Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 10, Number 8, 1 August 1993 — Native Hawaiian Culture and Arts Program works to revive traditions of the past [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

Native Hawaiian Culture and Arts Program works to revive traditions of the past

Recovering a culture

by Patrick Johnston Traditional native Hawaiian culture has suffered so mueh loss in the past century that many

wonder whether there is enough left for it to have a significant effect on the way Hawaiians live their lives or how they see themselves in the Hawai'i community. Yet the growing Hawaiian eultural "renaissance" of the past two and a half decades shows there is enough for a recovery.

The Native Hawaiian Culture and Arts Program (NHCAP, Bishop Museum) is a major player in this recovery. It was established in 1989 and is part of a federally-funded initiative to resurrect traditional culture and use it

as a means, not only to enrich the cultural landscape of the state, but also to add to native Hawaiian self-esteem and pride. "Our mission is to promote the well-being of Hawaiians," says NHCAP executive director Lynette Paglinawan, "and to instill pride and self-esteem through arts and culture." NHCAP does this by using its funding to support groups that are actively involved in the recovery and development of traditional Hawaiian cultural practices. To date NHCAP has awarded eontracts to 75 groups or individuals engaged in activities from the indexing of 19th century Hawaiian language newspapers, to the traditional style -construction of the Mauloa eanoe whieh had its ceremonial launeh in June. (Ed. note: A story about the Mauloa appeared in last month's Ka Wai Ola.) NHCAP is directed by a 13member board of trustees and administered by 1 1 staff. Bishop Museum acts as an umbrella organization for the agency, pro-

viding some administrative services and acting as a medium through whieh NHCAP's federal funds are channeled. Contracts are handled by project manager Ben Aema, who has been with the organization since 1991. Of the many projects they

are involved in Aema believes that the newspaper indexing is one of the most important and exciting. "The indexing gives groups and researchers information they need at their fingertips. Before, researchers had to be in a library and look

at documents by hand. This will make information more accessible as it will eventually be part of the UH's CARL public access system whieh is part of a national network. It is a service that has far-reaching effects for the dissemination of information about traditional Hawaiian eulture and the general understanding and appreciation of that eulture." The newspaper indexing is being carried out by Edith McKenzie, a well-known cultural authority. The preservation and proper management of the Hawaiian natural environment are important considerations for NHCAP when it considers funding projects. Many natural materials used by ancient Hawaiians are now scarce, if not completely gone. Paglinawan points out that when Marquesan and Polynesian mariners first sailed to Hawai'i they were able to build hundreds, maybe thousands of sailing vessels using the resources they had at hand. Today, due to the destruction of a significant por-

tion of the native forest and other plants, Hawaiians, using only the natural materials that ancient travelers worked with, could only produce a tiny fraction of that number.

Paglinawan hopes that the study of past Hawaiian customs of self-reliance will help people in Hawai'i reconsider the way they live today. "We in Hawai'i need to rethink what we are doing. We need to reconsider the ancient Hawaiian ability to manage resources," she says. In an attempt to understand the ancient Hawaiian relationship with nature, NHCAP is involved in a project to recreate the earliest voyages to Hawai'i from the Marquesas Islands. Unlike the earlier Hōkūle'a expeditions,

they are planning to use only the materials and techniques that were available to Pacific islanders at that time. The Polynesian Voyaging Exploration Project is looking

into how the first people of Hawai'i got here, how they established themselves on the islands, and onee established, how they found a balance with their natural environment. Explains project manager Nainoa Thompson, "For a successful voyage of settlement there had to be a strong eommunity. The people and natural resources had to be healthy, and they had to have the time to do it, something not possible if they were living hand-to-mouth." An important part of the project is understanding how the eom-

munity supported the production of the sailing vessels. NHCAP hopes to use volunteers to recreate the process of preparing for

the mass migration, not only of islanders, but also edible fruits and vegetables that islanders would have had to take to survive on, what was at the time, a fairly inhospitable plaee. NHCAP gives support to pro-

jects based on a list of priorities set by its board of trustees. It solicits proposals for projects through the newspaper and through an address listing of Hawaiian artists. The agency also accepts unsolicited proposals whieh, if they meet certain requirements, may be brought up for consideration by the board. Because of the lengthy review and evaluation period of NHCAP contracts, information available to the public from research projects is presently limited to videos and films.

Lynette Paalinawan

Demonstration of kapa making by Pua Van Dorpe. This work is supported by NHCAP, Bishop Museum. Photo courtesy of Bishop Museum Archives