Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 15, Number 7, 1 July 1998 — One man's gift OHA recipient of craftsman's work, generosity and thanks to Hawaiians [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

One man's gift OHA recipient of craftsman's work, generosity and thanks to Hawaiians

Story and photo by Ryan M Mielke There's a plaee along the heaeh on 0'ahu's windward side where sawdust covers the floor and generosity takes shape. It is a plaee where Stewart Valentine Medeiros Sr. found a way to show his thanks for the years of aloha that Hawaiians have given him. For 41 years he has been crafting umekes and calabash bowls of such high quality that he has eome to be known as Hawai'i's King of the Calabash. Leaders and royalty around the world such as five presidents, Mikhail Gorbachev and emperor Akihito of Japan have been presented with his work. Many of his umekes are valued at tens of thousands of dollars. On June 9, however, the Office of Hawaiian Affinrs became the recipient of two umekes, one calabash bowl and a gavel — all crafted by Medeiros at his home. "This is my way of saying thank you," he said. His gratitude is to Hawaiians for the life of aloha he has always known. It was the Hawaiians who taught him the meaning of harmony. respect for the land and the value of sharing, he said. Eaeh pieee of his work ean take weeks or months to create, with eaeh umeke having its own story to tell. "No two are alike," said Medeiros. One of the umekes he presented to OHA has images that are uniquely Hawaiian. Medeiros pointed to images of the hibiscus flower, a warrior

holding a spear, a tiki, and others. In the center of one of the umekes is a penny. The penny on the umeke has a special meaning for Medeiros that others may not immediately understand at first glance. "It means so mueh to me," he said, "because I started with nothing." Medeiros, now 64, is the youngest of six children. He was raised in Kapahulu, O'ahu, where his friends were Hawaiian. He has had to overcome numerous obstacles in life, such as leaming disabilities, illness and tragedy. In the mid-1980s, he suffered a stroke, and he later underwent a quintuple bypass operation on his heart. "I didn't want to die. I love Hawai'i and I have so mueh I want to do," he said. Since his recovery, he' has been spending every moment trying to get the most out of life. "Living is more than surviving," he said. "You have got to have a purpose in your life. Having lived his life in Hawai'i as a non-Hawaiian, Medeiros said he sees himself as a duck bom in a ehieken eoop. "I am a guest here," he added. "I have to show that I deserve to be here, and that's what I'm trying to do." Medeiros wants nothing in return for his gifts to the Hawaiian people. He said he values eaeh pieee of his work as if they were his children. If that is so, four of his children now have a new home and are on display at OHA. "Onee a gift is given, there's no expecting something in retum," he added. "Giving must be from the

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Stewart Medeiros displays three of the four gifts he presented to the Office of Hawaiian Affairs 4une 9. -