According to ancient Hawaiian oral history, the island of Moloka‘i is the birthplace of hula. John Ka‘imikaua – noted Hawaiian scholar, singer, composer and kumu hula (hula instructor), has spent a quarter century preserving the undocumented history of pre-Western Moloka‘i through numerous activities including cultural workshops, film, the annual celebration and his halau (dance academy). Some songs on "From Deep Within..." were written to preserve ancient mo‘olelo (stories), place names and mana‘o (thoughts); other compositions were born of personal and reflective moments; still others capture moments in time of the halau. All were infused with love and the spirit of Hawaiian culture, expressed in music. The 24-page booklet that accompanies each CD, documents – for the first time ever – many elements of the ancient history of Moloka‘i.
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