North Shore NewsThe first hula performed for foreigners on the island of Oahu was held at anchor off Waimea Bay on Saturday afternoon, February 27,1779. The officers and crews of His Majesty’s ships Resolution and Discovery had buried the scant remains of Captain Cook at sea off Kealakekua Bay a few days prior and were sailing westward thru the “Sandwich Islands” trading on the run keeping their glasses trained for a good watering place. The surgeon aboard the Discovery, David Samwell kept a journal in which he wrote on the 26th;
“We are running along the Island of Morotai with a large island to leeward of us in sight called
O-ahoo………The Girls, seven in number, who have accompanied us from Keragegooa Bay are well pleased
with their situation on board the Ship; in fine Weather they spend most of their time in singing and dancing, they do not seem to mind where we carry them to and would very willingly go with us to England.”
The next entry reads;
“SATURDAY FEBRy 27th. …This morning we are bearing down before the Wind on the Island of ahoo………This Island has a pleasant Appearance, having much wood upon it; the Land is general high. The girls tell us the Island produces plenty of breadfruit, Cocoa nuts, Plantains, Yams, Taroo root & sweet Poptates & Sugar Canes and that there are many hogs upon it. In the afternoon (we) saw the appearance of a good anchoring place in an open road with a fine Sandy Beach, on which stood many Towns, with green Platts beghind extending to the Hills which rose at no great distance off; as we were sailing along we saw three or four of their burying Places called Eheiaw with a kind of high obelisks erected on them of wood, & on the Pales which enclosed them we could see with our Glasses many human Skulls. We saw many Indians sitting by their Houses looking at us & shouting now & then. Between two and three o’Clock both Ships came to an Anchor about 3/4 of a mile distant off shore, before the mouth of a small River. Captn Clerke went ashore with an armed party and was met by a great number of the Natives on the Beach, who prostrated themselves before him and received him in a friendly manner, he went a little way up to examine the River, but found the Salt Water flow too high for the ships to water here, on which he sent the large Cutter further along the Coast to a place where the Natives said was good water, and returned on board.” The cutter attempted to water in the Anahulu stream, but having got caught in the winter surf, they abandoned the attempt. Samwell continued;
‘The Girls we brought with us buy Cloth here for the iron & other things they have got from their Husbands; soon after our coming to an anchor they performed a dance on the Quarter deck which we had not seen before, it might be perhaps to express their Joy on their safe arrival at this place, it was performed by two at a time – they did not jump up as in the common dance but used a kind of regular Step & moved their Legs something like our sailors dancing a Hornpipe, they moved their Arms up and down, repeated a Song together, changed their places often, wriggled their backsides and used many lascivious Gestures. Upon the whole we thought it much more agreeable than their common Dance.” Having failed to find a good watering place, or much trade, and after enjoying the Hula, the girls were set ashore on the beach at Waimea and the ships of the late Captain Cook’s expedition sailed into the sunset.