Kite runners
in the Museum / Back in the early days, when native Hawaiians were still the ethnic majority and neighborhoods were still called ahupuaa, kapa cloth was used for virtually everything. Kapa was a staple. It was the Formula 409 of materials and perhaps the quintessence of Hawaiian culture.
It is an understatement to say making kapa is an intensive process: stripping the bark–often from wauke (paper mulberry) trees–and then scraping the outer rind away, soaking the plant fibers in either fresh or salt water, pounding the fibers for a first round, re-soaking for several more days and re-pounding are only the beginning steps. The resulting cloth then has to be made into something.
And that’s exactly what fourth graders from Waianae Elementary School and Ka Waihona O Ka Naauao Public Charter School did for Bishop Museum’s 2009 Science and Culture of Art program: They made something. They made kites.
The program marked the culmination of a three-year outreach program and was directed at Oahu’s Title I schools. It was designed to encourage appreciation for the native Hawaiian culture, to cultivate insight into the unique geography of Hawaii and, perhaps most importantly, to give the students a chance to witness their own potential as artists, scientists and inhabitants of Hawaii nei, the program has concluded with an exhibit at Bishop Museum’s Science Adventure Center. More than two dozen kapa kites made by select Waianae fourth graders are now featured at the “Maui the Kite Maker” exhibit.
“By incorporating the students’ work into the Museum, not only are visitors given the opportunity to learn more through the integration of science and Hawaiian Culture, but it instills a sense of pride for participating students,” wrote Amber Inwood, Bishop Museum Science Educator.
The students used inspiration from Hawaiian legends–particularly from the story of Maui, who is said to have trapped the sun at Haleakala with the intention of prolonging the daylight for his mother to dry her kapa, and local artist Dalani Tanahy. An expert in wauke plants and a seasoned kapa instructor and artist, Tanahy is one of the few remaining go-to gals of kapa education.
Although there are several notable names that are associated with the world of kapa, kapa producers and artists have become few and far between these days. But these 25 kites are putting the clock in reverse; demonstrating the hard work and cultural integrity that have defined the process behind Hawaiian bark-cloth throughout the centuries. The students’ kites are a sign of hope for what lies ahead for Hawaii’s kapa and keiki alike.
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