Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 28, Number 12, 1 December 2011 — Gifts for a Hawaiian holiday [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

Gifts for a

Hawaiian holiday

By Lynn Cook Hawaiian words are a gift in and of themselves. Words that sing the beauty of Hawai'i - about Hawaiians, by Hawaiians and often in Hawaiian. In these Islands, you ean peruse long, full shelves in book and music stores and be reminded that Hawai'i is the only state with its own language, its own music and its own dance - all published and packaged for gift giving, for others or to yourself. Ka Wai Ola did a little preholiday perusing to gather these gift suggestions for the Hawaiians and Hawaiians at heart on your list. Our thanks go out to those who provided their insights and kōkua, including Kehau Abad of Kamehameha Publishing, Maile Meyer of Native Books/Nā Mea Hawai'i and Carol Abe of University of Hawai'i Press. Happy shopping ! Mele and more mele Moloka'i music man Lono sings, plays guitar and produced Oldstyle VI: e aloha e, In the Light anā the Love of the Ancestors, inspired by the people of the Friendly Isle. Listening to it is like hanging out in his backyard. This CD continues his musical-series study of old-style Hawaiian music, with songs honoring royalty, "aumākua, storytellers and the little coconut tree "hānai by tutu lady." $20. lonomusic. eom Hula, by Robert Uluwehi Cazimero, will make you get up to dance hula even if you don't. Think Mary Pukui's Pua Lililehua. Lucky if you live Hawai'i, you ean see Cazimero perform weekly at Chai's Island Bistro at Aloha Tower Marketplace. Says Cazimero, "This small speck of land, in the biggest oeean on earth, connects Hawai 'i with the world and often

that connection is through hula." $12.98. mountainapplecompany. eom. E Ho'i Mai, the second CD by Waipuna, celebrates the journeys of the heart for Kale Hannahs and Matthew Sproat, with a song selection inspired by the island of Kaua'i. The sound is addicting. Two songs, one by Kawaikapuokalani Hewett and another by Puakea Nogelmeier, are among the featured originals, along with collaborations by Hawai'i's top entertainers. $16.98. mele.com. "Ma" Lulu Kelohilani Kahele taught her grandson Kuana Torres Kahele the meaning of kaunaloa - perse\>erance. The Hilo native has used that as his inspiration for his first solo CD, Kaunaloa, whieh he calls "his voice in the collective of Hawaiian culture." The 13 songs are all Kuana originals. Liner notes are a must read, making listening more profound. $12.98. mountainapplecompany.com. Hi'ikua's debut CD Aia I Hiialo, with songs composed and performed by Kalehua Krug, Kamuela Kimokeo and Blake Leoiki-Haili, honors the legacy of the past. The group's name signifies "to carry on one's back." Their music takes you back and forward into the future. $13.98. mountainapplecompany.com. Imagine the best Hawaiian concert ever with island musicians performing their very favorite songs. Island in Your Eyes is singing just for fun. Savor the Hawaiian music legends Hapa, Teresa Bright, Jeff Peterson, Amy Hanaiali'i, Israel Kamakawiwo'ole, Keali'i Reichel, the Brothers Cazimero, Maunalua, Jake Shimabukuro and more. Named for the Brothers Caz classic, Island in your Eyes is exclusive to ABC Stores. $17.99 In Sea of Love, Raiatea Helm combines her talents with producer Guy Sibilla for a date night at a bygone era of the "Hawaiian Club." No matter where you are or what the day brings, it gets better

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by pushing the play button on this CD, reviving the musical sounds from the 1920s to '60s. Harry B. Soria's liner notes tell a tale. $12.98. mountainapplecompany. eom. For the DVD collector Rap: Hawaii's Comic Genius is a time maehine into our collective past, created by TV producer Phil Amone. For those too young to remember Hawai'i's most gifted eomie, Rap Reiplinger, this DVD is an introduction to "Room Service" the Territorial Tavern and a cast of characters that are hold-your-sides funny. For those who have memorized every great line that Rap delivered, this is a life history of why, where and how the comedy happened. $12.98. mountainapplecompany.com. Those Who Came Before is the 10th documentary in the Hawaiian Legacy Series by Eddie and Myrna Kamae. Telling of Eddie's journey of musical self-discovery, this DVD pays tribute to the music of Hawaiians whose gifts of knowledge helped guide him: author and translator Mary Kawena Pukui, the "Songwriter of Waipi'o" Sam Li'a, "Aloha Chant" author Pilani Paki and Hawaiian cultural resource Lilia "Mama" Hale. $12.98. mountainapplecompany. eom. Voices of our Kūpuna, the Hula Preservation Society's first DVD

-^^mm is an amazing gift that includes the viewer in a comfortable conversation with kumu who spent their lives immersed in hula. Auntie Nona Beamer, Unele George Nā'ope and Auntie Kahili Long Cummings even dance a bit in the 90-minute DVD that begs the replay button. Japanese subtitles are optional. $30. hulapreservation. org and eliek on "What's New." Mana I Ka Leo, Power of the Voice, by 4 Miles LLC, takes the viewer on a visual journey artfully led by the voices of the chanters. Hear and absorb the energy of the ancestors. Hōkūlani Holt, Dr. Kamana'opono Crabbe, Kaumakaiwa Kanaka'ole and Charles Kau'pu oli (chant) in this DVD proudly supported by the Office of Hawaiian Affairs. $25. kamehamehapublishing.org. The Merrie Monarch Festival 2011 DVD offers 12 hours and 10 minutes of hula heaven for "hulaholics." Relive every moment of the 50-plus hula 'auana and hula kahiko performances as well as the dances of 12 Miss Aloha Hula contestants at the annual "01ympics" of hula competition in Hilo. $50. And, let a little hula grace your loved ones' daily lives with the eompanion 2012 calendar for $14 featuring cultural insights into hula, mele, instruments and adornments seen in the performances. kamehamehapublishing.org.

Page turners Ka Honua Ola: ' Eli'eli Kau Mai - The Living Earth. Descend, Heepen the Revelation, by Pualani Kanaka'ole Kanahele, "embodies the renaissance of consciousness we are experiencing as a lāhui and forever changes the way we explore our mo'olelo," says Ulalia Woodside. Topics flow from the movement of lava from one homeland to the next to an 'awa chant to fulfill the request for long life. "Take time to enjoy," says Kanahele. "Remember, this gift took many lifetimes to wrap. Don't be in a hurry to unwrap it." $24. kamehamehapublishing.org. Some books are a plaee to simply get lost in translation. No Nā Mamo: Traditional and Contemporary Hawaiian Beliefs and Practices by Maleolm Naea Chun is one of those books. Chun's book is his way of gathering words and history. It is akin to filling a lauhala basket with historic gifts, then offering them to everyone in words they ean easily understand. The reader could spend a day or a month in the chapter on Ho'onohonoho (cultural management) and the first encounter with Capt. James Cook. Humor is not lacking. The chapter is titled "Trading as the First Encounter: This Little Piggy Went to Market." $40. uhpress. hawaii.edu. For those majoring in surfing,

with a minor in history, author John R.K. Clark has written Hawai'i Suifing: Traditions from the Past. The book is a history of the sport of surfing with words from the Native Hawaiian surfers who wrote for Hawaiian language newspapers of the 1800s (culled from online newspaper resource nupepa.org). Clark, a lifelong surfer, former lifeguard and retired Honolulu deputy fire chief, traces his lineage back to the 1853 marriage of Irish sea captain William Carey Lane to Mary Kahooilimoku, a Hawaiian chiefess. $24. uhpress.hawaii.edu Ua Mau Ke Ea: Sovereignty Endures - An Overview of the Polilieal and Legal History of the Hawaiian Islands, by David Keanu Sai, Ph.D., sounds scholarly. It could be called a "think pieee" in the world of poliheal commentary. Sai, in concert with Kau'i SaiDudoit of Ho'olaupa'i Hawaiian Language Newspaper Project, who collaborated on a DVD, has created a curriculum that educators describe

as "an academically sound and well-written textbook." The book provides insight on the foundations of the political and legal history of the Kingdom of Hawai'i and its relevance to Hawai'i today. $35. puafoundation.org. The keiki book Kili and the Singing Tree Snails, by Janice Crowl and beautifully illustrated by Harinani Orme, is really a gift for everyone. One line tells it all: "This story takes plaee in Hawai'i long ago, at a time when a king's home had not yet fallen down, and the snails had not yet disappeared from the land." Take a trip through Hawaiian history through the afterword and resources sections, describing 482 calabashes of poi, 1,820 fresh fish and 4,000 heads of taro. Read on! $16.95. bishopmuseum.org. ■ Lynn Cook is a loeal freelance journalist sharing the arts and culture of Hawai'i with a global auāienee.

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