Essay On Hawaiian Mele

Historical Backgrounds In Mele Hawaii is considered one of the most beautiful places on Earth. There are millions of people that visit every year because of its’ magnificent beauty of nature. This can be seen in Hawaiian mele where they talk about the beauty of nature in poems or songs. When looking broadly, it may seem that Hawaiian mele portrays Hawaii as a beautiful. However, when looking closely and narrowly, one can find that there is a hidden and deeper meaning inside the mele. By reading the mele, one should think about the background, struggle, and the history hidden behind the mele. Kaulana Na Pua, Na Alii, and Hole Wai-mea explicitly demonstrate the history of Hawaii in mele. One of the most famous patriotic Hawaiian mele is ‘Kaulana Na Pua’, which was written by Ellen Wright Prendergast in 1893, under the title “Mele Ai Pohaku” (Elbert, 62). She wrote this song for the members of the Royal Hawaiian Band who opposed to the overthrowing of Queen Liliuokalani and the Hawaiian Kingdom. As a result, it tends to be a sacred song instead of a song for dancing. However, some perform Kaulana Na Pua as a dance for mature women. After five years, in 1898, Hawaii became one of the states of United States of America. This is also known as the Annexation of Hawaii in 1898. In Kaulana …show more content…
But by reading Kaulana Na Pua, one can see that Hawaiian mele also provides the historical background of Hawaii. Kaulana Na Pua told us the history of the overthrowing of the Hawaiian kingdom and Queen Liliuokalani. Not only that it provided an insight of the Annexation of Hawaii in 1898. This is a significant part of history in Hawaii. By putting this into a song, it can be passed down to future generations, so that they know the struggle their ancestors went through. It is especially significant for today’s generation because they don’t realize the significance of ‘Kaulana Na Pua’ and consider it just as a Hawaiian