Lama (Diospyros sandwicensis) is a slow growing endemic Hawaiian tree species which occupies dry land / lowland forests. It produces a dense wood that were used in the construction of certain hale. Lama has the potential to be a principal or minor part in the dry land forests depending on its location and its interaction with other plants.

The Lama in relation to hula kuahu is the connection to the hula goddess Laka whose function in the environment is the evapotranspiration (piʻikomoāea) of the forest, which contributes to the water cycle. As a hula practitioner, from the ʻaihaʻa tradition, we are encouraged to perspire as the forest does, and also contribute to the water cycle. That is the hula practitioner’s sacrifice.

Lama being an oxymoron with its ebony nature and definition of enlightenment, personally, it represents a balance or duality which I reflect on in my lawena. Like the lama in the forest, depending on my environment and who I choose to surround myself with I can serve a principal or minor function to my community. In this way she reminds me to be antic and earnest when I need to be.

-Kaiʻanui Andaya, Hoʻopaʻa

ʻIeʻie or ʻie (Freycinetia arborea) is a native plant, indigenous to Hawaiʻi and many other areas of the Pacific. Found in mesic to wet forests, ʻieʻie is a branching, woody plant that epiphytically climbs up trees and into forest canopies, or sprawls across the ground and over rocks. ʻIeʻie and hala (Pandanus) are in the same Pandanaceae family, and have similar characteristics, including leathery, light to dark green, spirally arranged leaves, aerial roots, and inflorescences (groups of flowers) on a fleshy stem that develop into the fruit and seeds of the plant. Also similar to hala, ʻieʻie fibers are used in many Hawaiʻi traditions, such as the use of its aerial roots in basket weaving or building fish traps.

ʻIe can mean flexible or limber, like a vine, which are necessary physical abilities in the hula body. ʻIe or ʻieʻie can also mean proud or arrogant, in the way of the confidence one has in their intentions and abilities as a hula person. When we put the ʻieʻie on the kuahu, we remind ourselves to grow as the ʻieʻie does, reaching for the tallest heights and fulfilling our greatest potential, and always striving for perfection and offering nothing less than our best, be it in the sweat we give in a dance, the care we give as stewards of our resources and environment, the pule we offer through our lei kuahu, or the aloha and support we have for our hula siblings.

The connections I have with ʻieʻie and other kinolau that I have developed through hula kuahu have greatly informed and shaped who I am today, both personally and professionally. When I see ʻieʻie on the kuahu, I ask myself, “what can I do to build and strengthen my confidence and abilities to reach my fullest potential of being the best hoʻopaʻa, daughter, sister, friend, conservationist, employee, supervisor, and co-worker that I can be?” Simply put, to embody the ʻieʻie is to be the best version of ourselves.

- Kainana Francisco, Hoʻopaʻa

ʻŌhiʻa/ʻŌhiʻa Lehua (Metrosideros polymorpha)
A dominant and key species in Hawaiʻi’s forests, the ʻŌhiʻa truly lives up to itʻs nomenclature, polymorpha. Through subtle changes in leaf shape and formation, height, and even flower color, this highly adaptive native can be found in variant environments and microclimates across Hawaiʻi pae ʻāina. These variances allow the ʻōhiʻa to live in coastal areas, wet forests, wind-stricken ledges, and even stunted mountain bogs.

The inoa Hawaiʻi, ʻŌhiʻa, speaks of itʻs natural ability to ʻohi, to gather plants around itself. As a pioneer species on barren lava, the ʻōhiʻa provides critical soil for plants to establish themselves, eventually forming the foundation for functioning forests to host our native species. Even after it has fallen, the ʻōhiʻa continues to provide as a nursery for seeds and sprouts, releasing nutrients for itʻs surrounding organisms.

Itʻs nature to ʻohi also speaks to itʻs ability to capture, conserve, and retain water for our forests and aquifers. It is the connection between Laka, the transpiration of the forest, and the pahuwai, aquifer, that sits deep in the honua.

Currently, ʻōhiʻa serves the kuahu in itʻs natural environment. In 2014, a vascular wilt fungus called Ceratocystis fimbriata emerged in Hawaiʻi, creating a widespread occurrence of rapid ʻōhiʻa mortality. As stewards of our environmental akua, the quarantine on ʻōhiʻa timber and foliage extends to the hula practitioner. A reflection of our surrounding environment, the absence of ʻōhiʻa on the physical kuahu encourages the regeneration of the ʻōhiʻa forest and amplifies itʻs importance to our ʻāina. The ʻōhiʻa reminds me to create and foster places of learning and growth in every role that I serve: student, teacher, daughter, friend. By creating these spaces, we create a strong foundation for our lāhui and forests to thrive.

- ʻElika Jardin, Hoʻopaʻa

Heahea nā leo ui i ka maile kaluhea
Hahaʻi maila i ka maile haʻi wale
Hōʻauliʻi ʻia ka ulu lāʻau i ka maile lau liʻi
Māhuahua ka maile lau nui
Pā mai ke ʻala o ka maile pakaha

Maile (Alyxia Stellata) - The five sisters noted in the moʻolelo of Lāʻieikawai, maile kaluhea, maile haʻi wale, maile lau liʻi, maile lau nui, and maile pakaha are recognized and appreciated for its unique characteristics. Maile is a vine-like shrub that grows and inhabits the understories of Hawaiʻis forests. Maile twists, turns, and rolls like a sea through the forest floor connecting and binding the forest together. Maile can be seen crawling horizontally like Hāliʻimaile on the island of Maui. Hāliʻi means to cover and spread, like a blanket of maile.

Pupu weuweu e Laka e
O kona weuweu ke ku nei
Kaumaha aela ia Laka e
Ua lu ka hua o ka maile

A bundle of greenery acknowledged on the kuahu dedicated to Laka. The dancers are satisfied and sustained by Laka and the fruit/seeds of maile are scattered.

My understanding of maile comes from my relationship with this kinolau. Binding me to connect with my forests and scatter the knowledge passed through our kuahu process. The nature of maile is to grow in dense clusters, bind, and connect. My connection of maile to kuahu is to inspire and activate growth in hālau, ʻohana, and community so we can deepen our knowledge and elevate as a collective. Maile has a strong and beautiful scent that awakens and activates; generating a memory, or re-establishing a connection. Maile also symbolizes the process of regeneration and rebirth; elevating the journey ahead collectively so that we may birth and connect the ʻike of our past, present, and future.

Ua lū ka hua o ka maile! Activate myself and disperse the seeds that have grown within me and embark on a journey! Like the dense clusters deepening my knowledge and binding myself to those who encourage my growth! Thrive, multiply, and flourish!

- Piʻilani Kali, Hoʻopaʻa

Palapalai (Microlepia Strigosa)
“E hele aku ana nō ʻo Hiʻiaka mā i loko o ka uluwehiwehi o ka palapalai… i loko o ka lipolipo o nā lau palai” Hoʻoulumāhieie, 75

In the moʻolelo of Hiʻiakaikapoliopele, Hiʻiaka traverses through “nā lau lipolipo,” an enveloping dense thicket of palapalai and other kinolau for refuge and safety. These lau extend from the kino lau nāhele o Pāʻūopalaʻā who is an extension of Hiʻiaka herself.

Nāna i hele a ʻaʻe a ulu.
Where Hiʻiaka ventures forth, there is increase and growth.

Hiʻiaka also employs palapalai for healing and regeneration, offering an insight to the nature and function of palapalai. For it is in the lipolipo, the dense darkness, that life originates. And it is here that the spirit of life is animated and vivified.

Palapalai is an indigenous fern native to Hawaiʻi that grows with great intricacy in its fronds and leaf divisions, creating a pattern that is adorned by fine hairs that glisten, emanating through the canopy of the forest. Though able to exist at a variety of temperatures and elevations, palapalai flourishes in moist, shaded areas above the forest floor. In return, it contributes to the foundations of a healthy forest and establishes an intimate canopy to preserve and safeguard moisture and humidity. This cultivates an environment conducive to sprouting life.

On the kuahu, palapalai embodies these qualities of cultivation, animation, regeneration, and enrichment

Personally, palapalai inspires humbleness in appreciation of the “canopy” of hula traditions of our kūpuna that were imparted & inherited; continuing to today and extending to future generations. Palapalai is a reminder to myself that is necessary to cultivate an environment, physical and social, that is adequately waiwai (saturated) with wai (the value of life) conducive to the maturation of myself towards my highest potential. In turn, I can contribute towards cultivating this environment of support that contributes to the health and wellness of my peers, ʻohana, and community. Palapalai teaches me that regeneration and enrichment begins in the moist and dense verdure.

- Kekaikāneola Lindsey, Hoʻopaʻa

ʻŌlapa (Cheirodendron trigynum/Helleri - only on Kauaʻi)
Ehu l Kauila māhu l Lapalapa l Māhu l ʻŌlapalapa
ʻŌlapa, Cheirodendron belongs to the Ginseng family, Araliaceae. ʻŌlapa is native to Hawaiʻi found in mesic to wet forests above 1000 feet. The leaves are arranged in three to five leaflets, with flowers borne in umbels. The fruit is a source of food for many native birds including the ʻōmaʻo and it can produce a bluish black dye.

The name ʻōlapa or ʻōlapalapa is associated with the sound that its leaves make when they flutter in the wind. ʻŌlapa can also mean to flash, as lightning; to blaze suddenly. In hula, the ʻōlapa is also a term used for dancer; distinguishing the dancer from the hoʻopaʻa. In some hula traditions, the ʻōlapa is also a ranking within the hālau that is achieved by haumāna that have reached a level of maturity, transitioning them into the echelon or kūlana of the ʻōlapa. The hula ʻōlapa is a classification of hula indicative of compositions that utilize couplets, verses, and haʻina; it is in this classification of hula that we see the world’s influence on Hawaiʻi.

When I see ʻōlapa on the kuahu it evokes images of the movement of the ʻōlapa as its shiny leaves bounce and dance in the wind and memories of its refreshing fragrance tickles my nose. My kumu husband calls the ʻōlapa the chandelier of the forest.

If we dissect the word ʻōlapa, we can further interpret its meaning. ʻŌ means to pierce or to prod and lapa means to excite or flare, as with passion. When placed on the kuahu, I internalize these sentiments - to pierce or prod to awaken and conjure up excitement and passion within myself. At times, the journey of the hula learner and wife of the kumu hula can be arduous but the ʻōlapa reminds me of the catalyst of my own hula journey, inspiring me to continue to fulfill my passions. It is through this triggering of excitement, passion, and verve that we continue to create magic!

- Kēhau Kaio aka Mrs. Kaio

We are so excited to share our ʻieʻie inspired pāʻū!

During the construction phase we added some new details which absolutely enhanced the pāʻū we originally envisioned!

We hope that whoever is familiar with this epiphyte can truly appreciate the details in this pāʻū --The variation of colors, the details of the kāpala, and the tedious construction of the taga. Sheʻs P!

It wasnʻt all smooth sailing and we ran into some minor issues (like buying 6 yards of the wrong pellon, aue!....and one of the ʻaweʻawe unraveling!) but it all came together in the end!

We were all insistent on using the ʻieʻie as a kāpala for the two pellon pāʻū and thankfully Kaiʻanui found one with ʻīkoi pua! Mahalo universe!

The green pāʻū was pleated to represent and exaggerate the hard lines of the leaves. It was printed with the stalk of the ʻieʻie using metallic gold and copper paint to imitate the sun reflecting off the damp leaves. Itʻs a thing! Have you ever seen ʻieʻie growing somewhere that isnʻt wet? Yeah, us either. Lol

The salmon pleated mini-pāʻū represents the color of the inner leaves and the fruit of the ʻieʻie. We used the hua of the ʻieʻie and printed the inner folds of the pleat -- Trying to mimic how the fruit hides or peeks from behind the green leaves. YESSS!

The top part of the taga resembles a hīnaʻi or ‘ie to honor the functional use of the roots. We added ʻaweʻawe to give the imagery of the coiling, entangling ʻieʻie. These three layers sit on a basic, elastic-waisted pāʻū that is a dark but bright red. This pāʻū represents the ʻōhiʻa, the ever-familiar host to our ʻieʻie. How did we do? ;)

-Kaiʻanui Andaya, Konohia Spencer, Kauʻi Kalili

E nā makamaka aloha, may this pāʻū inspired by the ʻōhiʻa inspire life for each of us.

The interior pāʻū is colored with the bark of the ʻōhiʻa & ʻōlena. The amber produced as a result is reflective of the aesthetic of the sun and of the vitality of Kānehoalani. The sun is the impetus that incites the movement of water in our atmosphere. Hahai ka ua i ka ulu lāʻau. Furthermore, the ʻōhiʻa culls and ammasses the water in our atmosphere and feeds the pahu (aquifer) of our ʻāina.

The exterior pāʻū is colored with the nanahu produced from the embers of the ʻōhiʻa. This process is a reminder of the natural cycle of our ʻōhiʻa, beginning and ending in fire. Pele establishes a landscape in which the ʻōhiʻa may flourish & in contrast, consumes the ʻōhiʻa, allowing for a process of regeneration. The nanahu is intended to embody the various processes of birth, death, and renewal.

The pāʻū is bound by a kāʻei of kaunaʻoa, a native parasitic vine that is dependent on the health and vigor of its host. In this design, the ʻōhiʻa is the host.

The kāpala above illustrates the extension of the maʻalewa. The kāpala below represents a flourishing ʻōhiʻa forest. The ʻōhiʻa hihipeʻa o Kealakomo. Hihipeʻa is when the forest is dense and flourishing to the point that it appears the trees are twisted bound and in a thicket.

The relationship between ʻōhiʻa, Pele and an established forest was captured in our colors, dye, kāpala, and kāʻei. In a time where ʻōhiʻa are challenged because of ROD, we aspire to invoke healing by virtue of our dance; our health is dependent on that of the ʻōhiʻa. When we dance, the reach of our pāʻū (huʻa) claims the boundary of the physical space of the dancer. The meaning and thought process of our pāʻū and its relationship to the dancer allows us to transcend beyond the physical huʻa and transports beyond the secular.

The process of conceptualization and implementation of our design was indeed a learning experience. Our concept evolved as we implemented our design. Mahalo to our kumu for this opportunity and to those who supported us in this journey.

-Kekaikāneola Lindsey, Shari Frias

E lū aʻela nā hū o ka maile! We are excited to show you our physical representation of maile through pāʻū!!

The foundation of our ʻaʻahu begins with the pāʻū itself. The inner pāʻū is dyed a darker green to exhibit the uli of the forest. Showcasing the wealth found within our forests, this uli is indicative of older growth and the progression of our forests from such rich foundations. The density of the patch shows itʻs age as it grows darker, entangling and extending beyond itself.

The outer pāʻū is a lighter green which represents the sprouting of the maile. As the maile and forest experience new growth, these lighter shades of green emerge from the dark, accentuating the new life and extension beyond the invigorating deep. In the same way, we see new growth and inspiration at the forefront, celebrating the progression of our traditions.

The obi was dyed to achieve the pink to indicate sakura blossoms, which are blooming right now throughout Japan. The entire Japanese archipelago is painted pink with sakura blossoms as a greeting to the Spring season. Similarly, the scent of maile travels and brings us to the realm of Laka. Their comparable scents made by coumarine, trigger our memories and create a connection with two different volcanic archipelago, Hawaiʻi and Japan. The folded layers of obi illustrate the depth of sakura blossoms on the trees. The process of tying obi is a repetition of making a knot and wrapping around the waist. This circulatory motion creates a portal to bring us to the realm of Laka, and tying the knots, we will be attached to the pāʻū. In other words, tying obi is a ritual of transformation.

We also created a knot with a dyed obi-jime, a cordage wrapped on the pink obi. A single knot was placed in the center of the obi, where the piko is. This knot on the piko shows the matriarchal connection, which indicates our hula genealogy. It was dyed with the same dye bath as the dark green pāʻū, representing the connection between maile and sakura through the scent.

May we be transported through scent, vision, and memory to honor the lineages from which we sprout!

-Elika Jardin, Kaoru Coakley

We are humbled to have been able to partake in the process of our palapalai-inspired pāʻū. We enjoyed the opportunity to kilo all aspects of the palapalai and practice our articulation through ʻaʻahu, art, and design by transforming abstract ideas into a tangible reflection of this kuahu kinolau.

This is the first time that we’ve been able to work together on a creative project like this, and it was great to learn each other’s strengths and interests, collaborate to pull ideas together, and find new ways to support each other as we worked together to get the various tasks done. Some of our most enjoyable moments of this process included taking a huakaʻi into the forest to find inspiration, and physically creating an ʻaʻahu from the ground up through carving, dyeing, sewing, knotting, and printing.

A few challenges we ran into included choosing different materials for a couple of the layers, adapting our kāpala printing plans, not understanding the sizing of pieces and how they would fit together, and having to adjust our timeline to accommodate these changes.

In the end, our ʻaʻahu consists of four pieces. The base-layer is a pellon pāʻū dyed in a dark, uli color seen in the undergrowth of a palapalai patch with a brown spore-inspired kāpala print that can be seen as the dancer moves, like the palapalai fern fluttering in the breeze. The mid-layer is a green cotton pāʻū with a green spore-inspired kapala print that can be both visible and invisible, depending on lighting conditions and viewing angles, and the light-weight cotton reflects the delicate, soft nature of the palapalai. We were able to stick to our original idea of a ʻōlena-colored taga pāʻū for the top-layer. In addition, we added a taga kāʻei dyed in a dark, purple color to reflect the mature palapalai stems, which serves as the kua or backbone to our pāʻū that supports and binds together each layer of our ʻaʻahu.

It's been well over a year since we created new ʻaʻahu, and it was refreshing to be able to dive back into these creative processes. Mahalo for the opportunity and hope you enjoy our final ʻaʻahu!

-Kainana Francisco, Traven ʻApiki

Our pā’ū is inspired by the ʻōlapa; its function in the forest, our sensory experiences with it, and the memories it triggers.

Pāʻū Uli (Maroon pāʻū): This foundational layer mimics the intricate vein patterns and outlines of the ʻōlapa leaves. This maroon color also represents the uli (dark) of the forest, which is an indicator of a healthy forest. This sets our intentions and foundations for this pāʻū, a healthy and thriving kuahu nui, kuahu iki, and kuahu kanaka.

Kāʻei Lāʻī: Literally and figuratively, the kāʻei ties our pāʻū together. The lāʻī was gathered from Honoliʻi and braided into the same style we use for our kūpeʻe; reflecting the binding of the ‘ōlapa learner to the hālau, kuahu, and environment. After the braiding was done, the aho was dipped in the kai. The waves came in and as the ‘ili’ili were tossed gently by the current along the shore, the sound was reminiscent of the ‘ōlapa’s dancing leaves.

Pāʻū Lauhala: Capturing the lapalapa sound - we achieved this by using the green lauhala for this pāʻū. The print is inspired by the brushing technique found in kapa dyeing, kapa printing, and the Māori piupiu skirts. Piupiu in te reo Māori means to move to and fro and that movement, like the ʻōlapa, creates the lapalapa soundscape (listen to the last slide 😉). The print itself consists of three larger markings at the top, middle, and bottom. These represent the stages of the hula learner in Unulau; muʻo, ʻōlapa, and hoʻopaʻa. The five smaller lines that are duplicated represent the five top tier plants on our kuahu; ʻieʻie, ʻōhiʻa, maile, palapalai, and the ʻōlapa.

ʻŌlapa produces a lot of leaf litter, providing more soil to be established and creating the environment for other forest plants to thrive. This is reflected in the evolution of the pāʻū lauhala. Overtime, the green leaves will become brown and may begin to curl too, as it dries. The evolution of the lauhala from green to brown is symbolic of the evolution of the hula practitioner from a “green” student to one that contributes to the health of the hālau, much like the mature leaves that become leaf litter.

-Piʻilani, Kehau, Mika