Kapa Revival Project
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This blog is dedicated to Hawaiian kapa and matters related to Hawai'i nei…kuku kapa e!
Archive for the tag “‘Olelo Hawai’i”
Kapa that I made over the past weeks…
This photo shows 14 pieces of kapa in a variety of sizes and textures. Some are heavy and stiff, some are thin, fine, and flexible. Many hours were spent pounding these using the hohoa and iʻe kuku to form a smooth cloth from the raw wauke tree bark, paper mulberry tree. These pieces are now ready for ho’owehi, decoration. The ʻohe kāpala are literally bamboo stamps, carved to be printing tools. I have gathered raw materials to make hoʻowaiulu, dyes. I have ʻōlena root for yellow, kukui nut ashes for black, and ʻalaea a mineral in the soil for red. I also have boiled down banana flower petals and got a brown wash. Stay tuned for the results! ~Aloha~
white kapa
kapa ke’ʻokeʻo
ʻohe kāpala, bamboo stamps
Hawaiian Word of the Day: kumu
kumu: 1. Bottom, base, foundation, basis, title (as to land), main stalk of a tree, trunk, handle, root (in arithmetic); basic; hereditary, fundamental. Kumu pali, base foot of a cliff. ʻIke kumu, basic, fundamental knowledge. Aliʻi kumu, hereditary chief. Alanui kumu, main street. ʻAuikumu, nominative case. Kumu kāhili, staff of a kāhili. Kumu nalu, source of waves, as where surfing starts. Mai ke kumu ā ka wēlau, from trunk to tip [all, entirely]. (Proto-Polynesian: tumu.) 2. Teacher, tutor, manual, primer, model, pattern. Kumu alakaʻi, guide, model, example. Kaʻu kumu, my teacher. Kumu hoʻohālike, pattern, example, model. Kumu hula, hula teacher. Kumu kuʻi, boxing teacher. Kumu kula, school teacher. Kumu leo mele, song book. Kumu mua, first primer. 3. Beginning, source, origin; starting point of plaiting. ho’okumu. To make a beginning, originate, create, commence, establish, inaugurate, initiate, institute, found, start. 4. Reason, cause, goal, justification, motive, grounds, purpose, object, why. Kumu no ka ʻoki male, grounds for divorce. Kumu ʻole, without reason or cause. He aha ke kumu i ʻeha ai kou wāwae? What is the reason for your foot hurting? 5. an article bought, sold or exchanged; price. kumu kūʻai. Kumu lilo, price paid, cost. Kumu loaʻa, selling price. 6. Herd, flock. kumu hipa, kumu pipi.
Hawaiian Word of the Day: maopopo
maopopo: To understand, recognize, realize; clear; plainly, clearly; understanding. Ua maopopo iā’oe? Do you understand? Ua maopopo ia’u kou mana’o, I understand your idea. Ha’i maopopo, to tell clearly. Maopopo ka ‘ikena, clearly seen or known. Maopopo ‘ole, unintelligible, unaware, unaccountable. Maopopo loa, to understand clearly, definite, certain. Maopopo maika’i, maopopo le’a, obvious, evident, clearly understood.
ho’omaopopo. To understand, make plain or clear, tell clearly, cause to understand, pay attention in order to understand; to certify, inform, remember, recollect, recall, think about, remind, believe in, realize, ascertain, take care of, recognize, discover. (Depending on context, many translations are possible; for substitution of maopopo for ho’omaopopo) Ho’omaopopo ‘ē, to understand ahead, to anticipate; inkling. Ho’omaopopo ‘ole ‘ia, misunderstood, unintelligible, uncared for, unclear. E ho’omaopopo aku ‘oe, i ka hola ‘ehia kākou e hele ai, find out what hour we are going. E ho’omaopopo aku ‘oe e hele mai i kēla ‘apōpō, remind [him] to come tomorrow. E ho’omapopo mai ‘oe i kēia mea e a’o ‘ia aku nei, pay attention and comprehend these things being taught you. (From Hawaiian Dictionary, Pukui & Elbert, p 241, 1971).
e ala e
Hawaiian Word of the Day: wiwo’ole
wiwo’ole: Fearless, brave, bold, courageous, dauntless, intrepid. Hana wiwo’ole, bold or brave deed, adventure. Mea wiwo’ole, intrepid person, adventurer.
Hawaiian Word of the Day: kāhili
kāhili: 1. Feather standard, symbolic of royalty; segment of a rainbow standing like a shaft (also a sign of royalty); to brush, sweep, switch (to spray, as in kāhilihili: Kāhilihili ke kai a ka he’e nalu, spraying sea of surf-rider).
Kāhili chants (As in ‘ou’ou, to describe the pinnacle or high peak): I ka lālā wēkiu ka pua o Lono, i ka ‘ou’ou o nā lani nui, in the topmost branch the flowers of Lono, among the highest of the high chiefs.
2. Pa’a kāhili, kāhili bearer. Kū kāhili, one standing by a kāhili or carrying it. Kāhili pulu, to clear away mulch. Haku ‘ia na’e ho’i ka hulu o ka moa i kāhili i mua o nā ali’i; kāhili ‘ia na’e ho’i kō kua, chicken feathers indeed are woven into a standard for the presence of the chiefs; your back is brushed by the kāhili.
ho’okāhili. To brush or fan gently. 2. The crape myrtle (Lagerstroemea indica), an ornamental shrub from China, with small oval leaves and panicles of pink, white, or purple crape flowers. 3. A small tree (Grevillea banksii) from Australia, related to the silky oak, ‘oka kilika, but the leaves with fewer subdivisions and the flowers red or cream-white. This is a later application of kāhili to a plant. Flowers not used for leis on head or around neck because of irritating hairs, but made into leis for hats by sewing alternated rows of flower clusters and own leaves on pandanus band. 4. Kāhili ginger (Hedychium gardnerianum), from the Himalaya region; much like the white ginger but with a more open flower head, the flowers with narrow yellow segments and one bright red stamen apiece. Also ‘awapuhi kāhili. 5. A seaweed, probably Turbinaria ornata.
Hawaiian Word of the Day: ‘onipa’a
‘onipa’a: Fixed, immovable, motionless, steadfast, established, firm, resolute, determined (this was the motto of Ka-mehameha V and of Lili’u-o-ka-lani. Lit., fixed movement). hō’onipa’a. To fix, establish firmly. E hō’onipa’a loa wau iā ‘oukou (Bible: Jer. 42:10), I will plant you securely (Pukui & Elbert, Hawaiian Dictionary, 1971).
Hawaiian Word of the Day: puke / buke
puke/buke: Book, volume (in a series).
ka puke
Oratory is a valuable art form throughout Polynesia. As such it has an important role, with etiquette and rules of protocol. Passing down legacies of cultural stories, events, and skills exclusively through oral transmission was a way of life. When the Missionaries came to the islands of Hawai’i in 1820, they eventually established schools in which the spoken Hawaiian language was extended to written forms. The Hawaiian alphabet could be learned for reading and writing and vocabulary words were continuously being added to the written Hawaiian language.
In 1869, a Native Hawaiian historian reported in a newspaper article that Hawai’i was the only Pacific island government to be represented at an Exposition in Paris. Books of law, newspapers, agricultural products, Bibles, textbooks, as well as other examples of writing in ‘ōlelo Hawai’i were exhibited. It is said that European visitors to the Paris Exhibition were awestruck at the examples of their literary accomplishments. For in Europe at that time, monarchs and their noble classes alone received excellent educations. It is reported that one viewer exclaimed, “This…island is ahead in literacy; and the enlightened countries of Europe are behind it!”
kapa kulture 