The World Invitational Hula Festival is a three-day event that perpetuates Hawaiian culture as a celebration of the artistic rendering of the Hawaiian hula dance. The festival is in its 20th year of production and is the largest and farthest reaching event of its kind.
Thousands of participants from 16 countries have honed their hula skills throughout the years and participated in hundreds of events to secure travel to Hawaii each November. Hula artists from American Samoa, Canada, Germany, Guam, the Netherlands, Iran, Japan (14+ cities), Korea, Marianas, Mexico, Namibia, New Zealand, Pakistan, Philippines, Sweden, the continental U.S. (12+ cities), Western Samoa, and Hawaii participate in this on-going celebration of Hawaiian culture, art, music, dance, language, history and all natural things in the Hawaiian environment.
The music of Hawaii includes an array of traditional and popular styles, ranging from native Hawaiian folk music to modern rock and hip hop. Hawaii's musical contributions to the music of the United States are out of proportion to the state's small size. Styles like slack-key guitar are well known worldwide, while Hawaiian-tinged music is a frequent part of Hollywood soundtracks. Hawaii also made a contribution to country music with the introduction of the steel guitar. In addition, the music which began to be played by Puerto Ricans in Hawaii in the early 1900s is called cachi cachi music, on the islands of Hawaii.
Hula is a Polynesian dance form accompanied by chant (Oli) or song. It was developed in the Hawaiian Islands by the Polynesians who originally settled there. The hula dramatizes or portrays the words of the oli or mele in a visual dance form.
The Merrie Monarch Festival is a week-long cultural festival that takes place annually in Hilo, Hawaii during the week after Easter. It honors King David Kalākaua, who was called the "Merrie Monarch" for his patronage of the arts and is credited with restoring many Hawaiian cultural traditions during his reign, including the hula. Many hālau hula (schools), including some from the U.S. mainland and some international performers, attend the festival each year to participate in exhibitions and competitions. The festival has received worldwide attention and is considered the most prestigious of all hula contests.
Native Hawaiians, or simply Hawaiians, are the Indigenous Polynesian people of the Hawaiian Islands. The traditional name of the Hawaiian people is Kānaka Maoli.
A lei is a garland or wreath common in Hawai'i and across Polynesia. More loosely defined, a lei is any series of objects strung together with the intent to be worn. Lei of various styles are given as gifts to honour people throughout the Pacific, being presented, for example, to visiting dignitaries, graduates, or to loved ones who are departing.
The Aloha Festivals are an annual series of free cultural celebrations observed in the state of Hawaii in the United States. It is the only statewide cultural festival in the nation. Highlights include the presentation of the Royal Court, a ho'olaule'a in Waikiki, and the Floral Parade. Approximately 30,000 people volunteer to plan, organize, and provide labor for the Aloha Festivals each year. Their efforts entertain over 1,000,000 people from throughout the state and visitors from all over the world.
Festál is a free series of annual ethnically-related festivals that take place on the grounds of Seattle Center in Seattle, Washington. A major cultural program of Seattle, these festivals aim to celebrate and connect the city to its varied ethnic and international community. Most festivals contain various arts performances, dances, marketplace and other programs. These have also come to be the annual gathering place for ethnic groups of the community. Both older and younger people attend, especially the dances and musical concerts.
The Polynesian Cultural Center (PCC) is a family-centered cultural tourist attraction and living museum located in Laie, on the northern shore of Oahu, Hawaii. The PCC is owned by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, was dedicated on October 12, 1963, and occupies 42 acres of land belonging to nearby Brigham Young University–Hawaii (BYU-Hawaii).
The traditional culture of Samoa is a communal way of life based on Fa'a Samoa, the unique socio-political culture. In Samoan culture, most activities are done together. The traditional living quarters, or fale (houses), contain no walls and up to 20 people may sleep on the ground in the same fale. During the day, the fale is used for chatting and relaxing. One's family is viewed as an integral part of a person's life. The aiga or extended family lives and works together. Elders in the family are greatly respected and hold the highest status, and this may be seen at a traditional Sunday umu.
Polynesian culture is the culture of the indigenous peoples of Polynesia who share common traits in language, customs and society. The development of Polynesian culture is typically divided into four different historical eras:
The culture of the Native Hawaiians is about 1,500 years old and has its origins in the Polynesians who voyaged to and settled Hawaii. Polynesia is made of multiple islands that include Hawaii, New Zealand, Samoa, among others within the Pacific Ocean. These voyagers developed Hawaiian cuisine, Hawaiian art, and the Native Hawaiian religion.
Māhū in Native Hawaiian and Tahitian cultures are third gender people with traditional spiritual and social roles within the culture, similar to Tongan fakaleiti and Samoan fa'afafine. Historically māhū were male at birth, but in modern usage māhū can refer to a variety of genders and sexual orientations.
A war dance is a dance involving mock combat, usually in reference to tribal warrior societies where such dances were performed as a ritual connected with endemic warfare. Martial arts in various cultures can be performed in dance-like settings for various reasons, such as for evoking ferocity in preparation for battle or showing off skill in a more stylized manner. It could also be for celebration of valor and conquest. Many such martial arts incorporate music, especially strong percussive rhythms.
A grass skirt is a costume and garment made with layers of plant fibres such as grasses (Poaceae) and leaves that is fastened at the waistline.
George Lanakilakekiahialiʻi Naʻope, born in Kalihi, Hawaiʻi and raised in Hilo, was a celebrated kumu hula, master Hawaiian chanter, and leading advocate and preservationist of native Hawaiian culture worldwide. He taught hula dancing for over sixty years in Hawaiʻi, Japan, Guam, Australia, Germany, England, North America, and South America.
The Festival of Pacific Arts, Pacific Arts Festival, or FESTPAC is a traveling festival hosted every four years, in the same year as the Summer Olympics, by a different country in Oceania (map). It was conceived by the Pacific Community as a means to stem erosion of traditional cultural practices by sharing and exchanging culture at each festival. The major theme of the festival is traditional song and dance. The 2008 Festival of Pacific Arts was hosted by American Samoa from 20 July to 2 August 2008; it was the 10th Festival of Pacific Arts.
ʻIolani Luahine, born Harriet Lanihau Makekau, was a native Hawaiian kumu hula, dancer, chanter and teacher, who was considered the high priestess of the ancient hula. The New York Times wrote that she was "regarded as Hawaii's last great exponent of the sacred hula ceremony," and the Honolulu Advertiser wrote: "In her ancient dances, she was the poet of the Hawaiian people." The ʻIolani Luahine Hula Festival was established in her memory, and awards a scholarship award each year to encourage a student to continue the study of hula.
Margaret Maiki Souza Aiu Lake was a hula dancer, kumu hula, hula teacher, and influential figure in the second Hawaiian Renaissance because of her revolutionary teaching techniques. Because of her work she was recognized as the "Mother of Hawaiian Renaissance." Many of her students became teachers themselves making her the "most important hula teacher of the 20th century."
Lei Day is a statewide celebration in Hawaii. The celebration begins in the morning of May first every year and continues into the next day. Lei day was established as a holiday in 1929. Each Hawaiian island has a different type of lei for its people to wear in the celebration. The festivities have consistently grown each year and the state of Hawaii has changed the location of the event. Lei day was first held in the Courts and Town Halls but has since been moved to Kapi'olani park.
Chief Sielu Avea is a Samoan-born Hawaiian comedian and ambassador of Polynesian culture. Since 2012 he has been the producer and host of Chief's Luau, a Hawaiian Lūʻau on Oahu.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply. Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.
