Hawaii’s Back yard
Cheryl Chee Tsutsumi
A week after last year's Celebration of the Arts, Clifford Naeole sat beside the Honokahua Preservation Site on the grounds of The Ritz-Carlton, Kapalua, to thank his ancestors for blessing the event and to seek their counsel. Women who shaped
Event highlights
isles are honoredThe site is the final resting place of more than 2,000 Hawaiians who lived between 850 A.D. and the early 1800s. It is a sacred place, and Naeole, the hotel's Hawaiian cultural adviser and chairman of Maui's biggest annual cultural event Celebration of the Arts, has received answers here many times.
"I believe the ancestors will inspire anyone who wants to be inspired," Naeole says. "Just because they don't exist in the physical realm, it doesn't mean their power to help us has decreased. All we have to do is ask. My question to them was: 'What do we do next year?'"
An image of Princess Ruth Keelikolani, half sister of Kamehameha IV and Kamehameha V, began flashing in his mind. He remembered how Princess Ruth bequeathed her land -- then totaling nearly 9 percent of the Hawaiian Islands -- to her cousin, Princess Bernice Pauahi Bishop. These vast holdings are now are overseen by Kamehameha Schools, Hawaii's largest landowner.
As Naeole sat by the serene burial site, he was consumed by thoughts of other great Hawaiian women as well -- Kaahumanu, Keopuolani, Lili'uokalani. "I realized the impact these women have had and continue to have in Hawaii," he says. "It is unfortunate, though, that many of their accomplishments go unheralded."
Thus was born the theme for this year's Celebration of the Arts: "Na Wahine Kau I Ka Hano" (The Woman's Place of Honor). Films, discussions, workshops, musical presentations and more during the four-day event will pay tribute to notable women, past and present, who have played key roles in shaping Hawaii's history, culture and way of life.
Highlights include "Hawaii's Great Women Composers," featuring panelists Manu Boyd, Mahi Beamer, Noelani Mahoe and Edna Farden.
"Every musician in Hawaii has been directly affected by women and their musical compositions," Naeole says. "Their voices and melodies are alive and well in contemporary Hawaii even while their presence is no longer of this earth."
"Women of the Voyaging Canoes" spotlights three women who sailed aboard Hokule'a -- Joanne Kahanamoku-Sterling, Katherine Fuller and Penny Rawlins -- and one, Pomai Bertleman, who plied the Pacific on Makali'i with her father, Clay, the vessel's captain.
"There are no accounts of women's contributions to successful and safe journeys across the Pacific from the days of old," Naeole said. "These four wahine are pioneers, and we will learn about their hardships, challenges and accomplishments."
Through stirring performances of hula and chants by kumu hula Luana Kawaa and Halau Hula Ka Makani Kili Oopu, "Na Wahine Wiwo'ole" (Women Without Fear) recounts the courage of women on the battlefield in ancient Hawaii.
"There is a tale of a woman who knew the sad outcome of a battle that her kane (husband) was to be involved in," Naeole says. "Rather than mourn his passing and live without him, she chose to stand and fight with him until the final outcome. Both perished."
Naeole regards Queen Lili'uokalani as a woman of similar courage and character. "I can imagine the hurt she felt when she lost control of her kingdom, but she never gave up," he says. "She also never lost her aloha. It is up to us to live up to and resurrect her legacy."
Celebration of the Arts, Naeole says, reflects the love and pride Lili'uokalani felt for the Hawaiian people, their history and traditions. "The event was designed to create interaction between the 'host' and the 'hosted.' Hawaiians can come to learn about themselves, and visitors can come to witness 'Hawaiian heart and soul.' Through Celebration, we help them understand, to a much deeper degree, who and what we are. Hawaiians are not just people who play the ukulele and put leis around people's necks.
"Our thinking is the more truthful we are in telling the stories of our people -- no matter how controversial they are -- the more aware we are of how special this land is, and the more magic will come out of it."
Place: The Ritz-Carlton, Kapalua, One Ritz-Carlton Drive, Kapalua, HI 96761 11th Celebration
of the ArtsWhen: April 17 to 20
Admission: Seminars, Children's Learning Center, hula performances, film presentations and artists' demonstrations are free (nominal fee for materials for some demonstrations). Charges apply for other events such as the Celebration Luau and Show ($75 for adults, $35 for children 12 and under, no charge for infants); Celebration Concert ($25); and Easter Sunday Champagne Brunch ($65 for adults, $35 for children).
The Celebration Package: This kama'aina special includes a garden-view room for two; daily buffet breakfast for two; Celebration Luau and Show tickets for two; Celebration Concert tickets for two; one signed Celebration of the Arts keepsake poster; and shuttle service within Kapalua Resort and between The Ritz-Carlton, Kapalua and the Kapalua-West Maui airport. Cost is $299 per night based on a two-night minimum stay. To book, call (800) 262-8440.
Call: (808) 669-6200
Web site: www.celebrationofthearts.org
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Following are Celebration of the Arts highlights. For a complete schedule, visit www.celebrationofthearts.org. Hawaiian women,
warriors to artists
April 17
>> "Na Wahine Wiwo'ole" (Women Without Fear): This production brings to life the exploits of the women warriors of ancient Hawaii through hula and chant, 7 to 8:30 p.m.; $5 per person.
April 18
>> Opening protocol: Traditional chants and prayers will officially open the event, 9 to 9:45 a.m.>> Hands-on artists' demonstrations, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
>> "Women of the High Kapu": In ancient times, some women commanded the highest rank of kapu. Who were they? Who and what gave them this power? What did commoners need to do to honor their rank? This educational session takes place noon to 1 p.m.
>> "Hawaii's Great Women Composers": Some of Hawaii's best musical compositions were written by women. Learn more about them from 2:30 to 3:30 p.m.
>> The Celebration Luau and Show: Enjoy traditional and contemporary island dishes along with entertainment by Na Palapalai, Mahi Beamer and Nina Kealiiwahamana, 6 to 8:30 p.m.
April 19
>> Hands-on artists' demonstrations, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.>> "Women of the Voyaging Canoes": This discussion describes the role women played in the great voyages across the Pacific, 10 to 11 a.m.
>> "Visionary Women": Participants include filmmaker Edgy Lee (art), kumu hula Hokulani Holt-Padilla (culture) and University of Hawaii at Manoa professor Lilikala Kameleihiwa (education), 11:15 a.m. to 12:15 p.m.
>> "Kumu Hula Maiki Aiu Lake": A new film honors a woman who left a huge impact on Hawaii's hula community, 12:30 to 1:45 p.m.
>> "The Celebration Concert": Henry Kapono, Kekuhi Kanahele, Amy Hanaiali'i Gilliom and Ernie Cruz Jr. headline the show, 7 to 9 p.m.
April 20
>> Nondenominational Easter service, 7:45 to 9 a.m.>> Easter egg hunt, 10 a.m.
>> Animal petting zoo, 10 a.m. to noon
>> Easter brunch, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Cheryl Chee Tsutsumi is a Honolulu-based free-lance writer
and Society of American Travel Writers award winner.
