Bishop Museum Press, 2004. Paperback. New softcover in printed wraps. 8vo. (7.25 x 1 x 10 inches) Clean text free of marks or underlining. Includes black and white photos, tables, diagrams, notes, bibliography, discography and an index. 289 pp.

Fast shipping in a secure book box mailer with tracking. New. Item #203305
ISBN: 9780930897550

Hula pahu are sacred chants and
ritual movements performed with pahu, the sharkskin-covered drum.
In this authoritative two-volume study, Adrienne Kaeppler and Elizabeth Tatar attempt to trace the origins and document the history of this vital Hawaiian tradition. By focusing on materials generated by early performers, Tatar and Kaeppler have captured the essence of hula pahu, before recent innovations in choreography and sound began to blur this rich tradition. In his introduction, renowned chanter Ka'upena Wong speaks of hula pahu as a "still-living tradition which may yet regain some of its early importance, as more and more Hawaiians search for their cultural roots."

Volume I: Ha'a and Hula Pahu
Sacred Movements
By Adrienne Kaeppler
Introduction by Ka'upena Wong
Adrienne Kappler analyzes dance movements and explains their evolution from early ha'a (ritual) traditions. She accounts for the sacred nature of hula pahu by placing its origin in ritual worship of the "state gods" of the Hawaiian religion. Kaeppler believes that the chants and movements that once honored the gods, or akua, were transferred, after the arrival of Christian missionaries, to rituals honoring the surviving ancestral gods.
The author identifies three major traditions of hula pahu, discusses their chief practitioners, and describes how these traditions were transmitted from generation to generation. Her dance descriptions are supported by Labano-tation scores (movement notation) that allow deeper analysis than usually encountered in cultural studies of dance.

Price: $145.95