Hello, our names are Adam and Kahn, and this week’s assembly was the Fourth Grade Kapa assembly. Kapa is clothing that was worn by the ancient Hawaiians. They would take the bark of the wauke tree and pound it into a cloth-like material. The students talked about the process of making a kapa and the experience, along with their designs. For example, our classmate Kyler Matsui who just became a student at Hanahou‘oli this year, talked about his design which is a river flowing through mountains. He was inspired to do this because his family loves to go hiking and be outdoors. Ancient Hawaiians used dyes from plants to make designs on their kapa. Unfortunately the students just used paint. To put the designs on the cloth they carved the design that they wanted on a piece of linoleum called and ‘ohe kapala, but traditionally ‘ohe kapala are made of bamboo. There was also a big act of kindness while they were making kapa. While Reyn Doi was acting in Los Angeles he sadly wasn’t able to make his own kapa. He tried many different ways to make a kapa while he was away, but sadly he wasn’t able to do it. So, back here at Hanahau‘oli his friends were very thoughtful and made one for him. We are very proud of them and are excited to see them wearing their kapa next week Wednesday at Makahiki.
