Hawaii's Musical Culture And History

In Ancient Hawaii, King Kamehameha the Great unified the Hawaiian Islands. After Kamehameha unified the islands he rewarded his loyal followers making them chiefs and letting them rule over the land. Then after Kamehameha the Great died his son Kamehameha III did very little to change the land ownership in Hawaii. But Kamehameha III divided the land into two separate categories with the Act of 1848 “The Great Mahele”. There was the Crown Lands that he kept for himself and the Government lands which were to be split between the commoners, government, and the chiefs. The Great Mahele of 1848 had social, political, and economical effects on the Native Hawaiians.

Before, the land belonged to the gods and not to the Hawaiians. After the Mahele, working class people like the maka’ainana could own land. The laws were changing because when the Mahele came about, new rules were made. Laws were changing to help Hawaii be more wealthy. Another example of a political impact is how lands were being distributed (Hio). Lands are being distributed unfairly because when Kamehameha III distributed the land, the Hawaiians have to work for the people who own the land. The Kuleana Act of 1850 allowed the Hawaiians to own land, but there were certain requirements to own land. Those requirements were that they would have to survey the land, present the claim with the Land Commission and file claim by 1854. People could claim someone’s land if they didn’t live on it for 10 years. This was called the Alien Act of 1850. The Hawaiians that owned land, lost it because they couldn’t pay the taxes, they did not occupy, or care for their land. Hawaiians didn’t have enough money, they lacked knowledge/experience with the law, and missed the 1854

Accordingly as planned, the Mahele began with the king, chiefs, and maka’ainana owning one third of all lands, but as time went on the maka’ainana land began to reduce rapidly (Cachola). Unfortunately, not knowing how to buy land or earn money, the land set aside for buying soon became foreign owned land. Seeming like enough land owned by the foreigners, apparently it wasn’t, more and more Hawaiians could not pay taxes, leaving foreigners with an abundance of land to purchase with little competition. Nonetheless, while land was being taken from the Hawaiians, foreigners prospered, almost taking over all of the land in Hawaii. There was an abundance of land owned by the foreigners and Hawaiians owned almost nothing after removed from their beloved homes.

“An introduction to Samoan music is an introduction to the Samoan people as a whole (Moyle, p1).” Music had a strong, complimentary presence in traditional Samoan life, and is still a powerful presence today. Although, now, the traditional means for Samoan music has evolved along with it. Traditionally, music was the medium used to tell stories, depict lifestyles, emit warning signals, and to transmit many other things for tribes inhabiting the island. Without the need for a powerful method to transfer signals with the aid of technology; modern day Samoan music has modernized and changed to focus more on the storytelling during a performance. Traditional music in Samoa was a product derived from how they lived their everyday life while blending their voices into song,

Hawaiian Folk music was first documented around 1778. Hawaii began a period of acculturation, with the opening of many styles in European music, including the hymns introduced by Protestant missionary choirs. Paniolos, Spanish-speaking Mexican cowboys, were especially influential. They introduced string instruments such as the guitar, while Portuguese immigrants brought the braguinha, similar to a ukulele. In the 1880s and 90s,King David Kalakaua promoted the growth of Hawaiian culture. Throughout this period, Hawaiian music evolved into a new individual style. Hawaiian folk music includes varieties of chanting, called mele and another meant for highly dance known as hula. Traditional Hawaiian music

Lot Kapuaiwa Kalanimakua Ali'iolani Kalani Kapuapaikalaninui, otherwise known and more easily pronounced as King Kamehameha V, was one of the most administratively prepared kings to rule Hawaii. One of his best known accomplishments was perhaps his decision not to uphold the 1852 constitution, but instead to write a new constitution entirely. This was the constitution of 1864 He had a royal birth, and a successful reign, until he tragically died at age 42.

According to the Overthrow of the Monarchy Part 3 worksheet, the overthrow of Hawaii was not fair to the Hawaiian people because when President Cleveland sent a special commissioner James H. Blount to Honolulu, he ordered the troops back to their ship and the American flag taken the down and replaced by the Hawaiian flag. Once President Cleveland saw his report he decided that he will do everything in his power to restore the queen's power, provided she would grant forgiveness to those people who had overthrown her government. Sanford Dole and the provisional government rejected the right of the American president because they thought it will interfere there plans. This means that the United States tried to make Hawaii gain it’s power they once lost. The overthrow of the monarchy was not fair to the

This had a big impact on the Hawaiians because this allowed the foreigners to buy land. Even though the Mahele was to be split a fair amount among all the people living on the islands, that did not work out for the foreigners. The Mahele allowed the foreigners to come to Hawai’i and claim Hawaiians lands, but instead the foreigners decided to buy almost completely all the lands due to the new idea of King Kamehameha III’s royal advisors idea of land ownership. When the foreigners claimed and bought the land, it messed everything up for the Hawaiians such as available

Furthermore, “neither missionary work nor burgeoning exports nor the beginnings of foreign investments called for the extensive [force] of political control” (PDF file)over the Hawaiians. Focusing only on the overall goal of reaching Asian lands, regardless of what the native Hawaiian population wanted, the islands became part of the United States and conquering Hawaii was the first of many steps in developing the American

To start off, Kamehameha l was prophesied to do many feats for Hawaii and wanted to and even inherited being king after Kiwala’o died. For example, in one of my sources it says,”There were reportedly many prophetic signs that he would be a great leader, including

King Kamehameha the III I in january 27, 1848 enacted land distribution acts in 1848. was the leader of the Proposition of the Great Mahele. The proposition was to allow private ownership to land for the first time ever for Hawaii to foreigners. These foreigners were thought to be missionaries or American businessmen, which could make a huge positive impact to the King and his people. Thanks to this ordinance Hawaii was able to assimilate to the Americas in a very profitable way. The land commission The land should be divided into equal thirds. 1/3 for King, ali`i, 1/3 government and 1/3 for the people. The opposing side would argue that the Great Mahele caused Hawaiians to be stripped of land and it may have been correct in certain aspects,

The Hawaiians grew more crops, caught more fish, hunted more animals, and cut down more trees so that they could sell it to make money so that their land wouldn’t be taken away. The Hawaiian people would come close to making enough money to buy their land, but then at this time the konohiki would sell their land for a larger amount of money that the foreigners would offer. But the end result was that the King sold pretty much all the land and the Hawaiians ended up with 1% of the overall land in

In the eyes of the foreigners, the mahale brought many impacts that benefited them and made Hawaii Hawaii. They kept asking Kamehameha III to let them buy land. They wanted land to start companies and plantations that were really booming in that time. According to Richard Borreca of the Star-Bulletin, they also wanted to promote their way of thinking to the Hawaiians, and they thought Hawaiians were being lazy. Kamehameha first let them lease the land, but they weren’t satisfied by that.

Hawaiian is unique among the fifty states, especially in regards to its native music form, which is still preformed, and captivates audiences even today. Hawaiian chanting, music, and dance are not only key parts of life on the island, but have also become cultural icons as well as profound symbols of nature and religion in Hawaii. Hawaii has a rich history, beginning with the early settlers from Polynesia who brought their traditions and religions to Hawaii. Over the years, the inhabitants took those traditions and adapted them to their new home, creating the definitive culture that, even with Western influences, still is a captivating force within the society.

Hawaii, also known as the “Aloha State” is located North of the Pacific Ocean and is known for its beautiful views, lush environment, and most of all, for its traditional dance, the Hula dance. The misconception that I have, along with many other people, is that this dance mainly involves moving your arms and hips from side to side in a peaceful manner. To me, hula dancing is being performed during a luau with instrumental calming music and the dancers are swaying to the beat. In other forms, it can also be very fast paced with the dancers moving their hips in a very quick motion. When I think of Hula dancers in Hawaii I envision that the people performing the dance are happy because it is a celebration of their culture and history. People often forget the importance of hula dancing because tourism and popular culture, therefore it is not appreciated in the form that it should be. Thesis: This essay will look at the cultural importance of the hula dance by evaluating all of its history, variety, and presentation forms.