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Slits are cut in the bamboo lengthwise with strands removed so that the bamboo rattles when moved. Puʻili are made from bamboo and are about 20 inches in length. Puʻili are wooden rhythm sticks used in pairs by dancers. Ipu is a percussion instrument made from gourds that is often used to provide a beat for hula dancing. Hula ʻauana, a more modern style of hula, are performed for a larger, global audience and have broadened meanings to incorporate narratives about love and Hawaiian identity. ʻUlīʻulī are used in kahiko performances to maintain timing and to enhance sounds created simultaneously through chanting and other instruments like the ipu and puʻili. Hula kahiko are performed to honor the gods and entertain the royal court while preserving orally transmitted narratives and genealogies. Hula dancers make rattling sounds with the ʻulīʻulī by shaking or tapping the base against the body. ʻUlīʻulī are used in traditional Hawaiian hula dances.
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Several plants like achiote, olena, ʻukiʻuki, noni, kukui, and akala can be ground up and mixed with water to make natural ink dyes for stamping designs onto the kapa. Patterns stamped on the kapa material using ʻohe kapala, flat carved bamboo sticks. Some ʻulīʻulī are made with kapa material attached to the center of the feather cap. Assorted feathers, commonly red and yellow feathers or hackle feathers, are attached to make the cap covering the top of the instrument. Kapa material is used for the cap and attached to the top end of the handle. The base filled with the aliʻi poe seeds, is then attached to a stick wrapped with rattan for the handle by making holes at the top of the gourd and looping the strips of rattan through the holes. Once the gourd is dried, it is filled with aliʻi poe ( Canna) seeds. To make the base where the rattling sound is made, a calabash gourd is hollowed out and dried until hardened.
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The ʻulīʻulī are made of various materials and take time to assemble properly. Assorted feathers are gathered to be applied to the top as a cap. The top of the instrument is made of kapa. ʻUlīʻulī are made from Calabash gourds filled with sand, aliʻi poe seeds, or pebbles.