Ho‘okahi Kapa - Opening July 22, 2006
Kapa, the fine and softly-rendered bark cloth of ancient Hawai‘i, was an integral part of every important phase of one's life - from birth and marriage and death. Kapa enfolded newborns, united two souls beneath a single marriage kapa, and protected the remains of departed loved ones.
All wore kapa, from those who worked the land, to those who ruled. Its uses varied from daily wear to serving as offerings in the most important of religious ceremonies. In legend, it was the reason Maui was charged with slowing the passage of the sun across the sky – so that his mother’s kapa might be allowed to dry.
Ho‘okahi Kapa
represents unity and wholeness among its
creators - that while the work of today's
kapa makers is often solitary in nature,
their creations reflect the vision and movement
of a community. The labor of over a dozen
kapa artists from throughout Hawai‘i are
represented in this exhibit, along side some
of the most beautiful of kapa and kapa implements
from the Museum's collections.
Developed in partnership with the Keomailani Hanapi Foundation, Bishop Museum’s newest Vestibule Gallery exhibit, Ho’okahi Kapa, showcases the the layers of live, of kaona (hidden meaning) that are impressed into each fiber and fold ~ layers which reveal the unparalleled beauty and complexity of both kapa and its creators.
On Saturday, July 22, 2006, Bishop Museum will open the exhibit with a three-hour public program, from 11a.m. to 2 p.m. The event will include storytelling by Tom Cummings and Kealoha Kelekolio, an artists’ panel, and kapa and implement making demonstrations. The exhibit opens on Saturday, July 22, 2006 and will be on display through October 22, 2006.
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