Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 27, Number 4, 1 April 2010 — The heartbeat of an ipu artisan [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

The heartbeat of an ipu artisan

By Lisa Asato KaWai Ola f you've watched the Merrie Monarch Festival anytime over the past 15 years, then you may be familiar with the art of Dexter Ke'ala Soares, who has been crafting and providing ipu heke as trophies in that time span for the first- to fifth-place winners in the categories of Miss Aloha Hula, men's kahiko and women's kahiko.

"Merrie Monarch is very eompetitive," he says, calling it the highlight of the year. "Friday night is kahiko where the kumu hula and her three alaka'i on stage. And our

product is in the limelight." Soares' products have been making their way into the hands of kumu hula, hula aficionados, eollectors and visitors to Hawai'i for more than 35 years. Among his

unique offerings is an ipu carved in relief with a Dremel set. "A lot of people have admired this," he says. "Onee in awhile I'U market it at Nā Mea Hawai'i, Mana Hawai'i at Royal Hawaiian Hotel, 'Iolani Palaee gift shop, Bishop Museum gift shop and Waimea Valley gift shop." He also creates product by request. Soares' two grown daughters, Melanie and Stephanie, were raised on ipu. When they attended Kameh a m e h a

See IPU ARTISAN on pagE 19

Dexter Soares calls his hand crafted ipu heke, or double gourd drum, whieh ean stand up to 3-1 /2 feet tall, the "granddaddy" of ipu. The ipu carved in relief is highly aAmwei- Photo: LisaAsatc

IPU ARTISAN

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Schools Explorations Program, they were well prepared when lessons turned to making ipu. "They always told the guys, move over you're too slow," he says, enjoying the memory. His ipu and 'umeke business helped to pay for his daughters' college tuition, says Soares, who makes ipu and 'umeke (calabash) out of his home in Village Park on O'ahu. Soares considers ipu "very unique" to Hawai'i. "Throughout Polynesia, Hawaiians were the only group of people that used the ipu heke in chant and dance," says Soares, who serves as vice chair on OHA's Native Hawaiian Historic Preservation Council. The gourd had many uses in both ancient and contemporary Hawaiian society. "In the old days, Hawaiians would take a huge 'umeke and they would use them for kalo, to salt their fish, their pork products," says Soares, who teaches his craft to Japanese hula hālau who visit every year as well as in the Department of Education, where he informs students of their gourd-related task: "We going cut. We going elean."

Soares, a former hnaneial aid director at Kamehameha Schools and the founder of Native Hawaiian Gourd Practitioner Association, has many other talents as well. He has made wearable mahiole masks for the Kamehameha Day parade, for escorts of the Kamehameha float. And he teaches classes in oli and chant. His next project, whieh he is seeking funding for, is to make four high kāhili to be placed in the Cathedral of Our Lady of Peaee in Honolulu, whieh houses the relic of Saint Damien and whieh may in the future honor the hopedfor sainthood of Mother Marianne Cope. Until then, he is concentrating on ipu making. "Interestingly enough, as a Native Hawaiian gourd practitioner, everyone has their own style of making," he says. "You ean always tell a perfect gourd." The ipu heke is a percussion instrument made of two gourds, one on top and the other on bottom that are attached at the neek. Soares describes the perfect ipu heke as having a neek narrow enough to hold. It also marries two gourds that have equal widths at their widest points. "That's your perfect match," he says. "I learned that from kūpuna." For information, eall 386-0548 or emailalaeke@gmail.com. ■