Hawaiian History and Heritage Events at MACC

By Maui Now Staff

A scene from one of the Kuleana films. Courtesy image.

This Nov. 9 and 10, the Maui Arts and Cultural Center offers a examination of Hawai’i history and heritage with two special events held in the McCoy Studio Theater.

On Saturday, Nov. 9, take in the premiere of The Legend Of Ko’olau, a play by local author Gary T. Kubota.

The one-man play, acted by Ed Ka‘ahea and directed by Keo Woolford, “tells the story of a Hawaiian man who became an ‘outlaw’ while trying to protect his family’s right to live on land in Kaua‘i after the loss of Hawaiian sovereignty in 1893.

“The enforcement of leprosy laws at that time would have consigned Kaluaiko’olau and his son to the ‘Living Grave’ settlement at Kalaupapa, but Ko‘olau’s wife Pi‘ilani was resolved to keep the family together. Ko‘olau had been a cowboy and fought against the militia, and he was an excellent marksman. These factors – as well as the vast wilderness of Kaua‘i’s Kalalau Valley – contribute to his cause.”

Tickets to The Legend of Ko’olau are $25.

Then, on Sunday Nov. 10 at 3 p.m. enjoy the Kuleana film series.

Billed as “a contemporary view of the efforts to keep Hawaiian things Hawaiian,” Kuleana is the first of the two-part Heritage Films series conceived by Kumu Hula Hokulani Holt, the MACC’s cultural director.

The series will will be a collection of short films addressing various subjects facing Hawaiian communities, created by the organization 4 Miles LLC, in partnership with Kamehameha Publishing Kumukahi Project and the Office of Hawaiian Affairs.

4 Miles LLC has a mission “to promote a better global understanding of the people and practices that make Hawaiʻi unique, as well as to encourage the protection and perpetuation of Hawaii’s resources.”

The MACC explains that the films highlighted in this Kuleana session “take the audience on a huakaʻi throughout the paeʻāina: to shine the light on good work being done by many in the community to ensure that laws are being followed to protect iwi kupuna, precious resources, sacred sites, and traditional/customary rights, among other issues.”

Following the films there will be a talk story session.

Tickets are $10 and more information can be found here.