A glossary of hula & Polynesian dance terms

Browsing the directory, you'll come across words from several languages and cultures. This glossary collects the ones you're most likely to meet, grouped by tradition, with a plain starting definition for each. They are starting points, not the last word: hula and Polynesian dance are living traditions, and the schools and their teachers are the authority on what each term means and how it is used. Each tradition also keeps its own vocabulary, so a Hawaiian word like kumu hula belongs to hula, not to Tahitian or Māori dance; the terms below are grouped by where they come from.

Hawaiian

hālau — A hula school. Hula is taught in schools or groups called hālau.

kumu hula — A hula teacher. Kumu means "source of knowledge," so a kumu hula is the source a hālau learns from.

haumāna — The students of a hālau, the dancers a kumu hula trains. The Pukui-Elbert dictionary glosses haumana and haumāna as "student, pupil, apprentice, disciple."

hula kahiko — The older, pre-contact form of hula, danced to chant (oli or mele) and traditional percussion rather than the melodic string instruments of the modern style. Kahiko means "ancient."

hula ʻauana — The modern style of hula, danced to sung mele accompanied by strings such as the ʻukulele and guitar that arrived with Western contact. ʻAuana means to wander or drift.

oli — Hawaiian chant: compositions that are primarily chanted rather than sung.

mele — Hawaiian sung poetry; a poem, a song, or the act of singing. A mele may be chanted or sung, on its own or as the words a hula dances.

hōʻike — Literally "to show" or "exhibit." Some hālau present an annual hōʻike, a show of their dancing.

ʻohana — Family, relatives, a kin group. Some schools in this directory carry ʻohana in their names.

keiki — A child. Keiki classes and competitions are hula for young dancers.

kūpuna — Grandparents, elders, ancestors (the plural of kupuna). One group in the directory, Precious Kūpuna, dances to celebrate their grace.

lei — A garland or wreath of flowers, leaves, shells or feathers, given as a symbol of affection. Some schools teach lei-making alongside the dance.

ʻukulele — A small, guitar-like stringed instrument that grew out of Portuguese instruments brought to Hawaiʻi in 1879. Its name is usually translated "jumping flea."

Tahitian

ʻori Tahiti — The dance of Tahiti and the Society Islands, in French Polynesia. The name means simply "Tahitian dance": ʻori for dance, tahiti for Tahitian.

ʻōteʻa — A fast, precise dance built around the hips, danced to percussion alone with no singing.

ʻaparima — A dance in which the hands do the talking, each gesture standing for a word in the song. The name comes from ʻapa, to mime, and rima, hands.

tōʻere — A slit drum: a hollow log with a lengthwise slit, struck with sticks, and one of the drums that drive the ʻōteʻa.

Māori

kapa haka — Māori performing arts, performed by a group. A performance weaves together waiata, chant, poi and haka.

haka — A ceremonial dance, one of the forms within kapa haka. The Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa records a haka performed as a pōwhiri, a dance of welcome.

waiata — Māori songs, one of the forms woven into a kapa haka performance.

poi — Balls on cords, another of the forms within kapa haka.

Samoan

siva — The Samoan word for dance. The siva itself is a graceful storytelling dance, slow and fluid, traditionally performed by a young woman.

sāsā — An energetic group dance in which seated performers move in tight unison, their hands miming daily work such as paddling, cracking a coconut and making nets, while claps, slaps and a drum keep time.

taualuga — The dance that closes a Samoan program, led at the front by a taupou (a chief's daughter), a manaia (a chief's son) or the chief while the rest of the group sings and sways behind.

These are words you will meet on the school profiles in this directory. Browse by province or by style to find a hālau or studio near you.