1996 Early Music Festival  McCoy Theatre at the MACC Maui

• [00:34 → 04:48]
  Traditional Dance Performance: “Dunmore Lasses”
  The video begins with a lively traditional dance performance set to the tune of “Dunmore Lasses,” a song celebrating women. The performers encourage audience participation, inviting everyone to join in the dance, emphasizing movement’s benefit to health by “getting rid of vicious humors.” The dance features repeated rounds around a circle, with enthusiastic commentary praising the dancers’ skill and energy. The tone is celebratory, with the host complimenting the excellent performance and the joyful atmosphere on the dance floor.
• [04:48 → 08:11]
  Folk Song Performance by Mistress Bonnie Newman: “One Woman’s Search for a Husband”
  Following the dance, Mistress Bonnie performs a traditional folk song narrating the story of a young woman’s persistent and somewhat humorous quest to find a husband. The lyrics detail:
• A maid living near King’s Way who is eighteen years old and feels the societal pressure to marry.
• Her desire to marry “be he old or young,” illustrating the urgency and pragmatism in her approach.
• The arrival of an ancient suitor whose proposal she accepts, signaling an end to her search.
• The subsequent reflection on the challenges of married life—expressing that twelve months of wedded life can feel burdensome, leading the woman to question whether dying a maid might have been preferable.

The song’s chorus repeats the woman’s insistence on securing a husband and includes a playful refrain referencing “Aspen,” possibly a symbolic or local term. The performance conveys themes of love, societal expectation, and the complexities of marriage through traditional vernacular and melody.

• [08:11 → 10:51]
  Discussion on the Relationship Between Men and Women: “Man is for the Woman Made”
  The final segment transitions from music to a philosophical and cultural reflection on gender relations. The speaker, identified as Mary, introduces the theme by questioning the idea that “man is for the woman made.” The subsequent verses elaborate on this concept with poetic comparisons and metaphors:
• Men and women are portrayed as complementary counterparts: “Man, man, man is for the woman made, and the woman made for man.”
• The relationship is likened to pairs of objects that naturally belong together (e.g., “the fur is for the jade, and the scabbard for the blade”).
• The metaphor extends to everyday items and roles: man as the “pan” for pudding, the “fan” for coolness, the “serenade” for the night.
• The song acknowledges various social statuses of women (maid, widow, slave) and suggests that regardless of these roles, men and women are inherently linked in their search for happiness.

This piece underscores a traditional worldview of gender complementarity and mutual dependence, expressed through folk poetry and song.

Timeline of Key Events and Content

Core Concepts and Themes

• Community and Celebration: The dance and song performances emphasize communal joy and participation, highlighting folk traditions as a vibrant part of cultural identity.
• Marriage and Social Expectations: The folk song reflects traditional views on marriage as a necessary social institution, portraying the tension between desire, societal pressure, and personal experience.
• Gender Complementarity: The concluding segment poetically asserts that men and women are created for each other, using analogies to natural pairs and everyday objects to illustrate interdependence.
• Role of Women: The song and discussion acknowledge different female roles (maid, widow, slave) but unify them under the theme of seeking happiness in relation to men.

Summary of Key Insights

• The video showcases traditional folk culture through dance and song, preserving historical narratives and social commentary in an entertaining format.
• Dance serves both a communal and health-related function, encouraging movement to dispel negative humors and unite participants.
• The folk song about a woman’s search for a husband conveys the societal pressures on women to marry and the personal ambivalence toward marriage’s challenges.
• The final poetic discussion emphasizes a traditional worldview of gender roles, portraying men and women as intrinsically paired and mutually necessary for happiness.
• The content reflects historical and cultural values embedded in folk music and storytelling, offering insight into past social dynamics between men and women.

This summary captures the core performances, thematic content, cultural reflections, and key lyrical excerpts strictly grounded in the provided transcript, organized for clarity and professional presentation.

There was a maid down King’s Way. Zion thought, thought what? And she said, oh, may find out their day, but say and say, might not.

Man, man, man is for the woman made, and the woman made for man. As for city, he is the plane. As for night, the serenade. As

for pudding, he’s the pan. As for coolness, he’s the fan. So man, man, man.