'ulalena

Maui Myth and Magic

 

	A Hawaiian creation story..
	Taro, the first kalo plant, emerges out of the fertile mythical past.	A night-wanderer carries the bones of those who came before.
	Life, in ocean and on land, struggles in the woumb of time.
Navigating by the stars, migrants sail past Tahiti searching for signs of land.	They sight Maui, the Polynesian demigod, who guides them to their island discovery.	The endless passionate pursuit by Kamapua'a, a half-hog half-man ...
of Pele, the age-changing volcano goddess ensues deep in the Mythical Forest.	Aurora's rhythms awaken a young girl's vision of the Kapa goddess.	Chants and dances begin the Makahiki harvest festivities in honor of Lono, Father of Waters.
In this time if taboo on warfare, sparring warriers struggle for power.	At the zeneth of the day, a sensuous dance is inspired by the wild passion fruit trees in Liliko'i.
Prelude to a royal encounter, the arrival from the western world interrupts the celebrations.	Excitement breaks out on the islands as goods are traded and desires are shared.	Solitude and great loss in a time of disease and transition...
before the great Hawaiian Monarchy collapses with the end of the nineteenth Century.	Sugar production explodes, bringing waves of Plantation laborers from China, Portugal, and Japan...	some will never see their homelands again.
Tensions build. The Woman-of-Fire-in-the-Earth erupts.
High above, the Woman-of-the-Moon heals sorrows in solitude...	and reflects on the tranquil surface of the sea.	At twilight the voyage continues in the golden mist of the 'Ulalena rain.
Through the ashes of time,new life emerges.