Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 6, Number 9, 1 September 1989 — Book Review [ARTICLE]

Book Review

The Hawaiian Calabash By Irving Jenkins Photographed by Hugo DeVries Editions Limited 288 pages, 135 photographs Suggested Retail Price $39.95 This is the second book by Irving Jenkins that takes an indepth look at Hawaiian woodworking His first book "Hawaiian Furniture and Hawaiian Cabinet-makers: 1820-1940" is the definitive work on the subject and was awarded the Charles F. Montgomery Award from the New York Decorative Arts Society of the Society of Architectural Historians for the most outstanding first work in the field for 1983. The book "Hawaiian Calabash" is an excellent follow-up. As with his Hawaiian furniture book, The "Hawaiian Calabash" has the artistic quality, gloss, and appearance of a fine table book but also includes a text that utilizes many fine resources such as the Bishop Museum, the Hawai'i State Archives, Kaua'i Museum, Mission Historical Library, Sotheby's of London, Museum of Mankind in London, Museum of Ethnology in Vienna, University Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology at Cambridge, Saffon Walden Museum Essex, 'Iolani Palaee, Grove Farm Homestead Museum, Honolulu Academy of Arts, and numerous researchers. Although the text is filled with valuable information from these sources, it is very easy to read and does not fatigue the reader. The book itself is divided into three parts, "Calabashes of Wood," "Calabashes of other maferials" and "Calabashes, Food, and Feasting." Eaeh part is divided into smaller sections eoncerning a specific aspect with a concise text followed by photos with detailed captions. It is also arranged in a loose chronological sequence with early aspects of Hawaiian bowls discussed in the beginning, slowly encompassing more contemporary aspects of calabashes as it progresses, this se-

quence is followed in eaeh of the three parts. The text often quotes impressions concerning the subtopic by early historians and craftsmen. This gives the reader an opportunity to see the beauty and significance of Hawaiian bowls through their perspective. This book also rovers many areas concerning bowls and their uses that have not previously been compiled in one source, such as 'awa containers, calabash decorated with human bone, shapesand significance of designs, and manufacturing techniques. Although these subject areas comprise just a small part of the entire book, it contains more information on these subjects than any other singular publication. In many publications, photographs often take away from the text or dominates the book. Not in this book. The photographs are exquisitely done. They add to the text by giving the reader prime examples of Hawaiian bowls, tools, and wood. In many ways, while leafing through the book, the photographs arouse curiosity and encourage the reader to peruse the accompanying text. If there is any negative to this book it is the index. Looking for a reference to 'awa I found none, although 'awa is referred to in the main body of the book many times. There are other examples such as poi, kou, and milo whieh are often referred to in the text but cannot be found in the index. Another negative is the laek of the proper diacritical marks on the Hawaiian words, but this would not be of eoneem to the majority of the readers. The index, however, remains the major setback of an otherwise exceptional book. Even with this drawback I would recommend this book to anyone who has, or wants to develop, an appreciation of Hawaiian art and culture. An exhibit of Hawaiian calabashes opened Aug. 2 at the Honolulu Academy of Arts and will run through Sept. 10. Keone Nunes