Skin Stories Reveals Kuleana in Kakau

Courtesy image, Kamehameha Maui.

By Wendy Osher

Kamehameha Schools Maui opens its Huliau Film and Lecture Series this year by featuring the Pacific Islanders in Communications film: Skin Stories during a screening tonight.

Skin Stories traces the roots of tattoo, highlighting individual stories and the evolution of cultural traditions in the Pacific.

The film is described as an anthology of stories and images gathered from the hotspots around the Pacific.  From the steaming landscape of Rotorua in New Zealand to the vibrant gathering of the first international tattoo convention in Apia, Samoa, the series takes the viewer on a journey of penetrating Pacific imagery.

Here in Hawai’i, filmmakers feed their taste for tattoo, as they traverse the terraced taro fields of Maui and the golden beaches of O’ahu.

Following the film there will be a presentation that provides a basic understanding to identify the differences between Hawaiian kakau and Polynesian design. The discussion will also cover the kuleana associated with wearing a kakau.

The screening begins at 6:30 p.m. tonight, September 25, 2012, at the Keopuolani Hale at the Kamehameha Maui, Pukalani campus.

The event is free and open to the public.