The Hawaiian hula and legacies of institutionalization

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Using the Hawaiian hula tradition as a case study, this article explores archival institutionalization of knowledge and contents necessary for performance. The fact that the performance skills of hula remained in continuous practice is what allowed a successful revival in the late 20th century of poetic repertoire that had become entombed in archival sources by the end of the 19th century. I consider the role of archives as a form of memory, particularly in the context of colonized peoples, and advocate for performers to determine how the archived repertoire would be staged again in ways that address contemporary rather than past circumstances.