On November 23, 2016 Disney’s newest princess, Moana, made it to theaters. Moana is a tale of a young Polynesian girl that is fascinated by the ocean and adventure. As the only daughter of a family of navigators she was destined for greatness. After watching the tale of Moana, I gained interest in the Polynesian culture, specially the dance of the Hula. Yes, we have all heard of the Hula and have seen the ladies in the grass skirts that move gracefully, slowly moving their hips and arms from side to side. I was attracted to the beauty and tradition that is attached to the dance. Hula dancing has a long history, the dance was performed “ritual dance performed for the Volcano goddess, Pele” (Hula Dance HQ). When Hula is performed the men chant while the women dance. The Polynesian’s sing songs and chants that focus on nature, for example trees blowing in the wind or fish jumping from the ocean. One story that I have become familiar with is the one of the white …show more content…
The Polynesian people were very in tuned with nature and I truly felt that it was important to respect nature at all times. The Hula dance is comprised of six simply moves that are arranged differently to create different dances. Laka the Hawaiian goddess of dance, created two Hula groups “Olapa” which is comprised of your younger ladies that move with much excitement and high energy, and the “Ho’o-paa which consist of your older women who move slower and very gracefully. I have watched several videos online about the Hula and as I watch the ladies dance you can feel the power of the unspoken words. They seem to take lots of pride as they perform and very happy and energetic. The scenery is very pretty and the rhythm of the drums is almost hypnotic. The dance of the
Pow-wow is a rich traditional dance embraced and practiced by the various native Indian tribes such as Ponca, Kiowa among others. Often, celebrated with dancing, tribal drums, food and chanting in the circle. It was originally known as Pau wau, a healing ceremony overseen by the traditional leaders. In 1977, as the white man started occupying the Native American lands, their army forced the Ponca people from the northern plains of Nebraska to the Indian lands. Many Poncas lost their lives, however, they were survived by their culture and songs. Pow-wow was then adopted by other Indian tribes who started dancing it in their own tradition way. This essay shall discuss how Pow-wow tradition evolved and why it was so important to the tribal people.
The reason Fancy Shawl dancing is very big because a lot of people are very interest in seeing one dance this style of dance because it really grabs their attention from a perspective. The hard work that their ancestors put in just so they can be where they are now is very sad, but grateful because they are showing them they should not be afraid to be who they was born to be. The most impact that affected the women Native Americans is when the women decided that they wanted to dance with the men. That affected them a lot because that gave the future women who wants to dance that opportunity to dance and when they was blessed to dance with the men in the arena is very praised to them. It gave the men and women equality, because they was able to be in the arena with their warriors as equals. The ancestors that are looking down on the Native Americans that are sharing who and what they are would be very proud of how good the future of their bloodline turned out to
Many dances and ceremonies were performed in order to honor harvests (Keyworth 37). Along with honoring harvests, environmental concerns were the basis for the majority of ritualistic practices and dances (Hill 37). As for religious ceremonies, they were held in “circular…semi-underground buildings” (Burke 8). One tribe specific to California, the Chumas, praised wooden posts that represented a certain power or entity as mentioned in Through Indian Eyes (Walker 272).“[T]he Deer Dance” was another spiritual dance performed to emphasize power, birth, and the deer as an animal itself (Hill 38). “[T]he Brush Dance,” “the Jump Dance,” and “the Feather Dance” were also performed according to The Encyclopedia of North American Indians (Birchfield
Given that this “visit” was more like a virtual experience, I was still able to access a couple of my senses, just as if I was at the actual exhibition. Through the use of anecdotes and detailed images, I am able to see all of the personal experiences an individual had while practicing a particular dance and what it meant to them. In this exhibition, there are ten different dances displayed, including the: Yup´ik Yurapiaq and the Quyana (Thank You) Song Dance, Yakama Girl’s Fancy Shawl Dance, Cubeo Óyne Dance, Yoreme Pajko’ora Dance, Mapuche Mütrüm Purun, Tlingit Ku.éex ' Entrance Dance, Lakota Men’s Northern Traditional Dance, Seminole Stomp Dance, Hopi Butterfly Dance, and finally, Quechua Danza de Tijeras (Scissor Dance). All parts of the exhibit were insightful, but the two that sparked my interest the most were the Yup´ik Yurapiaq and the Quyana (Thank You) Song Dance and the Quechua Danza de Tijeras (Scissor Dance).
When I was very young, my parents would take me and my sister to powwows, which are Native American social gatherings. Singing, dancing, and feasting are all characteristic of the powwow, as powwows serve as a means of experiencing Native American culture. During my time at the powwow held at UCSD, I served as an audience member for many of the traditional Native American performances. Through the viewing of these performances, I gained much insight into their symbolism and significance, and I was also able to contextualize some topics discussed in the course.
General Purpose: To inform Specific Purpose: Inform the class about the Polynesian Culture in Hawaii. I. Introduction A. An obscure but far from obsolete culture, the Polynesians come from a mysterious origin. In fact, little is known about how they dispersed, except that their culture traveled far and wide, adapting as it touched a series of islands ranging from Hawaii, and traveling to Easter Island. B. Polynesian culture still thrives, with as far reaching affects as touching our diet and playing an integral role with basic musical elements.
Dr. Haunani Kay-Trask, a native Hawaiian activist and former professor at the University of Hawaiʻi, discusses the misappropriation of Hawaiian culture in her report “Lovely Hula Hands: Corporate Tourism and the Prostitution of Hawaiian Culture.”
This excerpt relates to the present, due to some Native American tribes and other cultures still practice rituals revolving around agriculture, in order to obtain a prosperous harvest according to their beliefs. Furthermore, as evident in the quotation the women performs a dance ritual, in order to make the earth grow and flourish. Not to mention, the act of performing dance rituals connects to the present, due to it is seen in Native American tribes as a way to obtain something from their god, or as a way to thank their god for all the fortunate occurrences in their life.In addition, as mention in the quotation, the act of performing dance rituals have influenced a vast amount of cultures, and Native American tribes, as well as become extremely
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.
Disney did a good job representing the Polynesian culture correctly. Over the time of making the movie “Moana” Disney spent 5 of those years on the islands. Disney did a good job representing the Polynesian culture because they took trips to the islands to study the Polynesian culture. One of the reasons Disney did a great job representing the Polynesian culture in the movie “Moana” was because for 5 years they took trips to Polynesian islands to study their culture and connections to their ancestors and their respect for nature.
This dance is when “Community members and ritual leaders perform the ceremony guided by various visions of spiritual elders and their stories, songs, traditions, and instructions that have been transmitted orally across the generations,” as stated by Hallowell in the “Time-Binding in the Lakota Sun Dance Oral Tradition and Generational Wisdom,” article (Hallowell, 87). These ceremonies have stories, songs, traditions and instructions that are transmitted orally. Since these are only transmitted orally makes us realize that if these tribes don’t push their young students to learn them, then these traditions will die out. Hallowell also gives us the purpose: “The deepest purpose of the ceremony is to facilitate communal, tribal, and individual renewal that preserves Lakota traditions and values… two essential elements are sacrifice and ethical behavior,” (Hallowell, 87). I see how Hallowell makes a good point on how the two essential points are sacrifice to keep traditions going, and ethical behavior to keep the traditions sacred. Incorporating the Native American culture will not only enhance the performance of native Americans, but will also contribute to the learning experience of the non-native American students (Gentry). For instance the non Native American students will become well educated on topics related to Native Americans. Learning about a different culture from the one that grew up in that culture is a breath of fresh air and you get to see things from a different perspective which helps you grow up
Native American music has many different musical styles. Within every Native American tribe there is a variety of musical styles and instruments. In response to the research that I have conducted, there are three main musical styles that are going to be my point of focus. The Sioux Grass Dance, the Zuni Lullaby, and the Iroquois Quiver Dance are the principal methods which contribute to Native American music.
Dancing, it takes a large part in the Native American culture. The Native Americans have very diverse and different types of dancing.”Religious symbolism is significant even in the human interactions of the dance. Men often symbolize phallic, aggressive supernatural beings and rain-bringing deities, whereas women symbolize actual fertility” (britannica.com).Their dancing explained stories and also the performers dress up. In the different tribes they might have another way of dressing but they also have different backgrounds and they have ceremonies for different
In the history of Native American Music, is the major league of the "Sioux Nation" who are also known to be the first people. They were consisted of "7 different tribes" in the entire Great Plains. They took an advantage of the accessible "horses" which were mainly from "America". They know to be very "family-oriented warriors"(The Great Sioux Nation). It was the main reasons how they manage to be united together as a family. They followed a ritual that the men and women had a set roles which were given. The men usually would be protecting the lives of the family. They would "hunt" and have a war. Women basically would rule the "family life". People who represent the "Sioux" believe in "deeply spiritual". It represents by the dance and music. The "Sun Dance" which was believed to be the most valuable 'religious" used in the
Festival attendees know that hula hoops and impossibly talented hula-hoopers are not hard to find. In fact some festivals, like Wanderlust's 108, even offer hooping workshops to allow you to hone in on your untapped hooping skills.