Ka Papa Ma Kai celebrates isle culture

Hula is in my genes; I come from a hula ohana. My toys were miniature versions of hula implements like the uliuli (feather gourd), ipu (gourd drum), kalaau (wooden sticks), puili (split bamboo rattles) and iliili (pebbles). They were just the right size for my toddler hands, and I’ve kept some of them to this day.”

Kaiulani Kauahi fondly recalls growing up with hula. Her grandmother Sarah Kawahinealiiopuna Kaina Caminos opened Kanoe’s Hula Studio in 1920 in Wahiawa. When she died, Kauahi’s mother, Marguerite Emmalani Vincent, and her aunt Ruth Walea continued the halau (school) as its kumu hula (teachers).

“I made my hula debut was when I was 3 years old at a private party and taught my first class when I was 12 years old, under the watchful eye of my mother,” Kauahi said. “Our halau also performed at carnivals, parades, school fundraisers and other community events. At one time my mother taught hula to Leilehua High School’s football team. Like other forms of dance, it helps with timing, coordination, agility and flexibility.”

Today, Kauahi is kumu hula of Kanoe’s Hula Studio, where she schedules classes around her day job as culture and arts coordinator for Honolulu’s Department of Parks and Recreation. When Mayor Kirk Caldwell charged the department with developing Ka Papa Ma Kai (“classes by the sea”) in July, Kauahi spearheaded the planning, knowing hula would be among the activities offered.

“Hula is internationally recognized, so I thought it would be good to teach our haumana (students) the basics,” she said. “Dancers make it look effortless; however, your body works really hard to maintain the positions and do the gestures and foot and hip movements.”

Kauahi also thought Hawaiian language was an important topic to cover. Participants discover that even a slight mispronunciation can change the meaning of a word. The hands-on craft element of the program lets students take home something to remind them of Hawaii and what they learned.

Designed as a 10-week pilot project, Ka Papa Ma Kai launched Sept. 2. Wednesday marks its midway point; after the final session Nov. 4, the weekly program will be evaluated to determine whether to make it permanent.

Kauahi and two other parks department staffers, Alex Ching and Samantha Sun, are the program’s instructors. During September they focused on the kukui, Hawaii’s state tree. The final five sessions will revolve around the makahiki, which was observed long ago from October through February in honor of Lono, the god of rain and fertility.

Work and warfare weren’t allowed during those months; rather, it was a time of peace for sports, feasts, dancing, religious ceremonies and strengthening ohana and community bonds.

During the upcoming classes, participants will learn the Hawaiian words for several makahiki games and play some of the games, including konane (checkers), kaula (a string game akin to cat’s cradle) and palaie, where players toss and catch a cloth ball with a loop and stick made of braided coconut midribs (the ball was originally made of tapa).

And, of course, they will learn a hula.

“Ka Papa Ma Kai is a wonderful opportunity for visitors and kamaaina to meet, talk story and learn about Hawaii’s culture in a beautiful setting by the sea,” Kauahi said. “There’s no need to register; just come, enjoy and make new friends as you learn about some of the things that make our island home special.”

Cheryl Chee Tsutsumi is a Honolulu-based freelance writer whose travel features for the Star-Advertiser have won several Society of American Travel Writers awards.