Chants for the hula vary according to class. Some praise the deeds of a chief and recall incidents in his life; these are called name chants (inoa). Other hula chants describe journeys and point out the beauties of certain places. Chants of reviling are composed to reproach or defame some person in the audience. Today such chants speak out the thought without mincing matters, but in old days the words were couched in a hidden way so that no one not versed in chant language could find anything opprobrious in the meaning.
Source: HULA Historical Perspectives
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