The "Hula Girl" and Colonialism

The “Hula Girl” and Colonialism:

How the Colonialism of Hawai’i Affected

Hawaiian Women and Outside Perspectives on Hula Dancers

Rebecca Sharp

908-415-9085, sharpr@rider.edu, rclairesharp@gmail.com

Adjunct Professor Christine Colosimo, Fall Semester 2022

DAN 105: Survey of Dance History

Dance is often viewed as simply a performing art, and while it can be, dance is also an expression of the socio-political identity of the culture it represents. Native Hawaiians often call Hula the “heartbeat of the community.” Hula has passed down native Hawaiian tradition and values through generations, even through the years of colonialism by the United States that has affected the Hawaiian people. Hula as a combination of dance, music, and vocalization has taken on two vital roles for the Hawaiian people: it has established a community bond and preserved the culture of the people despite the Imperialism they faced, and it has been a tool to pass down history and tradition when there was no written language. In addition, Hula has also evolved over the course of the centuries it has existed, as any art form does, but has been able to maintain its traditional roots as well from a conscious effort from many Hula teachers and choreographers (Melana 201). Despite the artform’s ability to maintain culture through a long period of colonization, Hula has become a sexualized form of dance in the eyes of American and other Western audiences. Through the end of the 20th century and into the 21st, it became seen as a dance done exclusively by women wearing little clothing (coconut bras and grass skirts). Hula is not only a feminine dance, but it is done by men as well, who have been removed by Americanized Hula. The hypersexualization of Hula not only hurts the people it targets, but in an economy that has become reliant on tourism, may have effects on the future of this important cultural practice as well.

In order to understand Hula’s importance to the people of Hawai’i, it is first crucial to understand the political history of the island and the Imperialism and colonialism the native people faced and continue to face to this day. The native people of Hawai’i are believed to have initiated the habitation of the island in 400 C.E. It is important to note that because the islands that make up Hawai’i were created by the eruptions of volcanoes, they may not have been easily habitable until 400 C.E, when people of surrounding Polynesian islands, what are now known as Asian Pacific Islanders, migrated there (Huard 7). Similarly to other initial habitants of islands globally, these people consisted of small communities and tribes, which farmed and fished to sustain themselves. Eventually the economic and governmental system of Hawai’i shifted to a centralized power, and a monarchy was formed, initiated by King Kamehameha I. Kamehameha was well liked, and this monarchy was and still is beloved by the Hawaiian people. Sadly in 1919 Kamehameha I passed and a shift occurred in the monarchical system. The head of the monarchy became his son, Kamehameha II, also known as Liholiho. Unlike his father, Liholiho was disliked as he broke traditions, upsetting the Hawaiian people and more notably, weakening an important trust in the monarchy (Huard 11-28).

At the same time as the monarchy developed in Hawai’i, the United States was becoming increasingly Imperialistic. When the United States won the Spanish-American war, the islands of Puerto Rico and Guam were ceded to the U.S. Thus in 1898, the American government became increasingly Imperialistic and saw an opportunity to officially colonize Hawai’i. Five years prior to this, the final monarch of Hawai’i, Queen Lili’uokalani, was removed by United States Marines, assisted by the American businessmen who were slowly taking control of the island through economic means. Businessmen and the United States government saw economic opportunity in the rich and diverse agricultural opportunities of the islands, leading to the colonization of the country (the desire to use the rich land and optimal climate on the Hawaiian islands continues to cause extensive problems for the Hawaiian people today). Under President William McKinley, Hawai’i was officially annexed in 1898, became a territory in 1900, and both Hawai’i and Alaska were made states in 1959 (Huard 31-45).

This statehood alone was a controversial idea, in Alaska but primarily in Hawaii. Due to the racist beliefs so strongly held by many Americans, they believed that Hawaiians were not worthy of the luxury that becoming Americans would supposedly bring them. There was also confusion as to what race Hawaiians were, as at the time the idea of Asian Pacific Islanders was not a well known specific identity. The American government, however, thought of Hawaii more as a land opportunity as it was a perfect location for a military base to establish some control in the Pacific, bridging the gap between the ‘Western World’ and the ‘Eastern World’. While this was all debated in the United States, it was never truly considered that the Hawaiian people may not want statehood, and many of them did not. Becoming a U.S. state would bring Hawaiians less freedoms, and after decades of colonization, was not ideal for the people as a whole (Imada 4-5).

Hula, as an artform, faded in and out during this fraught era of Imperialism for the Hawaiian people. According to the chair of theatre studies at the University of Mainz in Germany, Christopher B. Balme, Hula evolved with the “fortunes of the indigenous culture” meaning that Hula thrived when the people thrived, but when the people struggled, Hula struggled to stay consistent (Balme 3). This was detrimental as Hula was the Hawaiians' way of passing down native history. Prior to contact with Western colonists, it was both a religious and cultural practice that united the people. However, colonists often try to remove anything that holds cultural significance in order to weaken the wills of the people and encourage assimilation, thus after 1820, it died out after attacks from missionaries (Balme 3). This is also because it served as a religious practice honoring the earth which the Christian missionaries who came to Hawai’i did not approve of given that it was not specifically honoring the Christian god. The practice of Hula remained in remote areas, which was necessary as it was revived by King Kalakaua during the period of colonization, but in a different context than it was originally performed (Balme 4).

Similar to the existence of ballet in French courts, Kalakaua brought Hula into the courts as a performance rather than a ritual. This benefited the Hawaiian culture as King Kalakaua was able to help the Hawaiian people regain an identity and retain the culture and indigenous traditionalism that they once had, although it did strip it from some of the more religious aspects it previously contained (Balme 7). Kalakaua, also known as the Merrie Monarch, also initiated Hula festivals, very large events that stood as celebrations of the Hawaiian people and culture. From that point forward it is a much clearer evolution into the dance as we see it today. As the islands were becoming increasingly colonized, the dance became more and more sexualized. A new sexualized form of Hula began to take shape and often served as a form of entertainment for Western audiences (Balme 13).

Like any dance or traditional art form, Hula’s evolution over time was not for lack of trying to maintain its original form and ideas behind it. In a dissertation by Angeline Shaka at the University of California, Los Angeles, different contemporary Hula forms are evaluated and compared to their cultural roots. It is important that these pieces are choreographed by Hawaiians with a connection to the ancestors and the land, as well as being Hula masters, known as kumu hula (Shaka xii). Shaka presents the period from the 1970s- present as a political awakening for Hawaiians and that the Hula in this period reflects and expands on what she calls the Hawaiian renaissance, a rebirth of the cultural practices that are so important to maintaining a Hawaiian identity.

In addition, modern Hula choreographers also use their pieces to reflect on the idea of the “Hula girl” and the history of colonialism that accompanies it. The “Hula girl” is a perfect example of the racism and fetishization of the Hawaiian and other Pacific Island people. It is important to understand how Hula is viewed by much of the world outside of Hawai’i and the impact this has had; “this inventory of hula girl imagery insistently reproduces racial and ethnic discourses that fashioned the hula girl as colonial fantasy: exotic, sexually alluring, female, and available to be consumed” (Shaka 2). The pinnacle of so many socio-cultural issues, the “Hula girl” is an image that is detrimental to Hawaiian women.

The aspects of the dance itself has been misinterpreted as containing sexual movements, when in reality the way the dancers move is representative of the words that accompany the dance and the story being portrayed. The primary aspect of Hula, the swaying of the hips accompanied by rolling hands, represents the waves of the Pacific ocean that the native Hawaiian people sailed over to immigrate to the islands (Balme). In addition, the modern costuming which is sometimes revealing is not to display the female figure, rather it is to pay homage to their ancestors, who used natural materials, like bamboo or gourds, which they would harvest in order to make costumes and instruments. The clothing accompanying Hula has also become much more revealing as the dance has traveled the world and become assimilated into new cultures with differing values.

The issue of the hypersexualization of Hula dancers comes from both an American history of racism and a Western perspective of misogyny. While before colonization Hawaiian women dealt with a somewhat patriarchal system, it was only exacerbated by the colonization of the islands by an even more patriarchal country. The United States o found ways to use Hula for financial gain, as well as a way to familiarize everyday Americans with Hawaiian culture — Hula circuits. The term Hula circuits was coined by Adria L. Imada in her book Aloha America, to describe a phenomenon of traveling Hula performers that spread a more sexualized version of the artform across the United States and other Western countries (Imada 5).

These circuits evolved into troupes of dancers that now travel internationally to spread a performance based, and even oftentimes competitive form of Hula. The idea of becoming a traveling Hula performer or competitor can be very appealing, as it can bring significant financial gains and a rather lavish lifestyle (Imada 4). In Japan alone, Hula has become a multimillion dollar industry (Imada 3). Imada also posits that in the same way that the Hawaiian people were used for their labor on the agricultural land of the islands, the women were used as erotic figures, dancing for the enjoyment of the outside American audience (Imada 7). This is a common theme seen throughout world history by Imperialistic empires and states, men of another race are used for their labor, and women used for their sexuality — time and time again.

As the Hawaiian islands continue to be overfarmed and the Hawaiian people overworked, poverty continues to be a major issue in the state. Unfortunately, leaving their homeland to become professional dancers can be the only way young women see that they can provide for themselves and their families. Some however, enjoy Hula competitions and love the direction the artform is going in. Most scholars on the other hand do not believe this direction is good for the artform, and it will be detrimental to Hawaiian culture. This is why so many Hawaiian choreographers are using their skills and creativity to make the issue of American colonialism and Imperialism better known, and are trying to bring the dance back to the religious, community building, and history keeping form that it was for centuries.

When an entire artform is considered by the outside world to be this exotic and sexual dance that it is not, it can create a negative culture that surrounds it. Hawaiian culture became twisted and commodified into the ideas of the ‘luau’, the ‘hula girl’, and the word ‘aloha’. Once unknown to the American people, these words became common and widespread. While this type of globalization can sometimes benefit communities and be a vehicle for less stereotypical views on outside cultures, for Hawai’i, it was detrimental. The idea of Hawaii became a magical vacation spot that had fun exotic parties, attractive sensual dancers, and a fun word to say hello.

The commodification of Hawai’i was not done by native Hawaiians, but rather by outside onlookers that did not see a rich culture and history of people, but an avenue for capitalistic gain. As it currently stands, we are far enough away from the onset of the colonization and annexation of Hawai’i that Hula educators and choreographers are able to break through the stereotypical views that the commodification of the islands created and are working towards spreading a new more accurate view on Hawai’i. However, being seen by outside audiences is not the only purpose of Hula. These same educators and choreographers are also working to return the Hawaiian cultural identity back to a place where the Hula is the same community building religious and cultural practice that it started as.

The Hula is not the often misrepresented performative dance that can be seen in Western media. In reality, it is a deeply spiritual practice that has helped the Hawaiian people understand their culture and history through years of colonization. The United States used a new age of Imperialism to take advantage of land that was seen as an economic opportunity, without taking into account the very many and very real people that had been living there for generations. Despite the difficulties that the Hawaiian people faced, they used Hula as a way to communicate their beliefs, religion, and history through turbulent political colonization. While the dance was useful in these ways, it was also used against the Hawaiian people when it came to familiarizing American audiences with Hawai’i, and created a hypersexual view of Hawaiian women in the long-run. Hula as an artform may not be strictly political, but its evolution and history is deeply rooted in the politics and economic opportunity that commodified and dehumanized the Hawaiian people.

Bibliography

Balme, C. B. (1999). Hula and Haka: Performance, metonymy and identity formation in colonial Hawaii and New Zealand. Humanities Research, 38(3), 41-58.

Huard, M. L. (2021). America's private empire: Family and commercial imperialism in nineteenth century Hawai’i. [ Doctoral dissertation, The Pennsylvania State University] ProQuest Dissertations Publishing.

Imada, A. L. (2012). Aloha America: Hula circuits through the U.S. empire. Duke University Press.

Melena, L. K. (2021). Stories of learning and instructional practices in traditional Hawaiian hula education. [Doctoral dissertation, Walden University]. ProQuest Dissertations Publishing.

Shaka, A. (2011). Hula Ōlapa and the “hula girl”: Contemporary Hula choreographies of the concert stage. [Doctoral dissertation, University of California]. ProQuest Dissertations Publishing.

Takamine, V. M. (1994). Hula ʻālaʻapapa: An analysis of selected dances and a comparison with Hula Pahu. [Master’s thesis, University of Hawai’i at Manoa]. ProQuest Dissertations Publishing.