The Hawaiian gazette. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu, Hawaii]) 1865-1918, 1911-02-10


iished yesterday morning, has elected
number Of decidedly spirited replies.
Herewith are publiahed two Of ,he
most important. Ono Is the Official r.
ply Of the Hawaiian Booth Committee,
the other from a representative liza.
waiian. Both defend the hula from
the charge Of immortality and 'give
brief history. of the hula and It's rela-
ton to the life Of the Hawaiian peo- \
pie.
Among the Hawaiians there has been
evidenced rather bitter resentment Of
Mr.. Gulick's outspoken criticism, which
resentment, in somewhat modified sorm,
finds It's way into the communications
received.
Booth Committee Replies
Editor Advertiser;--'' To the pure al.
most everything is rotten," is the way
comic journal paraphrasei common
saying a year or so ago. The para.
phrase is brought to mind by the letter,
| signed 'Orramel IL. Guliek, which APP
peared in The Advertiser this morning.
| Accepting at its face value the utter
| ignorance of the subject treated Of
still can not help being astonished at
the intolerance and bigotry displayed
by the gentleman who has certainly
lived long enough in these Islands TO
have learned something about the Ha-
waiian people, even if he has not learn
ed tact and the value of truth.
Hula, says Mr.. Gulick in his com
munication, els word that can scarce
ly be spoken in good society" If L
cared to be sarcastic, | might be in
clined to ask what Mr.. Gulick knows
about good society, but as i merely
wish to defend the Hawaiians from the
ugly charges made by Mr.. GuliclS and
not to punish the gentleman for his
untruthfulness and the viciousness of
his allegations, L will leave that aside
and ask him what he knows about the
hula.
Mr. Gulick, judging from his state
ments, appears to be more familiar with
the hula as danced by people with
whom the better class of Hawaiians
never associate than he does with the
, hula as properly danced. Because pos
} sibly on some occasions the hula has
been degraded by those who have no
more idea of its origin than does Mr.
: Quick, the gentleman takes it upon
himself to condemn the dance as in
trinsically immoral, gross and bestial.
: Perhaps the gentleman is not familiar
| with the fact that the waltz and two
step can be and often are made lasci
} vious and suggestive. But, admitting
that the two dances mentioned are thus
:. degraded, is that any reason for con
' demning modern dances wholesale
: Cards are used to gamble with, but tina
9 does not mean that cards are of them
n selves immoral and that anybody wit
0 plays cards is gambler
d The hula dates back far beyond tn
T knowledge of even a man so supposed
o ~ versed in Hawaiian history as
T Mr.. Gulick. The hula, properly danced
!. has its own meanings. To use tn
words of popular song of the day
q "eYery little movement has meaning
|. of its own The hula deals wit
d events in the history of the Hawaiian
Is people that occurred long before MI
n Guliek' IS ancestors ever came to tn
d Hawaiian Islands. AS originally dance
d there was never any suggestion of tn
4 lewdness for which Mr.. Guliek appear
! to be so anxiously on the lookout. !
r. dividuals have introduced other fes
!. lures, that does not degrade the hui
|. per Sc; it merely degrades those VIII
t introduced such features, and, shall
! say, those who are looking for somt
e thing naughty.
Il The hula that it is proposed to hav
X danced at the MidPaciic Kirmess
m dignifed dance that tells in word
IT and gestures the story of certain hi
a torical events of old Hawaii There
in it nothing suggestive, lewd or lasc
IN vious, any more than there is in
is Strauss waltz or Souza two-step.
lis In his letter to your paper, M
ia Gulick has taken it upon himself to il
ID suit not only the Kirmess eommitte
m the committee having charge of the HI
N waiian booth, and the Hawaiian PEE
pie, but even the dead. His evideI
hatred for the late king has led hi
to say things that he would not hay
dared to say a few years ago and fl
a which he would have been very prope
lu " punished not only by the Hawaiian
es but by their friends, the white peop
~ of The Islands. Mr.. Gulick in shoI
II has coupled his insults with his ignO
~ ancc and his tactlessness and what
has written can not but be taken
the Hawaiians and part Hawaiians
NJ personal and Intentional insult
ne 1t is fortunate for Hawaii that intt
81 erance and bigotry such as that d
y. played by Mr.. Gulick are extreme
Wy rare in these Islands. Otherwise L
{" good feeling that now exists among q
various nationalities living together
these Islands wonld become an impc
at, sibjlity and the moral code which N
Gulick doubtless thinks he so fitting
Or represents would be a. painful joke.
10y The committee having charge Of {
sal Hawaiian booth at the MidPacifle X
is mess is not convinced by Mr.. GuliclI
sse letter that the hulas which II is prOpS
ed TO give are at adj improper, al
.he there is no intention of abandonil
i'm them.
in Hoping that you viii give this lett
on the same prominence In The Advertii
10, that you gave Mr.. Guliek 3 commune
10 tiOn, remain, yours,
me THE HAWAIIAN BOOTH COMMIT
,er TEE.
ter Hawaiian Historians Defense.
mi