Kapa
Encyclopedia
Kapa is a fabric
that was made by Native Hawaiians
from the bast fibre
s of certain species of tree
s and shrub
s in the orders Rosales
and Malvales
. It is similar to tapa
found elsewhere in Polynesia
but differs in the methods used in its creation. Kapa was based primarily on the creative combination of linear elements that cross and converge to form squares, triangles, chevrons and diagonal forms, giving a feeling of boldness and directness. (The Hawaiian
/k/ phoneme
corresponds to Polynesian
/t/.) Kapa was used primarily for clothing like the malo worn by men as a loincloth and the pāū worn by women as a wraparound. Kapa was also used for kīhei used over the shoulders. Other uses for kapa depended on caste and a person's place in ancient Hawaiian society. Kapa moe
(bed covers) were reserved for the alii
or chiefly caste while kapa robes were used by kāhuna
or priestly caste. Kapa was also used as banners where leis were hung from it and images of their gods were printed on it.
Cultural anthropologists over the course of the twentieth century identified techniques in the creation of kapa that was unique to the Hawaiian Islands
. Wauke (Broussonetia papyrifera
) was the preferred source of bast fibres for kapa, but it was also made from ulu (Artocarpus altilis
), ōpuhe (Urera
spp.), maaloa (Neraudia melastomifolia
), māmaki (Pipturus albidus
), ākala (Rubus hawaiensis
), ākalakala (R. macraei
), and hau (Hibiscus tiliaceus). In the 18th century, pieces of kapa were often made of grooving or ribing. It is done by pushing the dampened cloth into the grooves of a special board. The wauke tree was cut and soaked in water. It was then laid on a kua kūkū (polished stone tablet) and beaten with a hōhoa (rounded beater). After the first phase of beating, the kapa was transferred to a sacred house to be beaten a second time but in a religious manner. Each kapa manufacturer used a beater called an ie kūkū, a beater with four flat sides that were each carved differently. Another way to carve the kapa is by starting on the four-sided affairs, with the coarsest grooves on one side used first in breaking down the bast, or wet bark. Then, the beating continued using two sides with finer grooves. Lastly, finishing touches were accomplished with the remaining smooth side of the beater. The carvings left an impression in the cloth that was hers alone. After the European discovery of the Hawaiian Islands, Western traders travelled to Hawaii especially for kapa.
The process of making kapa was done primarily by women. Young girls would learn by helping their mothers, over time doing the majority of the work, and when older she could make kapa by herself.
Textile
A textile or cloth is a flexible woven material consisting of a network of natural or artificial fibres often referred to as thread or yarn. Yarn is produced by spinning raw fibres of wool, flax, cotton, or other material to produce long strands...
that was made by Native Hawaiians
Native Hawaiians
Native Hawaiians refers to the indigenous Polynesian people of the Hawaiian Islands or their descendants. Native Hawaiians trace their ancestry back to the original Polynesian settlers of Hawaii.According to the U.S...
from the bast fibre
Bast fibre
Bast fibre or skin fibre is plant fibre collected from the phloem or bast surrounding the stem of certain, mainly dicotyledonous, plants. They support the conductive cells of the phloem and provide strength to the stem...
s of certain species of tree
Tree
A tree is a perennial woody plant. It is most often defined as a woody plant that has many secondary branches supported clear of the ground on a single main stem or trunk with clear apical dominance. A minimum height specification at maturity is cited by some authors, varying from 3 m to...
s and shrub
Shrub
A shrub or bush is distinguished from a tree by its multiple stems and shorter height, usually under 5–6 m tall. A large number of plants may become either shrubs or trees, depending on the growing conditions they experience...
s in the orders Rosales
Rosales
Rosales is an order of flowering plants. It is one of the four orders in the nitrogen fixing clade of the fabids and is sister to a clade consisting of Fagales and Cucurbitales. It contains about 7700 species, distributed into about 260 genera. Rosales comprises nine families, the type family...
and Malvales
Malvales
Malvales are an order of flowering plants. As circumscribed by APG II-system, it includes about 6000 species within nine families. The order is placed in the eurosids II, which are part of the eudicots....
. It is similar to tapa
Tapa cloth
Tapa cloth is a bark cloth made in the islands of the Pacific Ocean, primarily in Tonga, Samoa and Fiji, but as far afield as Niue, Cook Islands, Futuna, Solomon Islands, Java, New Zealand, Vanuatu, Papua New Guinea and Hawaii...
found elsewhere in Polynesia
Polynesia
Polynesia is a subregion of Oceania, made up of over 1,000 islands scattered over the central and southern Pacific Ocean. The indigenous people who inhabit the islands of Polynesia are termed Polynesians and they share many similar traits including language, culture and beliefs...
but differs in the methods used in its creation. Kapa was based primarily on the creative combination of linear elements that cross and converge to form squares, triangles, chevrons and diagonal forms, giving a feeling of boldness and directness. (The Hawaiian
Hawaiian language
The Hawaiian language is a Polynesian language that takes its name from Hawaii, the largest island in the tropical North Pacific archipelago where it developed. Hawaiian, along with English, is an official language of the state of Hawaii...
/k/ phoneme
Phoneme
In a language or dialect, a phoneme is the smallest segmental unit of sound employed to form meaningful contrasts between utterances....
corresponds to Polynesian
Polynesian languages
The Polynesian languages are a language family spoken in the region known as Polynesia. They are classified as part of the Austronesian family, belonging to the Oceanic branch of that family. They fall into two branches: Tongic and Nuclear Polynesian. Polynesians share many cultural traits...
/t/.) Kapa was used primarily for clothing like the malo worn by men as a loincloth and the pāū worn by women as a wraparound. Kapa was also used for kīhei used over the shoulders. Other uses for kapa depended on caste and a person's place in ancient Hawaiian society. Kapa moe
Kapa moe
A kapa moe is a traditional Hawaiian bedcovering made from tree bark, then beaten and felted to achieve a soft texture and dye stamped in geometric patterns. Several layers of kapa would be stitched together at the edges to form a kapa moe.-External links:*...
(bed covers) were reserved for the alii
Ali'i
Alii is a word in the Polynesian language denoting chiefly status in ancient Hawaii and the Samoa Islands. A similar word with the same concept is found in other Polynesian societies. In the Cook Islands, an ariki is a high chief and the House of Ariki is a parliamentary house...
or chiefly caste while kapa robes were used by kāhuna
Kahuna
Kahuna is a Hawaiian word, defined in the as a "Priest, sorcerer, magician, wizard, minister, expert in any profession." Forty different types of kahuna are listed in the book, Tales from the Night Rainbow...
or priestly caste. Kapa was also used as banners where leis were hung from it and images of their gods were printed on it.
Cultural anthropologists over the course of the twentieth century identified techniques in the creation of kapa that was unique to the Hawaiian Islands
Hawaiian Islands
The Hawaiian Islands are an archipelago of eight major islands, several atolls, numerous smaller islets, and undersea seamounts in the North Pacific Ocean, extending some 1,500 miles from the island of Hawaii in the south to northernmost Kure Atoll...
. Wauke (Broussonetia papyrifera
Paper Mulberry
The Paper Mulberry is a tree in the family Moraceae, native to eastern Asia. Other names include Dak, Halibun, Kalivon, Kozo, and Tapacloth tree.It is a deciduous tree growing to tall...
) was the preferred source of bast fibres for kapa, but it was also made from ulu (Artocarpus altilis
Breadfruit
Breadfruit is a species of flowering tree in the mulberry family, Moraceae, growing throughout Southeast Asia and most Pacific Ocean islands...
), ōpuhe (Urera
Urera
Urera is a genus of flowering shrubs, trees and vines in the nettle family, Urticaceae. Urera is characterized by fleshy fruits , the presence of paintbrush-like stigmas, glabrous pistillodes, and hairs with bulbed bases, that in some species are stinging.There are currently 113 published species...
spp.), maaloa (Neraudia melastomifolia
Neraudia melastomifolia
Neraudia melastomifolia, known as Maaloa in Hawaiian, is a species of flowering plant in the nettle family, Urticaceae, that is endemic to Hawaii. It is a shrub or small tree, reaching a height of up to . N. melastomifolia inhabits coastal mesic, mixed mesic, and wet forests at elevations of on...
), māmaki (Pipturus albidus
Pipturus albidus
Pipturus albidus, known as Māmaki in Hawaiian, is a species of flowering plant in the nettle family, Urticaceae, that is endemic to Hawaii. It inhabits coastal mesic, mixed mesic, and wet forests at elevations of...
), ākala (Rubus hawaiensis
Rubus hawaiensis
Rubus hawaiensis, also called the Ākala, is a species of Rubus endemic to Hawaii. It is found on the islands of Kauai, Molokai, Maui, and Hawaii in mesic to wet forest at elevations of...
), ākalakala (R. macraei
Rubus macraei
Rubus macraei, commonly known as Ākalakala, is a species of Rubus that is endemic to Hawaii. Although superficially similar to the other Hawaiian species, Rubus hawaiensis, the two are believed to be derived from separate colonizations of Hawaii. R...
), and hau (Hibiscus tiliaceus). In the 18th century, pieces of kapa were often made of grooving or ribing. It is done by pushing the dampened cloth into the grooves of a special board. The wauke tree was cut and soaked in water. It was then laid on a kua kūkū (polished stone tablet) and beaten with a hōhoa (rounded beater). After the first phase of beating, the kapa was transferred to a sacred house to be beaten a second time but in a religious manner. Each kapa manufacturer used a beater called an ie kūkū, a beater with four flat sides that were each carved differently. Another way to carve the kapa is by starting on the four-sided affairs, with the coarsest grooves on one side used first in breaking down the bast, or wet bark. Then, the beating continued using two sides with finer grooves. Lastly, finishing touches were accomplished with the remaining smooth side of the beater. The carvings left an impression in the cloth that was hers alone. After the European discovery of the Hawaiian Islands, Western traders travelled to Hawaii especially for kapa.
The process of making kapa was done primarily by women. Young girls would learn by helping their mothers, over time doing the majority of the work, and when older she could make kapa by herself.
External links
- Cook-Foster Collection at Georg-August University in Göttingen, Germany
- Kapa Connection
- Hawaiian Kapa Making
- Hawaiian Kapa History
- Contemporary Hawaiian Kapa
- "Kapa: Fabric of a Culture" Article about the art of kapa making and kapa master Pua Van Dorpe by Rita Goldman. Maui No Ka 'Oi MagazineMaui No Ka 'Oi MagazineMaui Nō Ka Oi Magazine is a bi-monthly regional magazine published by the Haynes Publishing Group in Wailuku, Hawaii.The phrase Maui nō ka ʻoi means "Maui is unparallel" in the Hawaiian language. Maui Nō Ka Oi Magazine features stories relating to the culture, art, dining, environmental issues,...
Vol.12, No.1 (January 2008) - "Kapa: More to Learn" Pua Van Dorpe's kapa collection honoring 11 Maui chiefs. Maui No Ka 'Oi MagazineMaui No Ka 'Oi MagazineMaui Nō Ka Oi Magazine is a bi-monthly regional magazine published by the Haynes Publishing Group in Wailuku, Hawaii.The phrase Maui nō ka ʻoi means "Maui is unparallel" in the Hawaiian language. Maui Nō Ka Oi Magazine features stories relating to the culture, art, dining, environmental issues,...
Vol.12, No.1 (January 2008)