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

A gathering of Pacific pride

by Pearl Leialoha Page As the first blush of dawn formed over the horizon, silhouettes of ships great and small moved upon the water. Like shadows of the ancient past, these vessels traveled great distances to rendezvous at Rarotonga in the Cook Islands. Seven or eight are large dou-ble-hulled canoes. The rest are smaller with unique features. One from the Marshall Islands skips and maneuvers like a small bird in flight.

The Tahitian 80-paddler, double-hu!l eanoe approaches the landing. Drummers on the beach beat a quickening pulse on the toere, a Tahitian drum, while paddlers keep cadence by hitting the sides of the eanoe. One single hulleanoe of six men paddled 400 miles to participate in this gathering of Pacific nrirlp

It's the Vaka Pageant, a gathering of canoes and highlight of the Festival of Pacific Arts held Oct. 16 - 27. OHA

administrator Richard Paglinawan, who attended the event as a cultural observer, described the event. As eaeh eanoe eame into the bay, its island contingency chanted and danced its arrival, Paglinawan said. The Rarotonga chiefs and dignitaries also received the crews with cultural protocol and ceremony. "Eaeh eanoe brought a stone from its island home to plaee in a circle as a monument

to the occasion, he said. The bringing of a stone reverses a legend that recalls the launching of

seven great canoes from Rarotonga to New Zealand. The flagshin of the flotilla was

Hawai'i's Hokule'a, truly a star of gladness and inspiration for the Vaka Pageant. "Mueh credit goes to Nainoa Thompson, the navigator, and his crew. Nainoa almost singlehandedly has revived the art of wayfinding," Paglinawan said. The vaka from New Zealand arrived three days late.Three hurricanes stood between it and Rarotonga, but it , arrived, despite the difficulties. A separate

ceremony was held īn its honor. "What was most impressive was the

determination of the crews and people to awaken and re-establish traditions, whieh some thought were lost forever, like navigation," he noted. "I saw a youngster who was about 8 or 9 years old with a small, model eanoe that he had obviously carved himself from a pieee of hau wood. He had lashed the ama (outrigger float) wilh coconut fiber. That's the kind of excitement, role modeling and sense of unity the festival generated. They all had one thing in eommon, the sea." Other events included Pacific craftsman demonstrating their skills with adze, feather making, coconut and lauhala weaving, gourd making, tattooing and the art of la'au lapa'au. Calvin Hoe, an expert calabash maker and part of the Hawai'i delegation, worked all day with a girl from Rarotonga who wanted to leam. "When her gourd was completed, you could see that she really cherished it," Paglinawan observed. Eaeh island culture also performed traditional and modern dances and music. Hawai'i's youngsters from the Kamehameha Schools were a real treat. Those that felt Hawai'i had lost its traditions were proved wrong, he said. Other dances performed demonstrated the strong differences between male and female dancing, he noted. "It's something Hawai'i could leam from." With some island groups, one got the feeling that dancing wasn't something they took lessons to do, but rather a part

of every day life, Paglinawan said. "It was exciting to watch." Another feature of the festival was the return of several artifacts to the Cook Islands from the Bishop Museum. Recently excavated Rarotongan fish hooks, a serrated spear, a eanoe bailer, a ceremonial paddle and an adze were retumed. A separate part of the festival was the display of warrior culture in the form of challenges. On the last day, the Maori

warriors moved up the beach and started with the traditional haka, facial and body gestures made to provoke a ehallenge. Forty Rarotonga warriors responded. The two groups taunted eaeh other following carefully detailed protocol. After eaeh group had determined the other to be worthy opponents, the Rarotongan chief launched a bird woven from coconut fronds between the parties as a sign of peaee, mutual respect and weleome. Cultural exchange took plaee on various levels throughout the festival. Not only was the uniqueness of eaeh island culture lifted up, but also a merging of identities occurred, Paglinawan said. Tattoos denoting specific islands and family clans were being adopted by other Pacific islanders, blurring lines of identity. "Wearing a tattoo is a commitment to the Pacific heritage," he said. "One thing is obvious, the oeean was not a barrier. There is a Pacific solidarity, an awareness and appreciation of eaeh other. The festival demonstrated to me that there is a readiness for eultural and political exchange throughout the Pacific."

Eaeh eanoe brought a stone from its island home to plaee in a circle as a monument to the occasion.

Like shadows of the ancient past, 15 canoes traveled great distances to rendezvous at Rarotonga, Cook lslands for the Sixth Festival of Pacific Arts, Oct. 16-27. Photos by Richard Paglinawan

Traditional crafts were a large part of the festival.

Calvin Hoe worked all day with a girl from Rarotonga on a gourd ealabash she will always cherish.