Read this article in ʻŌlelo Hawaiʻi
Aloha friends of this Hawaiian language column. During these past months, we have appreciated the Native Hawaiian treasures at the British Museum in London, namely the precious artifacts in the new exhibit, Hawaiʻi: A kingdom crossing oceans. I’ve said that this article provides but a glimpse into the exhibit and have encouraged you to procure Hawaiʻi: A kingdom crossing oceans from UH Press.
The cover of the book is a tapa of old. That tapa was decorated with lines and large geometric designs that were painted with pandanus-key brushes. It is an ancient tapa – a tapa cloth made before the arrival of Captain Cook. The ancient type kapa were lined with a tool made of bamboo or other wood. This tool was called a lapa and was like a long fork. The many tapa in the museum in London are simply wondrous.
When Captain Cook arrived in Hawaiʻi in 1778, he searched for supplies for the voyage: fresh water and meat. The Europeans traded European things with the Native Hawaiians. The trade items most desired by Native Hawaiians were nails, spikes, and metal objects like scissors and adzes.
With the availability of iron, Hawaiians could carve wood with ease. A tool of the tapa maker that was an innovation and result of metal was the bamboo stamper. With the bamboo stamper, the designs changed and skirts, shawls, and loincloths were beautified for royalty.
The designs created on tapa changed. It is believed by some anthropologists that pieces of fabric that were traded like chintz and calico-like prints were mimicked by Hawaiians. True or not true. However, obtaining metal changed tapa decorations – from the use of liners to decorated stampers.
Vast and deep is the knowledge of our ancestors. They showed us through their tapa making that they were open to taking foreign things and making them Native.
