Hawai‘i Wisdom — August 2019

Here are some finished kapa and traditional tools used to manufacture it during a workshop taught by kumu Sabra Kauka in late July. Photo by Rebekah Magers

E nānā mai a uhi kapa ʻeleʻele ia Maui, a kau ka puaʻa i ka nuku, kiʻi mai i ka ʻāina a lawe aku.

“Watch until the black tapa cloth covers Maui and the sacrificial hog is offered, the come and take the land.”

Said by Kahekili, ruler of Maui, to a messenger sent by Kamehameha I with a question whether to have war or peace. Kahekili sent back this answer — “Wait until I am dead and all the rites performed, then invade and take the island of Maui.”

Source: ‘Ōlelo Noʻeau, by Mary Kawena Pukui