The hula halau in old Hawai'i educated and trained dancers in the tradition and kapu associated with the hula. The hierarchical structure that characterizes Hawaiian society suggest that there existed a ranking system within the halau and competition may have existed even amoung the different schools. Halau operated in different geographic regions under families who followed different traditions. The fact that each halau teaches different traditions is revealed in the old Hawaiian saying that "all knowledge is not to be found in one halau."
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