What is "hula"

"traditional dance of Hawaii," 1825, from Hawaiian. As a verb from 1952. Hula hoop first recorded in fall of 1958, when it was a craze; so called from resemblance of motions of one using it to the dancers' hip circles.

n. A form of chant and dance, which was developed in the Hawaiian Islands by the Polynesians who originally settled there.

n. a Polynesian rain dance performed by a woman [syn: hula-hula, Hawaiian dancing]

Hula may refer to:

• Hula, a Hawaiian dance
• Hula hoop, a toy hoop that is twirled around the waist, limbs or neck
• Hula (1927 film), a silent film directed by Victor Fleming
• Hula (software), an open-source mail and calendar software project by Novell
• Project Hula, a secret program to transfer ships from the United States Navy to the Soviet Navy during World War II
• Walrus HULA, a heavy-lift hybrid airship proposed by DARPA

Hula is a Polynesian dance form accompanied by chant (oli) or song (mele). It was developed in the Hawaiian Islands by the Polynesians who originally settled there. The hula dramatizes or portrays the words of the oli or mele in a visual dance form.

There are many sub-styles of hula, with the main two categories being Hula 'Auana and Hula Kahiko. Ancient hula, as performed before Western encounters with Hawaii, is called kahiko. It is accompanied by chant and traditional instruments. Hula, as it evolved under Western influence in the 19th and 20th centuries, is called auana (a word that means "to wander" or "drift"). It is accompanied by song and Western-influenced musical instruments such as the guitar, the ukulele, and the double bass.

Terminology for two main additional categories is beginning to enter the hula lexicon: "Monarchy" includes any hula which were composed and choreographed during the 19th century. During that time the influx of Western culture created significant changes in the formal Hawaiian arts, including hula. "Ai Kahiko", meaning "in the ancient style" are those hula written in the 20th and 21st centuries that follow the stylistic protocols of the ancient hula kahiko.

There are also two main positions of a hula dance - either sitting (noho dance) or standing (luna dance). Some dances utilize both forms.

Hula is taught in schools or groups called hālau. The teacher of hula is the kumu hula, where kumu means source of knowledge, or literally just teacher. Often there is a hierarchy in hula schools - starting with the kumu (teacher), alaka'i (leader), kokua (helpers), and then the 'olapa (dancers) or haumana (students). This is not true for every hālau, but it does occur often. Most, if not all, hula halau(s) have a permission chant in order to enter wherever they may practice. They will collectively chant their entrance chant, then wait for the kumu to respond with the entrance chant, once he or she is finished, the students may enter. One well known and often used entrance or permission chant is Kunihi Ka Mauna/Tunihi Ta Mauna.

Hula dancing is a complex art form, and there are many hand motions used to represent the words in a song or chant. For example, hand movements can signify aspects of nature, such as the swaying of a tree in the breeze or a wave in the ocean, or a feeling or emotion, such as fondness or yearning. Foot and hip movements often pull from a basic library of steps including the kaholo, ka'o, kawelu, hela, 'uwehe, and 'ami. There are other related dances ( tamure, hura, 'aparima, 'ote'a, haka, kapa haka, poi, Fa'ataupati, Tau'olunga, and Lakalaka) that come from other Polynesian islands such as Tahiti, The Cook Islands, Samoa, Tonga and Aotearoa ( New Zealand); however, the hula is unique to the Hawaiian Islands.

Hula was an open source mail and calendar project based on open standards announced on February 15, 2005 by Novell.

Hula is a 1927 American silent romantic comedy film directed by Victor Fleming, and based on the novel Hula, a Romance of Hawaii by Armine von Tempski. The film stars Clara Bow and was released by Paramount Pictures.

Hula is one of the woredas in the Southern Nations, Nationalities, and Peoples' Region of Ethiopia. Part of the Sidama Zone, Hula is bordered on the south by the Oromia Region, on the west by Dara, on the northwest by Aleta Wendo, on the north by Bursa, and on the east by Bona Zuria. The major town in Hula is Hagere Selam. Woredas of Bursa and Bona Zuria were separated from Hula.

A survey of the land in this woreda shows that 59.6% is arable or cultivable, 36.2% pasture, 2.3% forest, and the remaining 1.8% is considered swampy, degraded or otherwise unusable. Important cash crops include corn, wheat, barley, local varieties of cabbage, and potatoes. According to a 2004 report, Hula had 110 kilometers of all-weather roads and 8 kilometers of dry-weather roads, for an average road density of 274 kilometers per 1000 square kilometers.