kapa kulture
This blog is dedicated to Hawaiian kapa and matters related to Hawai'i nei…kuku kapa e!
Archive for the tag “kapa”
Hawaiian Word of the Day: ʻoluʻolu
ʻoluʻolu: Pleasant, nice, amiable, satisfied, contented, happy, affable, agreeable, congenial, cordial, gracious; please. E ʻoluʻolu ʻoe e hele mai, please come here; lit., be kind to come here. E ʻoluʻolu ʻoe i koʻu manaʻo, please do me a favor. ʻOluʻolu ʻole, unpleasant, impolite, uncomfortable. ʻaʻole o lākou ʻoluʻolu i ʻelua dālā, they are not satisfied with two dollars. Mōʻi ʻoluʻolu, gracious majesty. ʻOluʻolu nō iāia iho, satisfied with himself, complacent. ʻAʻahu ʻoluʻolu, comfortable, casual, informal wear. Ke noi aku nei au i kou ʻoluʻolu, I am asking a favor of you. E ʻoluʻolu i ka mea i loaʻa, be satisfied with what you have got.
hoʻoluʻolu: To satisfy, alleviate, allay, console; to retire to rest, to seek rest; parade rest, at ease (military commands). E hōʻoluʻolu mai i kō ʻoukou mau naʻau, comfort your hearts.
ʻOluʻolu ka pōpoki.
Tapa in Niue
On the island of Niue, hiapo is the term for bark cloth. When Samoan missionaries came to Niue in 1830, it is recorded that they brought hiapo with them, along with the Tahitian tiputa, which is a sort of poncho. It is reasonable to believe that this cultural sharing could be a historical bridge between Samoan and the Society Islands,arising not only from Missionary influence, but also as a result of a long history of inter-island voyaging typical of canoe expeditions in the region.
Although the hiapo is said to have come originally from Samoa, the quality in Niue is different from Samoan siapo. Samples from Niue, are made by felting layers into a single sheet the way it’s done in the Cook Islands. The mystery about hiapo of Niue is that no one knows what it is made for, since the size seems to be small for clothing or blankets. Speculation has it that the very creative designs on Niuen hiapo were made for some sort of commercial purpose. Perhaps the artistry involved points to a creative purpose that served as a pastime activity? Since 1901, no hiapo has been produced in Niue.
The designs on Niuen hiapo are not made with the rubbing method. The Niuens decorated their hiapo with freehand painting that is similar to the Samoan style. Rectangular or circular design compositions with abstract forms and plant forms are drawn with fine black lines, in a grid formation. Occasionally, people, stars, and fish are also drawn into the design. Hiapo beaters found in Niue, called ike, are unique to Niue. The ike are carved with very fine grooves and shaped with a cuff on the handle.
(Neich & Pendergrast, Pacific Tapa, 1997).
Niuen Hiapo
Bark Cloth of the Cook Islands
Cook Islands Tiputa
Tapa is the name used for bark cloth in the Cook Islands. In the northern Cook Islands the paper mulberry did not grow well. But it did grow in the southern Cook Islands and was made into tapa there. As in other Polynesian islands, the breadfruit tree bark and banyan bark were also used to make tapa. In the southern Cooks tapa was felted into a single layer, with no sign of joining.
Decorating the finished tapa was done with freehand painting, immersion in dye baths, or it was cut with designs in a patterned motif. The rubbing method using design tablets was not used in the Cook Islands. Diamond motifs, which were “associated with the sacred world of the gods,” were applied on masks using the freehand painting method. Masks were made and decorated in Mangaia and Rarotonga and they were used in pageants called eva, to remember gods and cultural heroes. These ceremonies also were performed in association with mourning.
Tiputa was worn as clothing in the Cook Islands, in the Tahitian style that is believed to have been the result of the strong missionary influence. The tiputa was fashioned as a long piece of tapa that had a hole cut into the middle to be worn on the body like a poncho. Pants were made too. Articles of clothing were cut at the edges in fringes and cuts were made throughout the article in repetitive patterns, as in Futuna.
In the Cook Islands, as elsewhere in Polynesia, making bark cloth was done by women. However, a special, heavier, white cloth called tikoru was made by men. This was a special ceremonial bark cloth that was used to wrap around god images and was the attire of priests and high chiefs. This use may reflect the connection to spiritual beliefs that the chief and priests are descendant from the gods themselves.
(Neich & Pendergrast, Pacific Tapa, 1997).
Te Papa Tongarewa Museum in Aotearoa~New Zealand~
Te Papa Tongarewa Museum in Aotearoa, New Zealand has an incredible collection of Pacific tapa on exhibit. The exhibition is on for 2 more days on site. Check out their awesome online tapa gallery by clicking on the link below!
Info about the onsite exhibit here:
Hoʻowehi i ke kapa
Today I am experimenting with various dyes and creating colors that will be used to dye the kapa I have made. I will hoʻawa, extract dye colors from plants, to make ka waihoʻoluʻu, the dye, using ʻōlena for yellow, ʻukiʻuki for blue… overlapped they might make green… we shall see…will post photos later…
The botanical names for these dye plants are:
ʻōlena ~ Curcuma longa
ʻōlena plant
ʻukiʻuki ~ Dianella sandwicensis
~ALOHA~
Hawaiian Word of the Day: pōpoki
pōpoki: Cat (said by some to be derived from English “poor pussy”). Pōpoki kī, a spitting cat [spiteful, malignant person]. Pōpoki lehu, Maltese cat; lit., ash cat. Pōpoki nāwaliwali, weak cat [a weakling]. Pōpoki peʻelua, gray cat with darker markings, as a tabby cat; lit., caterpillar cat.
ko’u pōpoki, my cat
Hawaiian Word of the Day: hāʻawi
hāʻawi: To give, grant, allot, hand, present; to bid as at auction; to offer; to deal, as cards; a deal. Hāʻawi lokomaikaʻi, to give freely, open-handed. Hāʻawi wale, to give freely, gratis.
ʻukiʻuki ~ Dianella Sandwicensis
Ka ukiʻuki ʻo ia haʻawi. The ʻukiʻuki it’s giving.
Samoan Tapa is Siapo
Siapo is the common name used for bark cloth in Samoa. The siapo is the paper mulberry tree bark for the material called uʻa. The bark is prepared in the common way of removing and preparing the bast. The tools used to beat out the uʻa is the anvil called a tutua, which is about 3 feet long for a single person to work, or six feet long for two or three people to work together. The beater used is called an is called an iʻe. The iʻe has two smooth sides and two grooved sides. After the uʻa is beaten into a sheet, it is dried in the sun and made ready for design applications.
Samoan Siapo
Would you like to learn more about this topic? Check out this amazing website full of great info: siapo.com
Hawaiian Word of the Day: hānai
hānai: 1. Foster child, adopted child; foster, adopted. Keiki hānai, foster child. Lawe hānai, to adopt a child. Makua hānai, foster parent. Kāna hānai, his adopted child. 2. To raise, rear, feed, nourish, sustain; provider, caretaker (said affectionately of chiefs by members of the court). Hānai holoholona, to feed and care for domestic animals. Makamaka hānai, generous and hospitable friend. Hānai ā momona, to fatten. Hānai maila ʻoia iāia meli, he fed him the honey. 3. Body of a kōkō net carrier, and cords attached to it; fish net or trap, as for ʻoʻopu fish; kite.
akua hānai: 1. Spirits, as of a recently dead kinsman, who were fed (hānai) offerings (such as food) and sent out to destroy an enemy. 2. The kauila, nioi, and the ʻohe “poison” woods of Molokaʻi, which were kept by sorcerers in their houses, wrapped in tapa, and to which food offerings were made daily; scraps of these woods were used as poison, and poison itself was sometimes called akua hānai.
hānaiāhuhu: To make a pet of an animal; to care for well, as a pet; cherished plans, pet projects. Eia kekahi mau hānaiāhuhu a ke aupuni, here are some favorite plans of the government.
hanaina: Feeding. Eia mai ka moa i hanaina lā, here is the rooster fed in the sun; the cock fed in the sun was believed strong because of turning his head to avoid heat.
Feeding the Birds, by Joanna Dover
kapa kulture 