A L O H A !
Tap Tap Tap. . .
These Hawaiian Ladies are
manufacturing Kapa Cloth.
“I was tired of seeing
the Graces
always depicted as
beautiful young things.
I think wisdom comes
with age
and life
and pain.
And knowing
what matters.”
Louise Penny
Pounding out mulberry bark
to make the cloth
I hole ‘ia no ka i‘e i ke kau o ka lā.
The time to cut designs
in a tapa beater
is when the sun is high.
[Do your work
when you are at your best.]
Hawaiian Proverb
The carved sticks
that print the patterns
" When 'I'
is replaced with
'We',
even 'Illness'
becomes 'Wellness'. "
Malcolm X.
Drying & inspecting
the printed Kapa
" To fulfill a dream,
to be allowed to
sweat over lonely labor,
to be given the chance
to create,
is the meat and potatoes
of life.
The money is the gravy.
As everyone else,
I love to dunk my crust in it.
But alone,
it is not a diet designed
to keep body
and soul together. "
Bette Davis,
The Lonely Life, 1962
Read More About Kapa
Thank you for this interesting essay on an aspect of Hawaiian culture. And exquisite statues -- the sculpture had a remarkable vision.
ReplyDeleteGreetings from Assam, India
ReplyDelete~ Happy weekend ~
huh dont know if i have heard that malcolm x quote...ha...i like...
ReplyDeletehope you have a wonderful weekend..
aloha from va
Great sculptures! The Three Graces or the Three Fates?
ReplyDeletehow beautiful.
ReplyDeleteI really like the quote about the Graces. Me too.
ReplyDeleteThanks,Dears!
ReplyDeleteI think wisdom comes with age and life and pain. And knowing what matters.” Louise Penny
ReplyDeleteOh boy, I have found that to be very true.
Super cool! When I was a kid, I had a book about a girl of old Hawai'i who learned how to make kapa cloth. It was one of my favorites.
ReplyDeleteThese statues remind me a lot of the beautiful statue in front of the Hawaiian Village. They are gorgeous!
ReplyDeleteAs I approach (rapidly) cronedom this post speaks loudly to me. Love it.
ReplyDeleteBeautiful craftmanship in the sculptures!
ReplyDeleteI had never heard of Kapa Cloth. Beautiful statues. :)
ReplyDeleteLovely statues as statues go but they are always young and thin, maybe we need some fat old jolly ones .
ReplyDeleteMerle............
cool statues
ReplyDeleteThanks so much! ♥
ReplyDelete