The Hawaiian star. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu]) 1893-1912, 1894-03-21
OUR SEA- SIDE SUBURB.
RccoIIcctiuus OF visit to Honolulu
Long Branch by Wcll-knuwn
American Author.

Concluded from Yesterday.
Well. I'll try again to gather that
,arty down ut Waikiki Early in the
vening there was good deal of taro-
,atch playing aud singing, not vigorous ,
v done, nor with set purpose and malice
,repense. but fragmentary, andinciden-
al. one might say. to the climate and
he moon: "A pretty little solo from one
,orner of the lanai where the moon
not to penetrate, and the
,olored lamps only dimlv lighted; a
chorus from group on the lawn that
might be broken by a laugh; or a softly
sensuous duet from where some couple
5trolled on the beach. The words of
their duet, possibly fortunately. were
velled by the not inharmonIous blend
ing of the PARKWAY surf. Then some
or the young men took the instruments
and played with good, strong college,
trained fingers. while those who cared .
to danced in the lanai.
Next the ocean won the fancy of the /
younger members of the party, and |
soon from the different cottages came |
the bathers dressed for the surf. Bath /.
ing by moonlight in the South Sea, /
where the water affects the whole body |
ms a glass Of fine VINE sometimes does
the palate, as something impartlng
more than a physical luxury almost, !
and where the COmpanionship is fitted
for Just that kind of bathing. is a diver
sion that can be safely recommended
between dancing and supper on an even
ing in Waikiki.
For the supper came after dressing.
1t was spread on a long mat, around
which we all sat cross legged on the
floor. Before that had eaten poi, but
with the aid of a fork. The handsome
calabash of that delectable paste from
which | was expected to serve myself
was also the source of supply of apret-
tv half-white girl-maV gardenlas ever
grow around her lauais! 1t amused her
that | ate poi with q fork. She used
her fingers as a mode of conveyance be-
tween the calabash and her mouth.
Why don't you do so:' she asked,
as she again dipped finger in the poi.
1t is quite probable | should have done
so at her suggestion if the cool poi had
been molten lead. SO l inserted tent.
alive finger and obeyed her instructions
in slowly turning my finger until had
accumulated a soft ball on my finger.
"NOw this way she said, and. carr ed
her finger to her mouth in spiral mo-
ton, and harbOred it safely. | was not
up to the spiral motion, so that my poi,
NtlltluR 10 liit law VI gray ull-
modified by centripetal cause, lodged
placedly ON my shirt front. | soon
learned. and thereafter preferred my
| fingers to fork in eating poi. | have
never dared until now to admit this
preference, but got heart from no less
| fashionable authority than +. Marion
! Crawford, who, IN recent magazine
| article writes: "For my own part, it
| has always struck me that fingers should
| be considered as much more apprOpri-
ate instruments for feeding than forks.
| know that they are my own fingers
and that | have washed them, but as
/ for the forks in places of public enter
tainment, am not sure that they have
| been washed at all. and would much
rather not think of the way they have
been used. We would rather suffer
much than use another mans tooth
brush, but we think nothing at all of us
| ing the whole world's fork-a fact which
proves the vanity of most outward re-
/ tinements.
After supper the native girls belong
/ ing to one of the princesses or the
! Queen dowager danced the huluhulu
! for us. There is a law on the islands
| prohibiting this dance, which has result
| ed in combining it as an entertainment
| to the very rich and powerful, who are
| above the law, and to the very poor,
/ who are without it. As matter OF
| fact the law resulted i'll stopping the
! dance in places of public entertainment,
[ and thereby served Its purpose. Com
pared to the huluhulu the ddHSe dUt
| ueHtie is a mild entertainment fit for
| the closing exercises of "a young ladies'
/ seminary.
The hulahula is the national Hawaii
an dance, and may be danced by one
or a couple or "a dozen, by man or wo-
man, or men and women together; boys
and girls still of the tender age when a
| gunny sugar bag is considered a sut1ici-
ent garment to dance it. In the Deten-
ton Hospital for lepers saw two old
men summing themselves on a cottage
veranda one day. As our party passed
they began a gutteral croning of a hulu-
hulu song, and one of the lepers rose Ia
} his feet and began to dance, while the
: other "patted" and sang for him. They
= were awaiting transportation for life
20 the leper settlement on MOlokai.
Formerly it was the invariable custom
and is vet ~ several of the islands, fol
= the huluhuiu Garcers to depend on ma,
tive instruments for their music" bu
the comparatively modern faro fiddle
guitars, and banJos supply ju' I'll in
spirations to the dancers. Ihe instru
ment players, and the dancers, too,
sometimes, the men dancers always, sing
) with the dance, songs which eXult thu
, pride of strength (butnot in war of the isl
and heroes of old. The words of the sons
have never been translated from Hawaii
an. A new Boccaccio would find mucl
material in them. The song illustrates
the dance. The music is in harmony
with the sentiment of the words and at
the same time, especially in its cadences
is an inspiration TO the dances.
The girl dancers wear only one gar
ment, which does not conform identi-
! cally with the outline of their bodies: a
fluffy affair made of leaves which hangs
from their waists and ends at then
thighs. Its result, and probably its IN.
: tent, is to eXaggerate the size of theiI
) hips and thighs, for the dance chiefly
consists IN movements OF these portions
! of the body which prove an amazing
possibility of their action, unrelated &c
the body above and below. A dancer
begins her performance standing mo.
} tionless and with her arms held rigidly
at length before her. She remains sc
while several bars of music are slowly
sung and played, but as the music quick.
ems her arms relax and begin slow,
graceful, weaving motion. The must
clans hurry their cadence and the dan
GERS hips and thighs take up the
motion. After that she leads the music
which now becomes an accompaniment
not direction. For several minutes
perhaps, the dancers feet have not left
the ground, but after that she begins to
move, then slowly and almost joltingly
and without altering her position. Lat
er she may address her dance especially
to some musician or to some spectator,
and will then slowly and appealingly
, move toward the object of her attention.