Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 5, Number 11, 1 November 1988 — A Visitor From The Past [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

A Visitor From The Past

by Rocky K. and Lueia Jensen TTie Human Face! Do you ever wonder what some of us looked like 26,000 years ago? Wonder no further. The October issue of the National Geographic magazine has published a photo of a small ivory head that was originally found in 1890, in a field near the Czechoslovakian village of Dolni Vestonice. This startling discovery should change the way we perceive ourselves, as kanaka maoli. The statue itself is quite imposing — the male individual is noble in visage — long hair, high eheekbones, square jaw, delineated lips, deep-set eyes with marked pupils . . . actually, not very different from some of the strong features of our people today. In thinking about this phenomenal unearthing of a pieee of work that so closely resembles man of 26,000 years ago, 1 think about the artist who created that likeness. Popular theory is that we weren't quite adept at artistic refinement during that distant period, that we hadn't yet evolved to the level ofcreativity that wouldenable us to depict man, actually to depict anything, as realistically as our iee Age Ancestor. Now remember, I said "popular theory." Scientifically, it is known that some of those ancient ancestors did possess the wherewithal to create beauty beyond our imagination, such as the paintings of the Lascaux Cave, in France whieh date to 17,000 years ago. There are 9,000 years difference, however, between the French caves and the Czech village . . . 9,000 years! Longer than our whole race of kanaka maoli's nomadic residence in their Polynesian kingdom.

How perfectly the sculptor carved that small pieee of mammoth ivory. Knowing a little about sculpting myself ... I ean confess that the smaller the pieee, the more precise one must be in executing it . . . and when carving a realistic human visage, then one must certainly be quite adept. Tools are also important. What tools did our 26,000 year old kalai possess in order to carve the smooth and heroic features of ke kanaka kahiko? Being that our people, ka po'e kanaka maoli, graduated to the grand expression of absolute abstracts, probably as early as 2000 years ago, I revel in the fact that now we do possess images that pre-date that by 24,000 years. Carvers from all over the world, and through all the ages of time feel a strange and magnetic kinship. I pass my fingers over the colored page and try to follow the path that the old sculpture took in recreating the small pieee of work. I try and envision the model — inventing flesh and bones, title and rank, perhaps the reason for wanting his visage immortalized in ivory for all eternity. Was he the high chief of his elan? It seems to me that no nobler countenance could more suitably fit that bill. Was he a warrior? A hunter? A father? Husband? Did he think and feel as we do? Obviously the artist did possess the sensitivity that is rarely attributed to those of that ancient time . . . for only a sensitive, one in control of the hand and eye, could ever create such a remarkable work of art. The art of carving, kalai, was the paramount artistic expression of our people of old. It was our language, our communication, our link with

sophistication and evolution. Through it we too have become immortalized. And, mueh like the '1ittle man of Dolni Vestonice" we will be forever viewed through a benign or critical eye. What other treasures does our earth hold in store for us? What other things will be discovered that will, somehow, confirm our ancient cultural beliefs? What other faces will reveal the true identity of our kanaka kahiko? Notice, it is all through the arts. Not the music, not even the written word . . . but through the arts — the true signature of the elevated man! Mai ka po mai 'oia'i'o! Before the time of Ao there was the truth of Po!

iMakaku By Rocky Ka'iouliokahihikolo 'Ehu Jensen