HULA Tradition ...

The last time I danced hula with a kumu, Pete and I were living in Manoa Valley.  Our kumu was also our land-lady, recently returned from Paris, Kilohana began a beginners halau at a local health center not far from our Manoa homes.  I had wanted to dance again after many years in between.  My experiences with halau hula has been inconsistent.  While life was going on, I did not include hula.  I had a very fun time while I danced.  It's something that feels good and I long for it, again.

During the Moon of Taurus, my renewed commitment to new beginnings will include believing and allowing hula to be part of my life again.  How that will manifest?  First, I need to believe it possible and ask.  Believing before I see it.  There are dancers here, reading.  I hope this post and the thread of nature worship affirms and encourages your dancing, your connection with caring for the 'aina (the ground of your being, body and Earth) ... it is happening as you dance. 

John Kaimikaua, another loved teacher now in spirit, speaks of the legacy of hula and the island of Molokai.  After you have listened to him, what feelings come up for you?

 Lynn Cook, writer and artist from O'ahu wrote an article called "Hula for health"

Link to the whole article here http://www.islandscene.com/Article.aspx?id=3427


...The mix of women who dance in this halau is a cross section of the community – doctors, lawyers, waitresses, nurses, teachers, executives and writers. Our paths probably never would have crossed if we weren’t hula sisters. We care about each other. Hula sisters celebrate the good times and comfort one another in the not-so-good times. As our kumu says, “Going to a gym is good for you, but you don’t get hugs.”

We dance very traditional hula that challenges our minds and our bodies. We check in for class. We do stretches that our kumu developed with friends who were experts in the martial arts. We warm our muscles so nothing is strained except our brain. Everything we do is in Hawaiian, a language most of us don’t speak fluently. We may warm up to a contemporary Hawaiian language song and then transition into a hula, danced to a chant. The first thing we have to master is the kahea, calling out each verse. As beginners, there is no chance to think about anything beyond the wild hope that our hands, feet and hips will somehow work together to tell the story being chanted by our kumu.

What do you think about this description of halau hula?  Can you relate?

To begin MALAMA I KA `AINA ... we gather sacred plants for hula

This POST IS A PREVIEW of the Workshop "Malama I Ka `Aina, and is accessible to all until Saturday, April 30th.  Beginning Sunday, May 1st, this will be a private registered - reader workshop.   

Cost:  Each of the 4-Part Count On The Moon Workshops is $20. 
If you register for "Malama I Ka `Aina now,
and haven't yet done the first workshop,
the cost is $40.
If you wish to start with Part 1 "The Blessings of Emptiness" only, the cost is $20 

Each new workshop weaves and includes content from the previous one.
Once you have registered and paid for a workshop, you don't pay again.

To register or ask questions about
 "Malama I Ka `Aina" or Part 1:  "The Blessings of Emptiness" 
email us at
ssvardoATgmailDOTcom


Hope to see you here come May Day, 2011. 

Aloha,

Mokihana and Pete

Kumu Frank Kawaikapuokalani Hewett talks about the sacred la'au of Hula ... my favorite line is that which desribes 'OLAPA ... Listen, by clicking on the video above.


Pete and I lived together on O'ahu for seven years.  Since I first left O'ahu in 1971, I have ventured to and from the Pacific coast at least a dozen times.  Our journey together has long been one of being in many places.  While we lived on O'ahu and lived in my family home in Kuli'ou'ou Valley, we enjoyed several annual Ho'ike (graduation celebrations) orchestrated (that's the best verb I can think of) by Kawaikapuokalani Hewett.  They were such happy times, island-style good times, beautiful music, beautiful hula.  Among the students at those ho'ike were two blondie keiki, the daughters of my very best friend, Candace.  We got to see those girls dance two years in a row.  We also saw those girls gather with their halau to celebrate their momma's life when she passed to spirit, too soon, but pass she did.


I have a soft spot in my heart for Kawaikapuokalani and love how the mana'o and oli shared here sprang up on my Internet search as I prepared MALAMA KA 'AINA.  This workshop  begins on Muku, the Hawaiian New Moon in the earthy sign of Taurus.  With the spirit of hula in our hearts, one more Kawaikapuokalani this time chanting ...NOHO ANA KE AKUA.

We begin the second month-long workshop and study group of COUNT ON THE MOON, focused on "Malama I Ka 'Aina" caring for that which sustains or feeds us ... the land, Papa Honua, Planet Earth.  The 'oli NOHO ANA KE AKUA connects us with the gifts of Ke Akua, the Source of all giving.  This time through Kaulana Mahina, we will weave what we have learned, shared and begun to consider about the three anahula (three weeks) of the Hawaiian Moon Calendar with the value of Malama I Ka 'Aina.  From Papa Honua (Earth) we look up into the sky and see Mahina.  We count on her for subtle daily/nightly changes that affect us all on the planet.  Where last month, our first month, we counted the blessing of the 7 'ole moons and attended to those rest times, this month we'll gather energy from the planting, cultivating and noticing of Earthy Taurus in the month of May; and remember to rest when the 'ole moons come, too.  Attending to the moon and her energy, practicing a more nature oriented life is just that, practice.  These workshops are meant to inspire and encourage practice.  Be easy and read, progress at your own pace.  There is time to consider, gather, string lei of understanding.  In this month of Taurus, we'll make ourselves at home with an eye on the moon as well.


Welcome, we are so happy you have chosen to join us. 


Aloha and Mahalo,
Mokihana and Pete