A celebration
of culture on the
Waianae Coast
Storyteller will weave
By Catherine Kekoa Enomoto
fishing tales in sessions
along the beach
Star-BulletinUncle Tom Cummings is a 40-year storyteller who says he weaves tales as a "ho'okupu (offering) to the next generation." He is one of four storytellers at a six-night Lualualei Starlight Storytelling Festival. The series is one of numerous events at the inaugural "Ua Mau Na Po'e O Wai'anae" (Steadfast People of Wai'anae) cultural festival Saturday through June 21 on the Waianae Coast.
If you're near Maili Beach Park from Sunday to next Friday, stop by and catch a tale. Enjoy food, music and crafts from 5 to 9 p.m. daily, with storytelling from 7 to 8:30 p.m. Featured storytellers include Makia Malo on Sunday and Friday; Glen Grant on Monday; Emil Wolfgramm on Tuesday and Wednesday; and Cummings on Thursday.
Cummings shares fishing related tales at the event celebrating the Leeward Coast, which is renowned for its fishing. He tells stories, legends and myths about he'e (octopus), a kinolau (manifestation) of the sea god Kanaloa; the fishing demigod Maui; and ocean-related 'aumakua, or family gods.
Cummings said storytelling is a Hawaiian art form every bit as important as hula, navigation, basketry and lauhala weaving. He got artful in a rambling, interwoven tale about Kuna the puhi (eel) trying to kidnap the goddess Hina, the mother of Maui. Maui cuts off Kuna's head, which ends up as a coconut tree. That's why, when you husk a coconut, an eel's eyes appear at one end of the coconut.
But hey, his story didn't end there. Kuna is another name for Ku, the war god; and the puhi is the kinolau of Ku. That's why, when Kamehameha I cut down his cousin's coconut tree, it was a declaration of war.
"Everybody told stories," said Cummings, Bishop Museum educational specialist. "In fact, the missionaries frowned down at the Hawaiians, because they spent hours and hours talking to each other. What they were doing was making up stories and creating poetic language. We also know that there were wonderful storytellers who were recognized by people in the community," he said.
Thomas Claudio Cummings Jr., 60, is a Maui native with light hazel eyes. He is of Hawaiian, Portuguese, Scot and Chinese ancestry.
On his mother's side, he comes from the hula storytelling tradition of kumu hula Aunty Mae Loebenstein, sister of his mother, Kahili Long Cummings. His paternal grandmother, Louisa Ross Cummings, taught him Hawaiian traditions, such as 'opae (shrimp) fishing and la'au lapa'au (herb medicine).
He has taught at Konawaena, Leilehua and Waialua high schools, and lived five years in Tahiti. His passion is Hawaiian culture and Polynesian studies embracing indigenous family systems, values, social behavior, deities and how certain story themes repeat throughout Pacific island cultures.
In the Hawaiian culture, people kicked off storytelling by asking, "How's your belly button?" -- the equivalent of, "How's your love life?"
Cummings explained, "Oh, all the old folks know dat, 'Pehea kou piko? How's your piko?' And they're talking about your belly button, your stomach and the lower regions," he said waving his hands in a circular motion over his abdomen and hips.
"And really what they're saying is, 'How's your life source?' "
He said the highest form of Hawaiian hospitality is to feed visitors. The next highest is to sit and exchange news by way of proverbs, poetry and stories.
"That's how they entertained each other. They were human, touchy-feely people, that's who dese folks were. It wasn't a handshake -- it was a hug and a kiss and more, hmm?"
"And, when you listen to the storytelling, it's that connection from who you are, to other people and to the land and to the animals and to the sky -- all of it is part of who you are, really."
And if you ask, Uncle Tom might tell you about his belly button.
Wai'anae Coast
Community Cultural FestivalFeaturing: Hula, music, arts, crafts and foods, plus interpretive tours and displays
