Hawaii is hardly lacking in perceived signifiers, the average individual who may
know very little about the islands still has an image in their minds of what to
xpect if they ever were to find themselves there. Luaus and leis, hula dancing
girls on the beach– many of these previously traditional and culturally significant
practices have been stripped down and simplified for the enjoyment and easy
consumption of tourists.
Colonial conquest kicked off many of these changes and the repeated subjugation
of the Hawaiian natives by foreign interlopers took something beautiful and
unique and forced it to become something they could understand, until it looked
nothing like its origins at all.
An example of this is that of the hula dance. The practice was initially performed
topless, with the women in short skirts and the men in loincloths, and was an
important rite for religious ceremonies. After missionaries encountered the dance
they saw it as immoral and pushed for changes to be made to the dress of its
participants or for it to be banned altogether– which it briefly was due to this
Christian influence. The popular image of grass skirts and coconut bras arose out
of this stigma against naked bodies and remains an enduring image attributed to
Hawaii in a plethora of marketing material.
Hula is still practiced today and should be treated with respect and deference for
the beautiful and complex craft that it is, rather than the cheap stereotype that is
sold.
References:
https://kaimi.org/education/history-of-hula/
https://education.nationalgeographic.org/resource/hula/
https://medium.com/@cindy.rico/hawaiian-stereotypes-c0ca924c2f4b
https://www.globotreks.com/destinations/united-states/hawaii-beyond-the-
stereotype/
https://www.mauimagazine.net/the-heartbeat-of-hula/
No comments:
Post a Comment