Early in her studies, she became acquainted with Dr. Kenneth Emory, Senior anthropologist at that time of the Bernice Pauahi Bishop Museum. Much research was still being done on the Hawaiian of old and mom wanted to help. One day she asked Dr. Emory if there was some topic that needed more study and he said Hawaiian kapa. Dr. Emory explained that though they had samples of kapa and implements used in its manufacture, very little had been written about how it was made and what was recorded was not detailed enough. Mom decided that Hawaiian kapa would be the topic of her research.

 Records indicated that a plant called wauke was preferred as it produced kapa of a high quality. She inquired with the City and County Parks Dept., the Dept. of Agriculture and local nurseries and farmers, but no one could tell her where to find wauke. She also knew that Hawaiian kapa had not been made in over 150 years. She decided to go where ‘tapa’ was still being made, in the Polynesian islands of the South Pacific. Her first trip took her to Samoa where she learned to make siapo under the guidance of her teacher, Mary Pritchard. Upon her return to Hawai`i she was able to bring with her wauke slips to plant at Ulu Mau. Later voyages took her to Tahiti, Tonga, Fiji, New Zealand, the Cook Islands, Marquesas, the Lau Islands and other islands in Micronesia and Melanesia where she learned the each of their processes of manufacturing and dyeing tapa.

 She had to wait about 18 months before the wauke slips had grown to maturity and she could begin her experimentation. After much trial and error and hours upon hours of scraping, soaking and beating, her efforts culminated in success. It was a beautiful Sunday. The village was closed and she was beating a piece when suddenly she stopped and looked with amazement at what she had made. She said to herself, “I think I have something here.” She let the piece dry, then carefully packed it and sent it to Dr. Emory who was lecturing at a university in the mainland. Later, the piece was returned to her with a note from Dr. Emory. It read, “Malia, from my observations I would have sworn that this piece was made by the ancients!”

 Throughout the 60’s and 70’s, mom was considered to be the leading authority on Hawaiian kapa. She continued her studies and research for many years. She was a woman ahead of her time, learning, researching and sharing Hawaiian culture and history prior to the cultural renaisance of the 1970’s. It is because of my mother and what I learned from her that I can stand tall and say with conviction that “I am proud, very proud, to be Hawaiian”.

INTRODUCTION TO HAWAIIAN KAPA

 By Malia Solomon

 In the Hawaiian Islands, kapa making reached its greatest development. The amount of ingenuity displayed in the manufacture of the bark and in the coloring and decoration of the resulting barkcloth reflects the greatest credit on the ancient Hawaiians.

 The musical tap of the beater has forever ceased in the valleys where generations ago it was common, but the magnificent collection of kapas in the Bishop Museum in Honolulu has served as a text from which my study on Hawaiian kapa received the bulk of its information.

 Many times I have visited the Museum and gazed in wonderment at the beautiful kapas that are displayed. I noticed the specimen of the plant from which it was manufactured. Such a small shrub to produce barkcloth of such varied textures, from coarse to so very fine and gauzelike. The patterns and colors also intrigued me. I searched the books for answers to the many questions that kept coming to my mind.

 When I had the opportunity to examine the huge collection of kapas in the vaults, I swelled with pride as I gazed upon one of the finest works of art produced by my ancestors. I touched each piece ever so tenderly to imagine the labors that were employed in its manufacture. I dreamed of making Hawaiian kapa once again. This is how I began my study of barkcloth which started in 1960. The purpose of my study is to carry out the goals of Ulu Mau Village – Its program of recreating the skills of our ancestors in the hope that our people shall have a greater appreciation of their Hawaiian heritage. My fondest hope and dream is that soon the kapa beater will once again be heard, not in the valleys, but in Ulu Mau Village. Then our people will realize the ingenuity the Hawaiians of old possessed. Not many people today have the opportunity to study the culture of the Hawaiian of the past.

 All of us at Ulu Mau Village have a profound respect for our heritage, and we hope our village shall be the mirror to reflect this heritage to all of our people in Hawaii Nei and others who may also be interested.

From the kapa files of Malia B. Solomon 1967