In Ohau Island, Hawaii, men perpetuate the tradition of hula dance.
Great Big Story report brings us with this video in the heart of Ke Kai O Kahiki one of the most famous hula schools for men, paying tribute to this ancestral tradition.
Though it is commonly thought that hula is a dance reserved for women – the essential purpose of hula dance is “to communicate with the gods of nature” – in ancient times in Hawaii, the men were the first to dance the hula and the best dancers were selected to become warriors. This school, in a remote and secret corner of Oahu Island, carries on the tradition by telling the history of warriors dancing. To do this, the dancers train hard as their ancient predecessors using nature as gyms with the tools it now offers like in the past: stones, sand, ocean, coconut trees to climb bare hands.
The philosophy of the school led by “kumu” (leader) La’akea Perry is the same as the past, so wanting to perpetuate the ancestral tradition of shaping virgin clay and transforming new adepts into better individuals.
To dance like a warrior you need to train like one