Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 9, Number 5, 1 May 1992 — Rare island pohaku displayed with photos in touring exhibit [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

Rare island pohaku displayed with photos in touring exhibit

By Ann L. Moore Pohaku (stones) the public has never seen before are on view now through May 10 at Bishop Museum. Anel, for the first time, the museum is allowing the public to bring ho'okupu for the stones. "Pohaku: Through Hawaiian Eyes," conceived and produced by Lahe'ena'e Gay, is the reason for this unusual occurrence. The exhibit is now in the Legacy Gallery of Hawaiian Hall and the Kahili Room. Bishop Museum Director W. Donald Duckworth has noted the exhibit is "a personal statement of sensitivity and commitment to the cultural aesthetics, understanding and preservation of an important cultural and natural asset in Hawai'i: stone." The exhibit will include about 70 photographs by Gay of Hawaiian stones and stone sites, excerpts of oral history she has collected from kupuna on various islands, along with Bishop Museum pohaku that have been stored for many years, available only to scholars. The exhibit was organized by Gay in conjunction with the Volcano Art Center. When the Bishop Museum exhibit closes, Gay said, the ho'okupu will all be buried in the museum courtyard.

The Bishop Museum pohaku will not travel with the photos. Rather, on eaeh island, the pohaku of that island will be displayed with the photos, she said. On Family Sunday, May 3, at Bishop Museum a special ceremony honoring the pohaku will take plaee and Kumu Hula Keone Nunes and his Halau Kapuwailani'onohinohiula will participate. After its debut at the Bishop Museum the photographic exhibit will travel through the Islands for four months before closing at Hawai'i Volcanoes National Park in September. Gay is a direct descendant of Kahekili Nui of Maui. For this show, she shares the knowledge she gained during more than six years researching, photographing and cataloguing most of the ancient stone sites left in Hawai'i. Gay said she believes pohaku, the stone, is the essence of the Hawaiian spirit and soul and she hopes the photos "will help protect and preserve the ancient pohaku sites and traditions whieh are central to the traditional Hawaiian culture and knowledqe. "

Pohaku, she said, remains one of the few traditions of pre-contact Hawai'i that has not been dramatically altered by Western influence. Speaking about the exhibit, Duckworth said: "The photographs taken by Ms. Gay are of excellent quality and the inclusion of oral histories she has collected greatly enhanee the exhibit. Exhibitions that are conceived and produced by Native Hawaiians are rare and should be encouraged. This exhibition is an opportunity for American museums to support a community member's effort to communicate what is important to her. " Admission to the Pohaku exhibit is included in the general admission to the Bishop Museum on Bernice Street, Honolulu. Cost is $5.95 for adults, $4.95 for children ages 6 through 17, senior citizens and active duty military. Children

under age 6 and museum members are admitted free. The exhibit will be open 9 a.m.r5 p.m. daily through May 10. For more information, eall 847-3511.

Tour schedule On Kaua'i, the stones and photos will be at the Kaua'i Museum, Lihue, from May 16-31. On Maui, the exhibit and Maui pohaku will be at the Kapalua Bay Hotel and Villas July 11-17 then at the Maui Historical Society from July 19 through Aug. 2. On Moloka'i there will be a one night lecture and slide show for the community and visitors on July 19. On Lana'i, Hotel Lana'i will sponsor the exhibit with slide show and lecture for two nights, July 24-25, for visitors and the eommunity. On the island of Hawai'i, the photos and Hawai'i pohaku will be shown at the Hawai'i Preparatory Academy in Waimea from Aug. 816. Another showing on Hawai'i is tentatively scheduled, with the location to be announced, for Aug. 18-25. Finally, Aug. 28, the exhibit with Hawai'i

pohaku will open at the Hawai'i Volcanoes National Park. In conjunction with the exhibit, a Cultural Awareness Weekend will take plaee Aug. 29-30 at the park.

The photographer Lahe'ena'e Gay at Ka'u, Hawai'i. Bishop Museum is sponsorlng an exhibit of her photos April 25 through May 10 on O'ahu. Pohaku never seen by the public will be on display. The photos wlll then tour other islands.

Thought to exlst only in legend, Pohaku O Pueo, the owl god stone, has carved eyes and beak and may be the last of its klnd in Hawai'i. Just over three feet tall and two and a half feet wide, it stands on a stone altar. Twelve pueo (owls) flew from the trees just before the photographer, Lahe'ena'e Gay, discovered the pohaku and took the picture. The location is kept secret to protect the Pohaku O Pueo.