Teacher Nalani told us the true story of the Hukilau that happened on the island of Hawaii, in Laie Bay. In 1940, the LDS church house caught fire and burned to the ground. Desperate to acquire the funds to rebuild a meetinghouse, they took a risk that maybe visiting tourists would buy a ticket to participate in an old Hawaiian way of fishing called the hukilau. ("huki" means to pull, and "lau" is the leafy net) Miraculously, they sold all 500 tickets, earned enough money for a new church.
Tourists loved participating in catching the fish that they'd eat that night at a luau on the beach. One of the hukilau tourists was a Folk Song artist named Jack Owens. As he sat in his hotel room that night, he penned the lyrics to the famous song.
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| Our class worked together to pull on our own hukilau fish net. We were thrilled to discover that we had caught a GIANT fishy! |
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| Hula Dancers tell a story using their hands. "We throw our nets out into the sea, and all the ama'ama come swimmin' to me"... |
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| Another movement in the hula dance. "Where the laulau is the kau'kau at the big luau" |
Hula Dancing was great fun! We learned the trick of getting those hips to sway is all in the knees/legs. When the question was asked whether it is just for girls, Zane was quick to point out that big, strong men also dance. We watched a short video clip of Maori warriors stomping, slapping and chanting the "Haka". Brandon and Tyler then demonstrated their own versions of an intimidating war dance. Very entertaining (and impressively acrobatic)
Oh! And we also learned the origin of the "hang loose" or "shaka" hand gesture. Ask your student to tell you this interesting story.
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