MACC Presents New Hula Work, Kapa Symposium

By Maui Now Staff

Image courtesy Halau O Kekuhi

This weekend, the MACC will be featuring two events related to kapa-making:  a brand new hula performance and a symposium on the art of kapa-making (fabric).

Things kick off with the new hula work entitled Hi‘iakaikano‘eau, based on the Hawaiian art and craft of kapa-making, which will be performed by Hālau o Kekuhi in the MACC’s Castle Theater this Sat, Jan. 18 at 7:30 pm.

This full-length hula work recreates movements done in the process kappa-making and distills messages from mele (songs) about kapa.

Through the hula, Hālau o Kekuhi seeks to communicate the message at the center of the Hawaiian sense of practical beauty: that all things should be made to be both useful and beautiful.

The hula performance “reincarnates the wisdom of the Hawaiian kupuna through the poetry of movement, just as the kapa work reincarnates the Hawaiian functional aesthetic through the poetry of fiber.”

Image courtesy Halau O Kekuhi

The MACC reports that “Hālau O Kekuhi will be dressed in traditional clothing, some made of kapa designed and made by kapa practitioners especially for this performance. Strict traditional guidelines were set out for the making of the kapa garments, with all pā‘ū, malo and kīhei and belting to be made of kapa, with panels sewn using natural fiber cordage or thread in the Hawaiian fashion of old.”

Tickets are $12, $32 and $34.

Then, on Sun, Jan. 19, a symposium on kapa will be offered from 1 to 3 p.m.

“Kapa: The Makers’ Journey” will feature presenters Nālani Kanaka‘ole, Kekuhi Keali‘ikanaka‘oleohaililani, Marie McDonald, Roen Hufford, Dalani Tanahy and Kaliko Spenser. Discussion topics will include the history, cultural values, botanical knowledge and future of Hawaiian kapa.

There will also be demonstrations by Solomon Apio and the Maui Kapa Hui.

Tickets are $10.