The Bishop Approves The Hula
I Knew Queen Liliuokalani
by Bernice Piilani (Cook) Irwin
One of the Queen's birthdays was celebrated at her Waikiki home which was situated on the spot known today as Kuhio Beach. The house and grounds were not spacious enough to accommodate her usual number of guests, therefore her customary luau was limited to fifty invitations.
In the morning, however, many scores of callers arrived to pay their respects and to congratulate Her Majesty on her birthday.
We were all grouped around the Queen watching the dancers who were fascinating in their interpretation of the olapa, danced to the accompaniment of chant and drum. Their graceful swaying movements seemed to echo the soft ripple of the nearby waves.
Among the callers that morning were the first American Bishop of St. Andrew's Cathedral and his wife. The Queen, noticing the approach of the Bishop and perhaps thinking that the hula might not meet with his approval, nodded slightly to the performers, signaling them to stop the dance. The Bishop, who had seated himself near me, looked disappointed and protested to me, "Why did the girls stop their dance? I was enjoying it immensely."
I wished the Queen had heard the remark for this was a very different view from that of the ministers in her youth. She would have been both surprised and pleased that a foreigner so recently arrived in the islands had the understanding of the beauty of this ancient art of her people.
Note:
As I was talking to my girlfriend that has entertained most of her life and taught hula, I thought this piece would be appropriate to post.
Replies
"When I was a girl it was considered risque by many to dance the hula. This was due to missionary teaching. However, I can not remember every having seen a vulgar hula in those days. I knew that such hulas existed as, for a number of years, the only hulas the general public heard about were danced in back alleys patronized by foreign sailors and the riffraff of the town. What had been an ancient and dignified art, then became sullied through the encouragement of these men of filthy minds, and this particular expression could then truly be called, "licentious." page 84