Thursdays With Bro. C.

We learned about the hula today. This is a picture of Ti leaves. Ti leaves were used to make grass skirts. They have long stems and so they were either stripped into fine pieces (grass) and then tied to a rope or "belt" and tied around the waist or they could have been left as a whole leaf and made into a skirt.


These girls are wearing grass skirts over their costumes. Costumes are very colorful and covered with flowers. Not a lot of grass skirts are worn now, mostly skirts or dresses. Dancers also always were flowers in their hair, leis and bands of flowers or leaves on their wrists and ankles. Did you know that originally the hula was performed by men? It was a temple rite. It was used to tell a history as well as the story of their exploits, fishing trips, battles etc. Later on, one of the Kings of Hawaii decided that women should do the hula because it would be more sensual! We love to watch the hula performances. The music is wonderful and the dances are so graceful. It is just beautiful.