Kanawai E Ho'opau I Na Hula Kuolo Hawai'i: the Political Economy of Banning the Hula

Abstract

The Political Economy of Banning the Hula IN 1859 A LAW WAS PASSED in the Hawaiian kingdom that virtually banned the performance of hula.This essay examines why, how, and by whom a legal ban was sought at that particular time.My method for this examination is to read not only the legal documents in the archive but also the newspaper articles and letters concerning hula leading up to the ban, and during the time the ban was in effect, in both the Hawaiian-and English-language newspapers in Honolulu. 1 In 1820 puritanical missionaries arrived, who, we suppose, were shocked by the Kanaka Maoli's (Native Hawaiians') unabashed expressions of sexuality.Hula performance can be viewed as suffused with sexual expression, especially hula ma'i (genital-celebrating hula).It is reasonable to suppose that the missionaries sought to silence this rather obvious public demonstration of sexuality on the grounds that it was vulgar, savage, and a violation of their Christian morals.It was no doubt part of the civilizing process. 2 After a few years, the missionaries succeeded in converting some powerful ali'i, such as Ka'ahumanu.The first ban on hula occurred in about 1830, when Ka'ahumanu was traveling about O'ahu with the missionary Levi Chamberlain and others.The purpose of this famous circuit was to encourage the people to learn to read and write, to instruct the land agents to take care of the Noenoe K. Silva earned her Ph.D. in political science at the University of Hawai'i at Manoa, where she teaches Hawaiian language.

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