Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 9, Number 12, 1 Kekemapa 1992 — Festival of Pacific Arts [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

Festival of Pacific Arts

"The Seafaring Pacific Islanders" was the theme of the Festival of Pacific Arts. About 15 voyaging canoes, including the Hokule'a, eonverged on the Cooks from all parts of the Pacific for two weeks of dance, chant, crafts and art. This year'sfestival, the sixth, was held in Rarotonga, Cook Isands. The Hawai'i delegation was organized by Kamehameha Schools/Bishop Estate. The following first-hand account was written by a member of Hawai'i's performing arts delegation. by Marly Wai Kamehameha Schools Class of '93

As the plane flew off into the oncoming evening, our homeland quickly disappeared from sight. We, the Hawai'i Loa Delegation, were destined for

Rarotonga, Cook Islands, where we would represent Hawai'i at the Sixth Festival of the Pacific Arts held Oct. 16 - 27. At that time I had no idea that this festival was going to be the best experienee of my life.

The delegation represented many participating agencies, including the Hawai'i State Foundation on Culture and the Arts, the Native Hawaiian Culture and Arts Program, the Hawai'i Maritime Center, the Polynesian Voyaging Society, and Kamehameha Schools/Bishop Estate. As a Kamehameha Schools student, I was proud to be part of the performing arts group. Among the 150 participants in the delegation were visual artists who shared their talents in traditional Hawaiian arts and crafts. Also on the plane was the eommuniealion media crew from Kamehameha Schools (who recorded many of the performances and events for video curriculum development), members of the Hokule'a crew, and 60 student performers from Kamehameha Schools. This was our Hawai'i Loa 'ohana. We all worked together to represent Hawai'i the best we could. The visual artists showed their beautiful work at the craft village along with other Pacific Islands artisans. They demonstrated their crafts from ipu making to lauhala weaving and from adze making to feather lei work. continued page 23

Festival of Pacific Arts

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The performing artists danced and sang for everyone to see. With eaeh dance and song we gained more pride in our culture. The Hokule'a and its crew sailed beautifully with voyaging canoes from other lslands in the Vaka Pageant on Oct. 21 and sailed again on Oct. 26. This time they weren't sailing in a pageant, they were sailing back to Hawai'i. I was so proud to be able to gei to know the crew and to know that they were sailing in the ways of anclent Hawaiians. It was sad to see the crew go because it felt like part of my family was leaving. As we gathered on the beach to see the Hokule'a set sail, I could imagine how our ancestors felt when they had to say goodbye to their loved ones without knowing if they would ever see them again.

A really great experience was getting to meet people from the other countries and leam about their cultures. We met people from New Zealand, Guam, Fiji and other Paciflc Islands. We got the ehanee to really know the peo{de from the Cook Islands and learn of their eulture and taste their food. The festival finally eame to an end, and although I was sad to leave I knew it was time to go home and share my experiences with everyone. I am really grateful for the ehanee I had to participate in the festival in Rarotonga, but more importantly I am proud of my Hawaiian culture.