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Hina and Maui The Story of Hawaiian Tapa Making at Bailey House Museum
Friday, June 10, 5pm, Bailey House Museum, Wailuku, $45/$50
June 09, 2011
Hawaiian historian Samuel Kamakau wrote in 1870, that "all are dead who knew how to make the coverings... that made the wearers look dignified and proud and distinguished." But the art of Hawaiian kapa-making (i.e. a painstakingly rendered traditional fabric made from the bast fibers of, often, paper mulberry called wauke) was revived some 100 years later—and in 1987, cultural practitioners Wesley Sen, Hokulani Holt and Pua Van Dorpe held kapa-making workshops at the Bailey House Museum. Returning to the roots of this revitalization—and in honor of Kamehameha Day—Holt and Sen, with the Maui Historical Society and Bailey House Museum, present Hina & Maui: The Story of Hawaiian Tapa Making (Ka Mo'olelo no ke Kapa o Hawai'i Nei) this Friday. Holt has written original hula and cant that tells the legend of Hina and Maui, while Sen has fashioned one-of-a-kind costumes made of traditional kapa for the performers. In addition to the performance, antique kapa from the museum's collection will be exhibited, plus a presentation on kapa-making by Sen (who will conduct additional workshops earlier Friday and on Saturday). Seating is limited to 100 people, and attendees must be 21 years or older. 244-3326; baileyhousemuseum@clearwire.net; mauimuseum.org