Handmade cape a big feather in Kamehameha student’s cap

For Nicholas Keali‘i Lum, a senior at Kamehameha Schools Kapalama, graduation this year will have special significance with a once-in-a-lifetime accomplishment.

Lum, 18, of Kaneohe, completed a traditional Hawaiian feather cape by hand under the guidance of Nu‘u­lani Atkins, curator of the on-campus Heritage Center, a museum that preserves and displays artifacts of school benefactor Princess Bernice Pauahi Bishop and her husband, Charles Reed Bishop.

The student designed the cape, constructed the net backing and eight-ply braided cord, and cut, bundled and tied more than 15,000 feathers — intricate efforts requiring patience, discipline and two years of work.

"It’s like a manu, like a bird," he said of the design.

Lum had a deal with Atkins, his teacher and mentor. If he finished the cape before graduating, it was his to keep. If he didn’t, it would belong to the Heritage Center.

Lum tied on the last bundle of feathers on Oct. 11, which happened to be his mother, Janine’s, birthday. It was blessed at a special ceremony with family, teachers and friends on Dec. 19, the princess’s birthday.

As he completed the cape, Lum said, he was overcome by a rush of adrenaline.

"I just remembered all the good things and bad things that had happened in two years, and how it passed by so fast," he said. "It’s the biggest sense of accomplishment I ever felt in my life."

The cape was constructed as closely to ancient Hawaiian ways as possible, according to Atkins, although the feathers are knotted with modern-day thread. The feathers are also dyed goose feathers rather than from native birds.

Students are assigned to work at the Heritage Center for a school quarter. Lum worked there two quarters and spent his free time finishing the cape.

Most students stick with feather lei or kahili (feather standards), so when Lum told Atkins he wanted to make a feather cape, he first said no.

That’s because the student must be ready to tackle such an immense project, Atkins said.

"This kind of teaching, you don’t teach to everyone," he said. "You wait until the right person comes along who can take on the kule­ana (responsibility)."

First, he made Lum come to the center and make feather lei and kahili and an eight-ply braid to practice his skills.

One day he decided Lum was indeed ready and the right person for Atkins to teach; the cultural mentor had not taught anyone how to make a feather cape since learning the art himself 30 years ago.

According to Atkins, learning to make a cape is a life lesson in many ways; it symbolizes a coming of age.

"This kind of work is not done by a child; it’s done by a man," he said. "It’s symbolic of what can be achieved when you put your mind to it, when you have enough determination and perseverance, along with patience and respect."

During the making of the cape, the craftsman can either go back to correct any mistakes or ignore them and go on. But if a flaw goes unfixed, the maker will always notice it long after it’s completed, Atkins said.

"That’s a lesson in itself," he said. "It’s always going to be there."

Atkins named the cape Kealomalamalamaokeali‘ii­kui­keauhou ("the magnificent presence of the chief standing at a new dawn"), incorporating Lum’s Hawaiian name as well as Keau­hou, the name of the band the student plays in with his older brother, Zachary, and a friend, Jonah Solatario. (Lum plays upright bass.)

"Following tradition, when something special is created, like a child being born, you give it a name and honor it with a mele inoa (name song)," Atkins said.

At the December ceremony, Lum’s father, Randy, tied the cape on him, and his brother performed a song he composed, appropriately titled "Keali‘i Ku i ke Au Hou." Atkins wrote the lyrics.

It was a proud moment for Lum and his family as Lum moves into adulthood.

Atkins said that to his knowledge Lum is the first Kamehameha student to complete a feather cape at the school. Now the kule­ana of passing on the knowledge belongs to both Lum and his mentor.

Lum plans to wear the cape for his senior portrait, then have it framed and displayed on the Kamehameha campus.

"If feels good because it’s something I did," he said. "I just feel like no one would get the same feeling wearing it, because I made it."

Lum plans to major in Hawaiian studies at the University of Hawaii at Manoa.