Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 5, Number 10, 1 October 1988 — Pacific Arts Festival An Outstanding Exchange [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

Pacific Arts Festival An Outstanding Exchange

Builds ties between Paeilie peoples

By Puanani Fernandez-Akamine Kamehameha Schools Communications Specialist

"Weleome brother, weleome sister" Bleary-eyed from 21 hours of traveling and stiff from restless hours in economy-class seats, the members of Hawaii's delegation to the Fifth Festival of Pacific Arts waited anxiously for the airplane to taxi to a stop in Townsville, Australia. At the terminal they were greeted by Aboriginal men, wearing traditional paint, and a group of men and women from the Torres Strait Islands located off the northern tip of Australia. Dressed in colorful traditional finery, they shared their chants, songs and dances of weleome.

The weleome was acknowledged by Hawaiian greeting and genealogy chants, songs and hula performed by Hawaii delegation members. As the visitors lined up to exchange individual greetings with their hosts, a handshake or a kiss were met with "weleome brother, weleome sister, weleome to our country."

An explosive welcommg ceremony The Festival opened on August 15 with a late afternoon parade through Townsville to Queen's Park, site of the opening ceremony. Eaeh delegation, clad in native dress, marched proudly amidst exuberant singing and chanting in more than two dozen different Pacific languages. At the park, the Festival officially began with an exciting sample of the music, dance and cultural exchange that Festival participants could look forward to in the days to eome.

Costumes ranged from skirts of native grasses and enormous, ornate feather headdresses, to elegant dresses of pure tapa, simple loincloths and colorful cotton pareo tied around the hip. Some costumes were absolutely traditional with nudity displayed with great dignity and no apologies. As the afternoon slipped into evening, the excitement of the crowed seemed to mount as eaeh delegation waited anxiously for their tum to perform. From the pulsing beat of the to'ere drums of Tahiti and Rarotonga, to the gentle melodies of the pan-flutes of the Solomon Islands, from the challenge and posturing of the maori haka to the dignity and strength of the men from Vanuatu, the audience was swept away by the pride of the performers.

An exciting high point in the evening eame during a performance by a brilliantly costumed group from Papua New Guinea. Suddenly an impulsive female dancer broke away from the group and rushed to the V1P section and pulled Australian Prime Minister Bob Hawke up to dance. The crowd went wild. Other dancers sought partners from the crowd, while members of other delegations, inspired by the moment, rushed up to dance, uninvited. Like a volcano that has been

building up pressure, the crowd erupted in an uncontrollable frenzy of sound and motion. With great effort, the Aboriginal delegation finally managed to re-seat everyone so the program could continue.

The ceremony culminated with an amazing laser light show. Projected onto Castle Rock, a landmark hill protruding from the center of Townsville, the show featured a fascinating combination of Aboriginal art motifs, such as snakes and lizards, along with contemporary images of leaping dolphins and a flowing waterfall. The show wasset to the pulsating, political music of Aboriginal rock group, "Colored Stone" and the haunting music of the didgeridoo, a traditional Aboriginal hom. A Crafts Village Favorite Eaeh delegation was provided with an opensided, thatched roof "hale" in the Festival Crafts

Village, located next to a creek at Dean Park near the center of town. The Hawaiian hale was a favorite of visitors. The 10 artisans representing Hawai'i were carvers David Eskaran and Alapa'i Hanapi, floral lei-makers Bill Char and Marie McDonald, tapa-maker Moana Eisele, lauhala weaver Auntie Esther Makuaole, Ni'ihau shell lei-maker Jean Keale, quilter and featherworker Charlotte Cathcart, hula implement maker and feather worker Dennis Kana'e Keawe, and 'ie'ie weaver Pat Horimoto.

They and their haumana (apprentices), Kamehameha Schools students, shared their knowledge and skills with curious onlookers, inviting them to smell, feel and try their hand at the craft. Carvers, weavers, and tapa makers from all over the Pacific began to develop special relationships with one another as they swapped ideas and techniques, and demonstrated their arts and crafts. For Hawaii's artisans, making friends with their South Pacific contemporaries was one of the most rewarding aspects of the Festival. At the crafts village it was not unusual to see artisans from Rapa Nui (Easter Island), Aotearoa (New Zealand), Tahiti or Tuvalu sporting lei po'o or lauhala bracelets, tokens from new-found friends from Hawaii.

The Festival of Pacific Arts is held every four years. It is a celebration of the indigenous music, dance, art and culture of Pacific peoples. This year, the Festival was held in Townsville, Australia, August 15-26. Some 1,800 delegates from 24 Pacific nations took part in the event, performing for thousands of spectators. Previous Festivals have been held in Fiji, Papua New Guinea, Aotearoa and Tahiti. In 1987, Governor John Waihe'e appointed Kamehameha Schools to coordinate Hawaii's participation in this important Pacific event. To fulfill this mandate, 52 Kamehameha students were selected to comprise the majority of Hawaii's delegation, whieh totaled 96 persons. In addition to the performing and visual arts programs, the Festival included a language program. Eaeh evening, Pacific storytellers, chanters, poets and orators gathered to share their knowledge, some in their native language, others in English.

At the town's exhibition hall, eaeh delegation contributed a cultural display. Hawai'i brought a display on "Wayfinding and the Hokule'a." Other Festival activities included an indigenous film program and a cultural forum, both of whieh made the connection between cultural preservation and socio-political issues. Speakers at the Cultural Forum included Kamehameha Schools/Bishop Estate trustee Myron Thompson and OHA trustee Moses Keale, who discussed Native Hawaiian culture and arts programs.

Dancer Kala Hoe, of Kamehameha Schools, and Papua New Guinea friends following a performance.

E o — < 3 Q k. h** -o o o -e

A mischievous group of Aboriginal boys wait to perform.

5 £ mV) *3 o £ .o o o £

Hawaii delegation coordinator Bob Worthington and Solomon K. Bright greet the crowd at gift-giving ceremony. Hawaii presented a koa paddle, representing our voyaging heritage and a wooden platter, symbolic of sharing food.

0 "5 -o 3 £ I* -o 1 o [ O I -e

Boys from Nauru in traditional costume observe the ceremony of gift-giving from delegates to their hosts.

£ o ,<2 '3 Q V. h--o II a.