Uploaded August 2023 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
At the 2023 Smithsonian Folklife Festival, Kumu Micah Kamohoali‘i—a Native Hawaiian hula teacher, textile artist, and fashion designer—explained the ancient practice and origin story of kapa (bark cloth) pounding. According to the story, there once lived a man in Hawai‘i who was very hairy and consequently always warm. His daughters, however, got cold when it was windy and would often get sick, so their father prayed to his ancestors to help him create something to keep his daughters warm and healthy. Before he died, he told his daughters to bury him by the stream, which will provide plants to make cloth from. The plant wauke was created.
Read more in the Festival Blog: https://festival.si.edu/blog/hawaiian-kapa-bark-cloth
Camera: Charlie Weber
Editing: Sonia Harnish
Catalog No. CFV11496; © Smithsonian Institution, 2023
At the 2023 Smithsonian Folklife Festival, Kumu Micah Kamohoali‘i—a Native Hawaiian hula teacher, textile artist, and fashion designer—explained the ancient practice and origin story of kapa (bark cloth) pounding. According to the story, there once lived a man in Hawai‘i who was very hairy and consequently always warm. His daughters, however, got cold when it was windy and would often get sick, so their father prayed to his ancestors to help him create something to keep his daughters warm and healthy. Before he died, he told his daughters to bury him by the stream, which will provide plants to make cloth from. The plant wauke was created.
Read more in the Festival Blog: https://festival.si.edu/blog/hawaiian-kapa-bark-cloth
Camera: Charlie Weber
Editing: Sonia Harnish
Catalog No. CFV11496; © Smithsonian Institution, 2023
