Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 29, Number 8, 1 August 2012 — CULTURAL OUTREACH IN D.C. REACHES A GLOBAL AUDIENCE [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

CULTURAL OUTREACH IN D.C. REACHES A GLOBAL AUDIENCE

By Cheryl Corbiell Conch shells blew, oli echoed in hallowed halls, Hawaiian kalo basked in sunshine, 'ōlelo Hawai'i was heard, and aloha was embraced - 5,000 miles from Hawai'i - as more Lhan a million people from around Lhe world passed Lhrough Lhe SmiLhsonian Folklife FesLival on Lhe NaLional Mall from June 27 Lo July 8. Hula hālau Unukupukupu from Hawai'i CommuniLy College - parl of an 80-person UniversiLy of Hawai'i conlingenL bringing Hawaiian ways of life Lo Lhe annual "living cullural herilage" showcase - mesmerized Lhe dignilaries as Lhey led Lhe opening ceremony. Ten days laler, Lhe hālau and Lhe olher UH parLicipanls closed Lhe feslival in song and dance in Lriumph afler enduring triple-digit temperatures and destructive thunderstorms. The 25-member hālau shipped 2,200 pounds of decorative plants, eoneh shells, drums and a mohile kuahu hula (hula shrine) to perform twice a day throughout the festival. "People flocked to the presentations and questioned why the hula they see on TV was not what was happening on the stage," said Taupōuri Tanuarō. assistant nrofessor

and chair of the Hawai'i Life Styles and Humanities Department. "The audience experienced a deeper face of one of Hawai'i's signature eontributions to the world and audience members left pondering their own global connections and legacies." Tangarō had been initially disappointed when hula was listed as festival entertainment, but he said he overcame

it as Unukupukupu "transformed the stage and reaffirmed the value of presentation and articulation of the sacred to a global eommunity. We crafted the 2,000-year old narrative of hula so all ears could hear." The healing power of hula was prominent in the UH heahh and wellness exhibit. "Traditional Hawaiian activities ean be heahh interventions," said Keawe Kaholokula, chair

of the Department of Native Hawaiian Heahh, pointing to the five-year Hula Enabling Lifestyle Adaptation study evaluating the impact of hula on patients who had been hospitalized for cardiac problems. "The benefits from hula go beyond exercise, and the mental and spiritual gains are proving just as beneficial. The healing power of Hawaiian cultural traditions attracted attention - and created interest in

future research." And nestled between two massive exhibition tents, a 4-by-6-foot taro lo'i, or taro patch, was created as a permanent fixture on the mall. "We copied the UH lo'i and scaled h down into an outdoor classroom," said Hiapo Cashman, director of the Hawai'inuiākea School of Hawaiian Knowledge's Ka Papa Lo'i O

Kānewai. The lo'i 'ohana showcased 10 varieties of taro and explained to visitors the cultural link between the Hawaiian people and the sacred kalo. "Taro is a global plant with diverse names and is believed to be one of the earliest cultivated plants, but Hawaiians took taro cultivation to a new level - planting, growing and harvesting 69 Hawaiian varieties," said Cashman. "Incorporating traditional ways of planting in a modern world will help control diseases and pests that are plaguing our different crops," he said. "Taro is a potential food source globally, because h ean thrive in the city or the country." Taro showed its resilience when a violent thunderstorm closed the National Mall and toppled exhibit tents. The taro lo'i was buried in debris. "The next morning when we surveyed the damage, it was a ehiekenskin moment when we found the taro and lo'i untouched," said Cashman. Supported with a grant from OHA, UH was among 20 post-secondary education institutions participating in the festival's Campus and Community program celebrating puhlie and land-grant universities and 150 years of the U.S. Denartment

of Agriculture. The Hawai'i group shared its knowledge and skills on everything fromaquaponics and traditional organic farming to weaving and wood working and noninstrument navigation. The Hawaiian language, spoken by the majority of the UH group, was the fiber that bound all the activities together. Said UH President M.R.C. Greenwood, "We are proud of our

relationship with building an indigenous eulture, explaining it and teaching it, as well as being a modern research university and eelebrating our past and heralding our future." ■ Cheryl Corbiell is an Instructor at the University of Hawai'i Maui College-Moloka'i anel a reading tutor at Kaunakakai Elementary School.

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Leinaala Bright shared her knowledge of medicinal herbs at the University of Hawai'i exhibit at the Smithsonian Folklife Festival. - Courtesy photos: University ofHawai'i System

An 'ūkēkē (musical bow) workshop.

RIGHT: Kaulana Vares, a UH assistant education specialist, welcomed visitors to the taro patch on the Nahonal Mall as Smithsonian lnstitution's Stephen Kidd, third from right, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack and Smithsonian lnstitution Secretary G. Wayne Clough look on. - Courtesy: USDA photo by Lanee Cheung