", Poi were used, many years ago, by the indigenous people of New Zealand, known as the Maori, to increase their flexibility and strength in their hands and arms as well as improving coordination. Wahine (female) dancers perform the Maori Poi, a dance performed with balls attached to flax strings, swung rhythmically. The Poi dance was originally used by the Maori women for keeping their hands flexible for weaving and by the men for strength and coordination required during battle. They were also used as a training aid for ancient weapons like the Mere or Patu (Short club) Traditionally, they were made out of native New Zealand Plants, but here at our local Halau and at all our performances, we use old single use plastic bags.
Tahitian 'I'i
Tahitian 'I'is are hand tassel adornments that are made of combed natural raffia or dried hibiscus bark, with attached wrist loops, the same bark as Tahitian skirts; Te Mau has fashioned these out of plastic trash bags. The i'is (hand tassels) are used to add sound, color, and energy to complement the music and the dancers' movements. The tradition of entertainment in Tahiti once centered on a special guild of traveling performers, called the Arioi, who sailed on great double hulled canoes, from bay to bay and island to island. They usually performed in honor of Oro, their deity of Tahitian dance, peace, agriculture, and fertility.
The 'Uli'uli
‘Uli‘uli rattles are often made from a bottle gourd, filled with seeds. However, the tops are often covered with a feathered top, as shown. When dancers move quickly during a fast dance, the feathers on top of the rattles make for an attractive display. Hula performers can hold one or two ‘uli‘uli rattles by grasping the neck of the rattles, and then shaking and striking them against their bodies as part of the dance movements. Dancers often move a pair of ‘uli‘uli rattles in front of their bodies in circular patterns, in time with the rhythm of the dance. ‘Uli‘uli rattles have been used in hula dance for centuries. Legendary English explorer Captain James Cook and his maritime crew are said to have witnessed a hula ‘uli‘uli dance during their expedition to Hawaii in 1779.
Coconut Hat
Originally from Hawai'i, the coconut hat is made from weaving strips of the leaves of the coconut palm plant together in a crosshatch pattern, in a process called lauhala weaving. (Lau = leaf; hala = hala tree) They can be worn by all segments of the Polynesians community. Woven with fresh green leaves, they will dry to brown and last a long time as long as they're kept dry. They can be woven in a variety of shapes and styles. Professional weavers can weave an entire hat, consisting of between 17 and 24 leaflets, in half an hour.
The Pu'ili
Hawaiian pu'ili are hollow pieces of dried bamboo approximately two feet long that have been split into strips down most of the length. Dancers strike two pu'ili together or against their bodies to create a rattling accompaniment. One might think that "bamboo" was introduced to the Islands, but that is a misconception. The Hawaiian Islands have their own cultivar (breed) of bamboo that is indigenous to Hawai'i, which grows into massive bamboo forests that dot the islands. They come in a variety of lengths, diameters, and shades, from light beige to dark brown.
Ti Leaf Skirt
The ti leaf plant is Polynesian introduced, which means that it was brought to Hawai‘i by Polynesian settlers. Hula dancers would wear ti leaf skirts because the leaves of the plant were a symbol of the goddess Laka. Kï (ti leaf plant) was also known as a resemblance of the god Lono. Hawaiians would lay the leaves of the tree on top of the structures in his heiau (temple) to show their respect to him. It is believed that Lono would take the form of the plant and watch over the workers in the field and make sure they were safe.
Grass Skirt
A grass skirt (more), is a Polynesia costume that hangs from the waist and covers all or part of the legs. Grass skirts are made of many different natural fibers, such as hibiscus, palm, and pili grass, and are traditional clothes in many cultures. They were introduced to Hawai'i by people from the Gilbert Islands (atolls in the nation of Kiribati) in the 1870s and 1880s. Hawaiian hula dancers started wearing them in performances because they were practical; they were dry, lightweight and thus easier to transport. Hawaiians traditionally wore fabric and/or ti leaf skirts. By the 1900s, hula performers wore grass skirts. Some still wear grass skirts today.
Maori Tiki
The hei-tiki is an ornamental pendant of the Maori of New Zealand and are usually made of pounamu (greenstone), It is considered a taonga (treasure) by Maori. However, it is thought that the carved necklace has connections with Tiki, the first man in Maori legend. It is thought to symbolize memorials to ancestors, because they were often buried when their kaitiaki (guardian) died, and would later be retrieved and placed somewhere special to be brought out in times of tangihanga (mourning and associated activities).
Flower and Shell Leis
A flower lei is a wreath of flowers with their stems woven together. It is often used as a welcoming gift or as a parting gift of affection. The lei custom was introduced to the Hawaiian Islands by early Polynesian voyagers. With the advent of tourism in the islands, the lei quickly became the symbol of Hawai'i to millions of visitors. During the "Boat Days" of the early 1900s, lei vendors lined the pier at Aloha Tower to welcome malihini (visitors) to the islands and kama'aina (locals) back home. It is said that departing visitors would throw their lei into the sea as the ship passed Diamond Head, in the hopes that they too would return to the islands again.
Headresses
Headdresses are worn in many Pacific cultures. These headdresses are usually made out of vegetation and/or shells, but designs often include feathers. There is often a great deal of power associated with the headdress. The New Zealand Maori wore feathered headdresses to symbolize power. The now extinct huia feather was highly prized as toanga or "treasures" in later times. Elaborate feather headdresses were signs of nobility, and were worn only be people of high status. Some would wear certain headdresses once they have killed an enemy in battle.
Coconut Bras
The coconut bra is actually a western stereotype that crept into Hawaiian hula and Tahiti Ori in the early 1800s. Made from 2, 1/2 spheres of the inner shell of a coconut sanded and polished smooth, they are tied together with fibrous string, such as flax, or strips of tough material, like leather. It was used by the missionaries to bring a certain amount of "modesty" to Polynesian dancing, since traditionally men and women who danced wore no tops at all.