Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 27, Number 12, 1 December 2010 — On the Summit [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

On the Summit

By Melissa Moniz

\ā Kumu Hula Karl Veto Baker and Miehael Lanakila Casupang and the haumāna of Hālau I Ka Wēkiu capture their journey through life and hula in a new alhum, On the Summit. Fondly known by their haumāna and throughout the music world as "Kumz," this alhum is the fourth release for the duo. "This alhum was created by the hālau for the hālau," says Baker. "David Jimbo who took the pictures, his wife, daughter, son and granddaughter dance with us. Our student 'Aukai Reynolds did the graphic design and layout. Our other student Moani Wright-Van Alst is handling the puhlie relations." Casupang adds, "Our songs are experiences that we have through hālau whether they be trips or even life experiences. One of our students asked us to write a song that he could use at his wedding with his wife and that's on the alhum. It really tells our life story and the hālau's story."

The background chorus on the alhum is by the haumāna of the hālau. And the title song, "I Ka Wēkiu" (On the Summit) was gifted to the hālau by close friend Kaipo Hale. The hnal track on the alhum, "Uluhaimalama" is a song inspired by the hālau's six-year commitment to cleaning and caring for the symbolic garden. Uluhaimalama, located in Punehhowl, is a property that Queen Lili'uokalani had planned to turn into a royal garden. Instead, a different type of garden was created when Hawaiians, heeding the eall of their deposed Queen, brought offerings of plants to the site. Despite laws prohibiting assembly, in the course of a single day, a garden was created. "This is not just a garden, but the timing of it and the reason it was created is why we need to take care of it. Never again should this happen where we should allow someone

to take our rights away," says Baker. After Queen Lili'uokalani's death, loeal governing officials turned the site into a cemetery. "We hope the song Uluhaimalama will instill good feelings and pride in Hawaiians to make sure that they take care of their kuleana," says Baker. "We need to hold on to our culture and Uluhaimalama is a symbol of that." Since 2005, Hālau I Ka Wēkiu started caring for Uluhaimalama. It began as a monthly cleaning that led way to wanting to do more. "The first summer we saw that it gets really dusty and there's no grass because there's not enough water," adds Baker. "So we did some research and called the Board of Water Supply to inquire about a water meter. The guy said just for the meter itself is $14,000 because it's not residential. I fell off my chair. That's when I wrote a grant request to OHA." With a $20,000 OHA grant, the hālau paid for the water meter, bought the piping for the sprinkler system and Hālau I Ka Wēkiu did all the manual labor. "We'd like to make this a garden again and plant things that were originally there and also other indigenous plants," adds Baker. "Every few months we add a new

plant. We're so happy, the plants are flourishing and the grass is growing nicely." The alhum features 12 original songs that tell such stories, just as their kūpuna did. "The idea is our kupuna and our ancestors they wrote about everything, so it becomes our responsibility to write," says Casupang. "We're continuing what our ancestors did." That philosophy holds true in music and in hula. "I am privileged and humbled to say that our hālau has a genealogy," says Baker. "And our teaching will make the genealogy longer and stronger," adds Casupang. The alhum is an example of how life, music and hula have no separation for Baker and Casupang. Proceeds from the CD will help supplement the hālau's 2011 trip to the Merrie Monarch, whieh will be the first time in six years that the hālau will enter both men and women. ■ Melissa Moniz is a Contributing Writer for Ka Wai Ola. A former Associate Editor at MidWeek, she has chosen a new career path as afuU-time mom to spend more quality time with her husband and two young daughters.

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On the Summit KUmZ (Karl Veto Baker and Miehael Casupang) Kauakoko Foundation www.halauikawekiu.com