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kumu hula works on his costume
- 06.mar.03
All week long kumu (teacher) Etua has been working on
costumes for a concert this weekend. The Hawaiians pounded the inner
bark of trees into kapa cloth - it was then decorated using natural
dyes applied by brush and bamboo stamps. Kumu is using
modern fabric and modern craft store fabric paint - his stamps are
bamboo and the patterns tell a story of a life that has a strong
foundation, respect for the land and sea, a strong direction watched
over by his personal amakua the shark blessed by the rain.
For generations before the arrival of the Europeans, hula was used
to preserve Island history. It's revival in recent years also preserves
old skills. We would call them "crafts", but "craft"
has a rather Martha Stewart connotation.
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