Hula Historical Perspectives [Paperback]

Dorothy B. Barrere (Author), Marion Kelly (Author), Mary K. Pukui (Author)

Product Details

• Paperback
• Publisher: Bishop Museum Pr (May 4, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0930897897
• ISBN-13: 978-0930897895
• Product Dimensions: 10.8 x 8.4 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #832,836 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

19 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Mandatory for Hula Students, July 4, 2000

By 

Bill Taylor - See all my reviews

This review is from: Hula Historical Perspectives (Paperback)

This wonderful book gives a complete historical perspective of the Hawaiian dance form known as the hula. The Hawaiians had no writing - their history was entirely oral. So for the history of the Hula prior to the arrival of Europeans in Hawai`i, we are entirely reliant on descriptions of the first European visitors to Hawai`i and on some early accounts written by Hawaiians who learned to write. Source material is scarce. When the missionaries arrived, they were, of course, shocked by the lascivious hula movements, and quickly made it illegal (in public). Fortunately for the hula and for all of us, King Kalakaua (1874-1891) loved the hula and was responsible for a revival that continues today. The annual hula festival on the Big Island - THE MERRY MONARCH FESTIVAL - honors his devotion to this art form. This book covers all of that, plus lots of information on the Hula Heiau (temple) on Kaua`i that is still heavily used today. You have to have this book if you are interested in hula at all.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A must for students of hula, May 31, 2004

By 

David Greenwood (Martinez, CA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Hula Historical Perspectives (Paperback)

This book obviously has humble orgins. Much of it is in a typeface resembling typewritten pages, and it is a compilation of papers written by various authors. However its historical perspective on the initial explorers description of hula, the rites of the halau hula (hula school) and in particular the historical activities of hula on the island of Kaua`i is invaluable to the student of Hawaiian culture and hula. I read it and immediately started buying the other books referenced in it.