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Hula Ki`i
Hawaiian Puppetry
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The term Hula Ki`i covers a wide
variety of dramatic techniques, ranging from dancers portraying images
(ki`i) of gods, to puppets being manipulated as if they were dancing. The
style of hula ki`i preserved in the Beamer
family uses small hand puppets which are
manipulated by a dancer. At right are
two of Leilehua's ki`i, Hi`iaka and Lohi`au.At the coronation of King David Kalākaua, Kumu Hula Ehu Keohohina presented four hula ki`i. Nathaniel Emerson received four ki`i from a kumu hula who had inherited them from his brother. The kumu hula stated that his brother "gave them to me with these words, 'take care of these things, and when the time comes, after my death, that the king wants you to perform before him, be ready to fulfill his desire.' " Emerson states that these ki`i were used in performances before Kauikeaouli (Kamehameha III) and his queen Kalama, and "his successors since then down to the times of Kalākaua. At the so-called 'jubilee,' the anniversary of Kalākaua's fiftieth birthday, these marionettes were very much in evidence."
The heads of these ki`i were crafted of a soft wood, kukui or wiliwili, covered with a hairy broad-cloth-based wig, and decorated to depict the characters they portrayed. They were about one third life-size, and clothed in loose gowns which allowed the operator to place his or her hands under the clothing and manipulate the body and loosely-jointed arms. A hula ki`i performance was accompanied by ho`opa`a (chanters) who played the ipu heke.
Dramatic interpretations of traditional stories, buffoonery, and audience interaction were features of the performances. The ki`i also may have performed a role similar to that of the court jester of Europe, dramatizing and satirizing the court with more license than that allowed to a human.
Hula Ki`i - Hula done with ki`i,
images, or hula in which the dancer portrays ki`i.
Ki`i Hula - A ki`i, image, used to dance
hula.
"The Maile Sisters" - a set of ki`i hula made in 2005 by Leilehua and used in some of her performances. When performing, the ki`i are clothed. Usually they wear fresh pa`u la`i (ti leaf skirts) and lei maile, though they have other costumes as well. Clockwise from bottom left: Maile Kaluhea, Maile Pāhaka, Maile Lau Li`i, Maile Ha`iwale, Maile Lau Nui.
Leilehua has performed hula ki`i in Hawai`i at the Wailoa Art Center, Onizuka Visitor Center on Mauna Kea, and at the Hilo Palace Theater. She also has performed and taught hula ki`i in Japan.
Leilehua found inspiration for this set of ki`i in the forms of the lava
tree molds of Puna, and in the ka`ai of the ancient chiefs. Like both the
lava tree molds and the Ka`ai, the ki`i are hollow. And all are containers.
The trees held the bones of the trees, long dead. The ka`ai hold the bones
of chiefs, long dead. The ki`i hold the bones of the living. And the mana of
each remains in the containers.
The lava tree molds are filled with the spirit of the trees,
becoming ka`ai of the forest. The `ie`ie of the forest is woven to make the ka`ai
to hold the spirits of the chiefs. The ki`i, made of wood-pulp paper
continues the cycle, forming ka`ai which are filled with the living bones
and spirit of the dancers. Lava tree molds stand in the forest like dancers
at ready, awaiting the beat of an eternal drum.
*
Ho`opuka e ka lā ma
kahikina
Me ka huaka`i hele no Kumukahi
Ha`a mai nā `iwa me Hi`iaka
Me Kapo-Laka i ka uluwehiwehi
Ne`e mai nā `iwa ma ku`u alo
Me ke alo kapu o ke āiwaiwa
Ho`i no e ke kapu me nā ali`i
E ola mākou a pau loa la
E a la, e a la, ea!
He inoa no Hi`iaka i ka poli o Pele
*
Rising is the sun in the
east, with a procession going to Kumukahi
The Frigate birds dance with Hi`iaka and Kapo-Laka in the lush forest
Dancing side to side, they come toward me and to the sacred Divine Presence
Let the sacred ways return to the chiefs. Let us all give eternal praise.
Ahhhhhhhhhh!
In the Name of Hi`iaka in the bosom of Pele
*
(a traditional entry chant for hula
dancers)
The Maile Sisters debuted in April of 2005 in a
performance at the Wailoa Art Center in Hilo. They performed there weekly
through the month of April, with a final performance on April 30 in
preparation for Lei Day. They are have been featured featured regularly
through
2007 at the
Hilo Palace
Theater. Left to
right at the Palace Theater: Kanoe Cummings with Maile Pāhaka,
Makanani Rosenbaum with Maile Kaluhea, and Puakea Sun with Maile Lau Li`i prior to their debut dancing hula ki`i.
Leilehua first learned about hula
ki`i in 1993 at a workshop given by Mauliola
Cook,
Aunty Nona Beamer's protegé. Intrigued by the form, Leilehua continued to study hula ki`i
on her own until Aunty Nona took Leilehua in hand and oversaw her studies.
In 2002, Leilehua participated in a hula ki`i video
production which featured Aunty Nona: Hi`iaka, Lohi`au, and the Five Maile Sisters,
based on a stage play by Helen Desha Beamer, Aunty Nona's grandmother.
Mauliola Cook wrote the screenplay and directed. The video was produced by
the Story Book
Theater of Kaua`i.
In 2004, Leilehua began teaching hula ki`i
under the direction of Aunty Nona through Hawai`iana in
Honomū, a cultural studies group.
According to Yamazaki Sensei, kumu to hālau in
Hamamatsu and Shizoka, Leilehua was the first person to teach and perform
hula ki`i in Japan, when Leilehua and her husband, Manu Josiah, traveled
there to perform in 2006. Three of Leilehua's ki`i are now in the personal
collection of Yamazaki Sensei.
A scene from Hi`iaka's adventures.
Astonishment over the disappearance of the consecrated food.
Maile Ha`iwale, eldest
of the sisters, the brittle maile, can be snappish and vain. The branches
snap easily and must be tied to a center cord for the lei to hold together.
Maile Pāhaka, next in age, is the hedging maile which forms thickets on which birds perch.
Maile Lau Nui is the largest of the maile sisters. Not as strongly scented, but voluptuous and sensual.
Maile Lau Li`i is the small leafed maile. It is very fragrant and on Kaua`i often wili`ia me ka mokihana - intertwined with the mokihana berry. The mokihana has an anise-like fragrance that will last for years if the lei is dried.
Maile Kaluhea, fragrant maile, has the strongest scent. She can be found in the forest on a hot day when her fragrance entices on the breeze, or, after a rain, when her fragrance is released by the tapping of the raindrops.
In legend, the Maile Sisters are forest spirits, and guardians of beautiful princesses - watching over them carefully until at last they are ready for their one true love. When he finally arrives, the sisters lure him to his exquisite fate, and convice the girl that this is, indeed, the one.
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