Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 22, Number 6, 1 June 2005 — ʻNā Akua Wahine [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

ʻNā

Akua

Wahine

< BISHOP MUSEUM EXHIBIT FEATURES IMAGES OF FEMALE DIVINITY

By Sterling Kini Wong Female deities, or nā akua wahine, represent some of the most fascinating and colorful figures in traditional Hawaiian belief. These divine women hold dominion over a vast range of the Hawaiian world, from the top of Mauna Kea to the depths of the deepest bodies of water. Highlighting the integral role goddesses play in Hawaiian culture is the Bishop Museum's current vestibule gallery exhibit, "Nā Akua Wahine: Celebrating the Female Gods of Hawai'i Nei." "Nā Akua Wahine," whieh runs until Oct. 16, is the sixth exhibit in the vestibule gallery series, whieh intermixes rare artifacts from the museum's eollection with contemporary pieces created by Hawaiian artists. Noelle Kahanu, manager of the project, said she started the series because she felt that, with so many of the museum's displays featuring Hawaiian artifacts, visitors got the impression that Hawaiian culture was dead. "Our goal is to present a sense of halanee in the museum" she said. "We wanted to emphasize the continuity

in Hawaiian culture and show that Hawaiians still have a connection to their deities."

Part of the "Nā Akua Wahine" artwork is tied into a new book due out in June from Bishop Museum Press, titled Akua Hawai'i. Illustrated by Solomon Enos

and written by Kimo Armitage, the book profiles both male and female deities. For the exhibit, the pages of the book that feature just nā akua wahine have been blown up onto large panels. Among the goddesses brought to life by Enos' vivid watercolor portraits and Armitage's poetic biographies are Pele, the famed divinity of volcanoes; her nemesis Poli'ahu, goddess of snow; and Ho'ohōkūkalani, the mother of the first kalo plant and the first Hawaiian man. The exhibit's title pieee, whieh greets visitors at the gallery's entrance, celebrates another female deity, Haumea, the goddess of fertility. The idol-like sculpture was carved from a native kou tree by artist Rocky

Ka'iouliokahihikolo'Ehu Jensen, with a carved-ivory child emerging dramatically from between her legs. "Nā Akua Wahine" also honors the feared mo'o, or supernatural lizards. These protectors of bodies of water were almost exclusively female and engaged in epie - often deadly - battles with other gods. The exhibit includes a large panel picture of a sculpture of Mo'oinanea, said to be the most powerful of the mo'o, that is part of Ipō Nihipali's goddess mural at UHMānoa's Kamakakūokalani Center for Hawaiian Studies. Amid all the female energy, the exhibit does include two strong male figures from the museum's artifact eollection. At the center of the gallery is an imposing six-foot wood carving of Kū, the god of war and prosperity. Facing him is a wood sculpture of his traveling eompanion Kāne, the god of fresh water. Noelle explained that the Kū statue presides over the gallery for the eight months of the year that make up his traditional time of worship. It is taken down when the season of the god Lono begins, roughly in October. The figure serves as a focal point for "Nā

Akua Wahine" and spotlights the eultural importance of halanee between man and woman. To eaeh side of the Kū statue are pieces relating to his wife, Hina, who is also associated with summer. It is said that Hina's son Maui onee lassoed the sun and convinced him to slow his trek across the sky during a portion of the year. This allowed Hina to have more time to dry her kapa, or bark cloth. In homage to her, "Nā Akua Wahine" includes a showcase of some of the museum's traditional kapa-mak-ing implements. In addition, Moana Eisele has loaned two of her contemporary kapa pieces to the exhibit. One is made out of the traditional kapa material, wauke, commonly known as paper mulberry; the other is raw silk. The caption that accompanies one of Eisele's pieces sums up nicely the cultural link between today's Hawaiian artists and their ancestors: "Let the flow of kapa wrap itself around Nā Akua and ensure the continuity of the Hawaiian culture," Eisele wrote. "As long as there is kapa to make, to use and to enjoy, Hawaiians will flourish." TJ

Right: Haumea, Rocky Ka'iouliokahihikolo'Ehu . Jensen, Othniel "Art" Oomihuk Jr. Above: 1. Hi'iakaikapoliopele, Richard Kupihea ( Romero. 2. Lā'ieikawai a me Lā'ielohelohe, Twin Sisters of Twilight, Ipō Nihipali. 3. He Pule Lehua, Puni Kūkahiko. 4. 'ā pele, Bemice Aka- M mine. 5. Traditional surfboards from the museum's collection. 6. Kapa, Moana Eisele. Photos: Derek Ferrar H