Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 14, Number 7, 1 July 1997 — History of paniolo branded onto the big screen [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

History of paniolo branded onto the big screen

Barbra An Pleadwell The producer of a documentary about Hawai'i's paniolo makes an interesting point: Unlike the eowboy stories of the Amenean Wild West, the Hawaiian cowboy is indigenous. "In Hawai'i we're talking about cowboys who were also the Indians/' says Edgy Lee, producer of Paniolo o Hawai'i. The 75-minute documentary premieres in September at

the Smithsoman Institution in Washington, D.C. u Lee says there will be screenings of the film on all j the Hawaiian islands. The Office of Hawaiian Affairs (OHA), an early supporter of the production, awarded a $20,000 grant for the documentary. The production's budget is estimated at $355,000; $150,000 is still needed. Funding the documen

tary has been challengmg, says Lee. Salaries have been deferred, and some preliminary video footage will have to be used, she says. Paniolo Productions began filming two and a half years ago. Lee tells of how in the first production year, two paniolo from Waimea on Hawai'i Island died. Lee says that when on Lāna'i interviewing aging paniolo Unele Junior Kaopuiki, she was asked: "Why you guys wanna eome so late? Why now you eome and everybody's gone?" "Thaf s when we started the film," Lee said. Mueh of the research for the production comes from ship logs, letters and diaries. Lee says it took some tenacity to get some of the resources. Researchers for the production have shared information they've gotten from mainland archives and libraries with the Hawaiian Historical Society. Among other intriguing findings, research for the film indicates that Hawai'i's paniolo were Amenca's first cowboys, taught by vaqueros of 01d Mexieo. The documentary tells how in 1831 Vaquero Joaquin Armas stopped in Hawai'i on his way to England. He was persuaded to stay by King Kamehameha III. He lived with the king and then moved to Waimea where he taught cowboys how to eowpoke. Then there's the story of Captain Beckley who eame to Hawai'i and had a son with a Hawaiian chiefess by the name of Ahia. Ahia was said to have worn Spanish formal dress. The two sent their son to Mexico to become a vaquero. He returned to the islands as a young man and became a konohiki (ruler of an ahupua'a or land division) of Waimea,

sible for all King Kamehameha III's cattle. These are just some of the stories being featured. Many Hawaiian families, not only paniolo families, recall oral histories whieh mention names such as Hoke (Jose), Huanu (Juan), Okewio (Octavio) and Huakini (Joaquin). Lee says that the University of Hawai'i archives hold information indicating that the cattle trade dominated the islands after the sandalwood trade died. When sandalwood was depleted, there were mounting debts throughout the islands. Lee notes that in 1820 there were gunned Amenean boats in Ihp harhnr<i rnllprrincr nn thpsp dpbts It was dnr-

ing this time that cattle trade became a means of barter in Hawai'i. The documentary will describe a triangle of trade from the Hawaiian islands to California (then Mexico) to South America.

"I think we need to realize that this indus:ry belonged to the Hawaiians, that this plaee was a plaee of export," says Lee. Documents from the time paint a picture of Hawai'i as,"one big cattle pen," Lee says. Journals mention the laek of safety in the streets of Lahaina and Honolulu

because of the risk of getting gored by animals. One of the major themes of the film is the mixing of cultures during that time. Lee notes the connection of slack-key guitar playing and falsetto singing to the culture in Vera Cruz, Mexico. "The Hawaiian cowboys were premier fishermen, trailblazers, artisans — they did it all in environments like no where else," Lee says, "From snow-capped Haleakala, to black sand beaches to shipping cattle off the shores of the Pacific. I don't know any cowboys in the world that had to be this versatile." The documentary features present-day paniolo such as Sonny Keakealani, Jr., a fourth generation paniolo from Hawai'i Island; and Andrew Kaua'i, retired paniolo from 'Ulupalakua Ranch in Maui. "They are the last ones to know this way of life," Lee says, "Anyone who calls these islands home needs to

hear their stories." "This is something that mainstream eulture needs to know," Lee says.

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