Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 21, Number 5, 1 May 2004 — Nā Mea Kaua THE ART OF WAR [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

Nā Mea Kaua THE ART OF WAR

By Sterling Kini Wong Master Hawaiian weapons crafter Umi Kai holds up a weapon called leiomanō iki, an eight-inch wood instrument shaped like a small paddle and lined with seven razorsharp tiger-shark teeth. The weapon's smooth finish and rich wood grain make it an art pieee worthy of display in a gallery, but the beauty of the leiomanō belies its deadly function. Kai, who is one of just a few Hawaiian weapons crafters remaining of a onee vibrant warrior eulture, explains that the leiomanō (lei of shark's teeth) was used in battle to sever an opponent's arteries. "You'd want to hit across the neek, under the arm, behind the leg or across the belly in order to disable your opponent," he says. In traditional Hawaiian society, in whieh the two paths to achieve power were genealogy and war, the relationship between a warrior and his weapon was such that Hawaiians would name their instruments out of respect. "Weapons were likened to a father or brother," says Kai. "The warrior depended upon it; if it didn't perform for him that was his life." In contemporary society, the role of Hawaiian weapons has diminished to almost a nostalgic art form, relegated to museums and galleries. However, Kai is among a select few who are trying to keep the Hawaiian warrior culture alive, blurring the distinction between artisan and practitioner. "The whole idea behind practicing an art is not to have it put in a glass case, on the wall or in a vault," Kai says, "but to have them out where people ean look at them and handle them if they wish, so that the culture ean eome back to life." A member of the lua (Hawaiian martial arts) school Pā Ku'i-a-Lua, Kai has focused on creating weapons and poi pounders for the last 20 years. He honed his craft working alongside Hawaiian eulture expert Kahauanu Lake, master woodcrafter Wright Bowman Sr. and many lua experts such as Richard Paglinawan, Mitchell Eli and Jerry Walker. Kai says that the art of crafting Hawaiian weapons has changed markedly since ancient days. While ancient Hawaiian weapons were very simple

in design but very effective in execution, he explains, modern weapons have more decoration, such as notching and knobs at the end of the handles. Moreover, he says, his comprehensive arsenal of weapons, whieh include daggers, slings, spears, clubs and strangling cords, would have been rare in ancient times, when warriors usually possessed just one favorite weapon. The decline of native plants and the introduction of electric tools have also had a pronounced effect. Hard woods such as kauila and uhiuhi onee favored by weapon makers have become so scarce that practitioners generally use softer woods, such as koa, as a substitute. Instead of using the fibers of the olonā shrub for cordage, contemporary practitioners use a close relative in hemp. Tiger-shark teeth, prized for their sharpness, durability and the connotation of the shark's man-eating characteristics, are bought from Mexico for $5-$8 apieee, depending on the season. And while ancient Hawaiians used rock adzes, coral, the skin of

sharks and certain fish and stones to work the wood, contemporary practitioners use band saws and electric sanders. At a recent workshop at UH Mānoa's art department, Kai taught more than 20 students how to make a leiomanō iki and a niho oki, an L-shaped utility knife with a single shark's tooth as a blade. Maile Andrade, an assistant art professor at UH,

said that she brought Kai to do a weapon demon-

stration because she thought it was important to halanee the Western art forms prevalent at the university with a traditional Hawaiian art. Andrade said that her students will use the niho oki in the Hawaiian fiber class she teaches. "This shows that our art is just as valid as Western art," Andrade said. "I consider him to be of a higher caliber than other artisans like painters, because his art form has a function and he practices it." ■

Master weapons crafter Umi Kai helps keep Hawaiian warrior culture alive by revealing beauty in the tools of death

(Above) Umi Kai uses the jaw of a tiger shark to explain that the predator's durable front teeth are preferred for weapons. (Left) Kai watches a student drilling a hole in a shark's tooth, whieh will be used to thread cordage. Electric tools have had a significant impact on the crafting of weapons. Photos: Sterling Kini Wong