UU Give-Away Contest - The LEGEND of Ohana Ukuleles

Status
Not open for further replies.

anaka

Ukulele Underground Staff
Staff member
Joined
Nov 25, 2007
Messages
360
Reaction score
260
Hey UUers!

Click to check out the official contest video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FD7HbKqaE8k

We've had this beautiful Ohana soprano locked away in it's shiny new hardshell case we NEED to give it away to one of you soon! So if you're up to the challenge (or just want a new ukulele really badly) here's what you can do ...

1. Write your own "Legend of the Ohana Ukulele". Be as creative and imaginative as you want (just keep it PG, please).
2. Post it in this thread.

Rules:
- Stories must be less than 200 words. Keep it short and sweet.
- Only one entry per person (we'll count your first entry), so polish it and perfect it before you post it.
- As stated, keep it PG. Your legend should be creative, but also something that you'd be able to read to a 5-year-old without having to think twice about censorship.

Prize: Ohana SK-35 G (Solid Mahogany Soprano) + hardshell case
Deadline: August 31, 2009 (11:59pm HST)

Hawaii is filled with many myths and legends. If you'd like to familiarize yourself with the structure and style of Hawaiian legends, HERE are a few classic Hawaiian legends, as interpreted by 4th graders (and around 200 words each).

Good Luck - now go get your writing on!
 
Last edited:
Awesome challenge! I'm in. It's going to be really tough to stay below 200. But it wouldn't be a challenge without that, right? :D
 
dang im gonna gun for that!
i need an upgrade hahah
 
haha, mine is going to be lame as..
 
Awesome challange!
 
UkeNinja's "Legend of the Ohana ukulele"

Long ago, there was a lonely ukulele called Ohana. Lonely because she could make sounds that would make the gods stop doing their important godly things, but humans did not give her one look, because they still had to invent music.

One day, she sat down under a tree and weeped because there was no one to play with. A few curious birds heard her and flew over to see what was wrong. “Why are you so sad?” they asked. “I have all these beautiful voices in me but no one can make them sing” said Ohana.

Then, a flurry of wind came and made her strings sing as they had never done before. The birds looked at the strings and how the wind played them, and started to pick Ohana gently, and from that day her songs would sound even when there was no wind. The other animals gathered around to enjoy Ohana’s songs, and sang along.

Ohana learned her sound from the birds and the wind long ago. If you are lucky enough to meet one of her grandchildren today, you too can hear that beautiful voice.

Play light as the wind, and gentle as a little bird.
 
No fair, that's the winning entry right there! I can't compete with that :(

Srsly tho, wonderful story Ninja. Made me happy to read it. Thanks :)
 
Long ago, there was a lonely ukulele called Ohana. Lonely because she could make sounds that would make the gods stop doing their important godly things, but humans did not give her one look, because they still had to invent music.

One day, she sat down under a tree and weeped because there was no one to play with. A few curious birds heard her and flew over to see what was wrong. “Why are you so sad?” they asked. “I have all these beautiful voices in me but no one can make them sing” said Ohana.

Then, a flurry of wind came and made her strings sing as they had never done before. The birds looked at the strings and how the wind played them, and started to pick Ohana gently, and from that day her songs would sound even when there was no wind. The other animals gathered around to enjoy Ohana’s songs, and sang along.

Ohana learned her sound from the birds and the wind long ago. If you are lucky enough to meet one of her grandchildren today, you too can hear that beautiful voice.

Play light as the wind, and gentle as a little bird.

looks like i have to step my game up a notch
 
Long ago, there was a lonely ukulele called Ohana. Lonely because she could make sounds that would make the gods stop doing their important godly things, but humans did not give her one look, because they still had to invent music.

One day, she sat down under a tree and weeped because there was no one to play with. A few curious birds heard her and flew over to see what was wrong. “Why are you so sad?” they asked. “I have all these beautiful voices in me but no one can make them sing” said Ohana.

Then, a flurry of wind came and made her strings sing as they had never done before. The birds looked at the strings and how the wind played them, and started to pick Ohana gently, and from that day her songs would sound even when there was no wind. The other animals gathered around to enjoy Ohana’s songs, and sang along.

Ohana learned her sound from the birds and the wind long ago. If you are lucky enough to meet one of her grandchildren today, you too can hear that beautiful voice.

Play light as the wind, and gentle as a little bird.

WOW! That was so cool, really enjoyed reading.:bowdown:
 
darn I missed it,oh well, think I'm gonna submit one for fun anyways ina day or so
 
Here's mine

My entry:

In the early days, music played all the time. It came from a enchanted boat floating in the sea.
One day, there was a really bad argument between the sea and the sky, about who was the best and the strongest. There was a very bad storm. The poor little music boat was caught in the middle of it all, and was smashed to bits.

The music stopped.

Everybody was shocked! All the animals and people had always heard the music, and now it was gone! They were all very, very sad.

Little bits of the music boat washed onto the shore. There, the animals and people gathered up the splinters and solemnly buried them on the tallest mountain.

One day a tree sprouted on the mountain and grew tall. Ukuleles started to sprout from the branches. The people were so happy, they harvested all that they could reach (these are soprano ukuleles). The ones higher on the tree were harder to reach, so they built a ladder. These had a few more days of growth, so they became the concert and tenor ukuleles. Occasionally, one was in a hidden corner of the tree, and those became baritone ukuleles.

–Lori
 
Last edited:
My entry:

In the early days, music played all the time. It came from a enchanted boat floating in the sea.
One day, there was a really bad argument between the sea and the sky, about who was the best and the strongest. There was a very bad storm. The poor little music boat was caught in the middle of it all, and was smashed to bits.

The music stopped.

Everybody was shocked! All the animals and people had always heard the music, and now it was gone! They were all very, very sad.

Little bits of the music boat washed onto the shore. There, the animals and people gathered up the splinters and solemnly buried them on the tallest mountain.

One day a tree sprouted on the mountain and grew tall. Ukuleles started to sprout from the branches. The people were so happy, they harvested all that they could reach (these are soprano ukuleles). The ones higher on the tree were harder to reach, so they build a ladder. These had a few more days of growth, so they became the concert and tenor ukuleles. Occasionally, one was in a hidden corner of the tree, and those became baritone ukuleles.

–Lori


Hahaha... I like!
 
'K lets give this a shot...

Long long ago Ohana was an extremely beautiful woman. Her intense beauty was surpassed only by her incredible and melodious voice which, when she sang, rang out through all the islands. Her voice was such that, at the sound of it, even the most bitter of wars, or conflicts would cease to be.
However, not all were so enamoured of her voice, the gods were jealous of her beautiful singing. After one particularly beautiful song, the gods lashed out in a jealous rage and turned Ohana into a tree so she would never sing again. All the people of all the islands mourned for the girl and her beautiful voice. Over time though the world went back to it's conflicts and it's troubles, wars once again were waged between tribes.
Throughout all this, Ohana the tree stood still until one day she was cut down and a woodworker began to form her into something else. At first Ohana wept for having been cut down, but as the woodworker worked she began to take shape into a beautiful Ukulele. As the luthier tightened the final string, Ohana would once again be able to sing and her voice perhaps a little smaller now but no less beautiful, would once again bring peace to all who heard it.
 
Man the 200 word limit really killed me, had to cut a good 200 words out, hope I still get the point across. Tough competition so far but here's mine:


There once was an evil king named Kapu, who ruled every island. One day at a luau he overheard people singing that islands should be free of a king. This angered Kapu, so he banned them from his kingdom, then gathered all the ukuleles and burned them.

This was bad news for Makani whose daughter Kahoku was about to get married. A wedding without music was unheard of to Makani. He knew he would have to defy the King's law and craft his own ukelele. Makani traveled into the jungle to find the sacred lono tree, for it was believed that ukeleles carved from this tree will have magical powers. He carefully carved his ukulele, knowing that if he was caught he would be banned from the islands.

After a week of hard work he made it back to the wedding just in time to reveal his newly crafted ukulele, named Ohana. He began to play and people started dancing. This angered Kapu and he commanded his guards to arrest Makani, but they failed as they could not stop dancing no matter how hard they tried. Kapu realized music is important to family and friends and embraced it back into his kingdom.

thank you and good luck everyone!
 
Dang, all these stories are so good. Good job everyone. I'll try my hand at this but not now. Lol.
 
i'll give it a go

One day after surfing at Waimea Bay, Kopi saw something floating ashore. After taking a closer look she realized that it was a ukulele with the word “Ohana” carved in it.

Kopi did not know it at the time, but this particular ukulele had a magical spell on it; one that could turn enemies into friends.

Kopi rushed home to show everyone what she had found. She gathered all of her friends and family at the beach where she would play her new ukulele for them.

When everyone was all gathered around the fire, she was about to play, but was cut off by another family. This other family had been enemies with Kopi’s and did not want her family at the beach.

While the families fought with each other Kopi got upset and wanted them to stop. She decided to play her favorite song on her new ukulele. Once she started playing the magic of the ukulele was released, the engraved “Ohana” started to glow and everyone immediately stopped fighting. The music cleared the air between the families and they became great friends.

Kopi was happy that her new ukulele helped her family make new friends.
 
My entry....and I think my first post on UU. :)

Long ago in the days before happiness lived a jumping flea, who travelled the seas on portuguese sailers, one day arriving in Hawaii, she began jumping around and happened upon what appeared to be a miniature mahogany guitar like instrument.

The flea, somewhat taken aback, asked her name. The little piece of mahogany replied, ‘I am Ohano the soprano’. Ohano proceeded to tell a tale of sadness that she had been laughed at for her stature. Walking the beach together the jumping flea got tired, for being so small it was hard to keep up with even the tiny instrument. Ohano offered to give the flea a ride. In leaping up onto the little soprano the jumping flea bounced across the strings releasing such wonderful melodic sounds.

Soon a crowd gathered and the tunes from the little soprano spread great happiness. One day the king asked to bring the source of all happiness to the palace. The kings men brought forth Ohano. The King asked her ‘how do you bring such joy to my people’, to which the little soprano replied ‘thanks to the jumping flea’. This is legend of how Ohano and the jumping flea became known as Ukulele.



---

Cheers, Dan.
 
Here it goes

Thousands of years ago, on a magical island in the southern pacific, lived a young boy named Loubay. Short stout and and always with a smile on his face and joy in his heart, Loubay didn't exactly fit in too well with the other young boys on island; an island which had no joy. Feeling all alone in the world Loubay ran away into the deep dark, Ohana forest. Loubay lost track of time and felt like he was going crazy when he began hearing strange sounds floating through the woods, sounds he couldn't help but follow. Finally reaching the peculiar sound he saw the largest tree he ever set his eyes upon. Suddenly a deep bellowing voice resonated through the woods introducing itself as the fountain of life. He told the young boy that he was the reason for their eternal life and that he would rather have them have a mortal life full of joy, than eternal life without. Then the tree disappeared and in its wake was a small instrument that Loubay called Ohana. And from then on Loubay went around spreading joy throughout the land, making and giving ukuleles so everyone could have joy as well.
 
There once was a young girl, Kani, who got separated from her family while they were picnicking on the big island of Hawai’i. She had wondered in the forest for hours when she, exhausted, sat beneath a big old Koa tree and began to cry.

The Old Koa, touched, shook its branches, and with a voice like the wind through its leaves, asked what was wrong. Kani, still upset at being lost, told the kindly tree. “I’ve lost my family, and I can’t find them”.

“Well, well,” The old Tree said, “I think I can help you. Look in the hollow in my trunk, just above your head.”

Kani, still dazed at what was happening did as she was told and found a beautiful Ukulele.

“Play it. It will help you find your family.”

“But… how?”

“Just try.” said the tree.

Kani sat down and began to play. The sounds the little ukulele made filled the air, all the forest was still, just listening to the glorious music.

Then, from over a hill, appeared Kani’s parents, drawn to the wonderful music, and very excited to find her.

Kani thanked the tree, and named her beautiful Ukulele ‘Ohana, which means Family.









wow trying to keep it under 200 words was tough....

JT
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Top Bottom