Keepin’ it Reichel Soft-spoken and devoted to the music and culture of Hawaii, Keali'i Reichel, who performs three shows at the Hawaii Theatre this weekend, isn't afraid to address controversial issues, saying he hopes to live long enough to see women dance hula kahiko (ancient hula) topless.
Keali'i's reached the top -- and now?
By John Berger
jberger@starbulletin.com"In my mind, any hula or chant from pre-contact (1778) is topless (for both sexes) to a large degree, and 19th century stuff to today is not.
"I would love to see some day somebody at Merrie Monarch dance completely topless, not with the lots and lots of lei covering everything kind of stuff, but to actually dance as our ancestors danced. I think it's gonna happen at some point."
He said he felt uncomfortable the first few times he danced kahiko in a malo ("Can see the cheeks!"), but soon found it natural to wear the traditional Hawaiian garb in context. No one considers it shocking to see male dancers in malo now.
And as for people who "write" Hawaiian songs by having someone translate their English lyrics into Hawaiian?
"That's kind of yucky. A lot of us can tell by listening -- to some really big acts -- from the first sentence that it wasn't done in firsthand Hawaiian. There's no kaona, there's no poetic technique, a lot of times because the translation is direct from English. I find that kind of songwriting questionable because from a traditional standpoint it has no mana because you're not using the poetic techniques of our kupuna.
"Go take classes, become fluent. Once you become fluent, learn to song write (in Hawaiian). Just because you can speak Hawaiian doesn't mean you can compose. We've been finding a lot of that and it's totally curable."
The year thus far has been another busy one for Reichel, a superstar since his debut album, "Kawaipunahele," exploded on the music scene in 1994. He now has four albums and 17 Hoku.
When: 8 p.m. today and Saturday, and 2 p.m. Sunday Keali'i Reichel in concert
Where: Hawaii Theatre
Tickets: $30
Call: 528-0506
Although he rarely performs on Oahu, he visited recently to conduct a lecture and demonstration at the Center for Hawaiian Studies. The subject was the traditional Hawaiian art of ridicule chants -- a form of verbal combat and one-upmanship similar in concept but far more complex than the African-American traditions of "playin' the dozens" and "Yo Mama" jokes.
Reichel's lecture came out of the recent World Conference on Hula in Hilo. Reichel and the Center for Hawaiian Studies sought to reach out beyond Hawaiian academic circles to share his knowledge of ridicule chants and songs.
A great contemporary example of the tradition is "Nematoda." The song won the Na Hoku Hanohano Award in the Haku Mele category for composer Puakea Nogelmeier. Translate the lyrics into English and the song is about a type of plant parasite. Understand the kaona, and well, the "nematodes" know who they are.
"It's significant and ironic because he wrote it for specific people who were trying to belittle him for the sheer fact that he wasn't Hawaiian. When he won Haku Mele, I was thrilled. You can't ask for anything more.
"When something like that happens and it becomes recognized within the haku mele community it's a really cool thing because then it sends a message that not all haku mele are love songs. Songs like this are just as important."
He explains that while Hawaiian chant is most often heard these days in a formal context such as in a hula competition, or as the opening of a public ceremony, there was a time when all Hawaiians chanted.
"They had to, and what I try to do is separate the formal chants from the informal chants. Formal chants are those that are high station -- prayers, genealogy chants, glorification chants for chiefs or people of high station. Those are very, very formal. They require a lot of specific training in composition and those kinds of things because of the power of the language.
"Then you have the informal chants that are used every day. The chants you use when you go to someone's house -- you don't knock on the door, you're supposed to chant (and) you don't go in the house unless somebody chants back. And there are individual prayer chants for the family aumakua (or) informal chants that farmers used to petition the gods for good crops."
The show is being performed in memory of his grandmother, who died a year ago.
"At the beginning and ending of the show we're doing a piece honoring her -- two chants and a song. The first chant is a genealogy chant for her, and then we're doing a name chant for her in a little more modern styling. We're also doing a song that came from "E O Mai" that I wrote for her," Reichel said. "Then at the very end we close off with something for her again to make it like an embrace from beginning to end."
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