A Big Island school project has led to fascinating book on
Hawaiian crafts, The Hawai`iana Project.
The authors are seven homeschooled children who were aged 11
to 14 at the time the work was done in the 2012-2013 school year. They did the
work as part of a writing and newspaper class taught by Susan Kilbride.
Their assignment was to write three or more articles on
Hawaiian culture, on topics “that had a hands-on element in them,” Kilbride
wrote.
Much of the work was not from book research, but from
talking to people still carrying out the ancient crafts of the Islands.
“My students and I have spent the last year going to every
Hawai`ian festival that we could find, meeting with people on field trips,
taking classes, and doing everything we could to learn more about the Hawaiian
culture,” Kilbride wrote.
The result is a book on making kukui nut oil, crafting
bamboo and gourd instruments, tying Hawaiian fishhooks, lei making, stringing
Niihau shell jewelry, featherwork, weaving, kapa making and more.
It is written in straightforward language, with ample black
and white photography to explains steps in making projects.
The authors are Charlee Brown, Pearl Dickson, Dylan
Kilbride, Hope Mashburn, Emily Risley, Molly Russell and Teah Van Bergen.
Kilbride is the editor.
There are lots of books on Hawaiian crafts, led by Arts and Crafts of Hawaii, the
multi-volume set of scholarly pamphlets published by Bishop Museum Press and
written by Te Rangi Hiroa. And there are whole books on many of the individual
topics in The Hawai`iana Project. But
the new book serves as a fine sampler, and with its instruction, you’ll be able
to try your hand at some of the projects it presents.
© Jan TenBruggencate 2016
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