Quilting Connects Across the Ocean The December issue of the KAPPAN featured traditional quitting. In this issue, the Hawaiian sisters share the beautiful and unique style often referred to as Hawaiian quilting.
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he Hawaiian quilting tradition has its roots in kapa, an indigenous Oceanic textile made from finely beaten inner bark fibers of the wauke plant (Broussonetia papyrifera). Kapa can be found throughout Oceania, but its greatest exponent is found in Hawaiâi, thanks to Native Hawaiian innovations that produced light, even-textured cloth decorated with colorful dyes, intricate stamped designs, and fragrant perfumes. Dr. Isabella Abbott, educator and ethnobotanist, has postulated that without the unique endemic flora of the islands, many kapa innovations would not have been possible. When New England missionaries arrived in the Islands in 1820, their wives were so impressed by both kapa and the nimble fingers of Hawaiian women that they enthusiastically taught them how to sew small patchwork quilts, also known as crazy quilts or kapa poho. It made sense to the women to get the greatest use out of every precious scrap of imported woven cloth, so they took to the craft readily. When it came to making larger quilts, however, the Hawaiians were reluctant to cut large pieces of cloth into small squares just for the purpose of piecing them together again. Hawaiian innovation won out again, and they developed a style of their own based on the âsnowflakeâ paper cutting style taught to them by the New England women. Hawaiians certainly did not lack inspiration for their applique designs, as can be seen in the dazzling array of patterns that mimic the beauty of familiar and culturally important plants, animals, and objects. Certain patterns are as mysterious as they are beautiful, filled with hidden meanings, while others may commemorate a special event. The pattern âNĹŤnĹŤ lawe leka o Kahuluiâ honors the first time, in 1893, that carrier pigeons were used to deliver mail from Honolulu, Oâahu to Kahului, Maui. Many patterns are named, often in honor of their originator, and some are even kept secret, passed down only through trusted family members and friends. The fun of quilting and 18
designing patterns was not restricted to women, as many of the widely known patterns were made by men with a gift for mimicry and a talent for geometry. Some quilts, kapa pulu, are stuffed with tree fern wool. However, most quilts are made using the kapa âÄpana or kapa lau applique technique, where a design is attached to a contrasting backing with many thousands of hidden stitches. Whatâs Hawaiian is the way that quilters create âripplesâ around their designs using echo stitches that trace the outlines of the design in waves that radiate outward. Many enthusiasts prefer a thinly stuffed quilt in order to better showcase the tiny, precise, even stitchwork. Kapa kuiki are more than just utilitarian objects; because they are so laborintensive and require over 200,000 stitches, they are heirlooms and cherished pieces of art. During times of political unrest, Hawaiians turned to quilting to express their deep aloha âÄina, love for the land, and to protest illegal invasions of the Hawaiian Kingdomâs sovereignty. Kapa hae, flag quilts, are the most common type of these political expressions. Dr. Abbottâs family treasures their flag quilt, particularly for its bold cross-stitches that surround each Hawaiian flag: âItâs as if with each X, the quilter is saying, âHere is my protest, for I am unashamed to support the rightful queen.ââ That queen, Liliâuokalani, was herself an able quilter, and during her unlawful imprisonment in âIolani Palace, she and her attendants created the well-known âQueenâs Quiltâ in the kapa poho style. On it, she recounted many memories of her life, recording her joys and her sorrows in each piece. Not all families are lucky to have inherited a quilt from their forebears, as some quilters requested that their works be burnt after their death. It was believed that their souls might rest quietly, having recouped through the quiltsâ burning all the spiritual power they had expended in life. Hawaiian quilts are still held in high esteem and remain a wonderful example of the saying, He lehulehu a manomano ka âike a ka Hawaiâi â great and numerous is the knowledge of Hawaiians. Article by Karen Victor, HI Pi and Alohilani Okamura, HI Nu.
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