Young Hei Learners at Smithsonian Folklife Festival

Here, Tuhi Kanahele shows "Hale Pa'akai" or "Kanaka" which she learned from her father, Tangaro Taupori of Hilo. Tuhi is in elementary school. The "door" of the house is able to be shut and opened. Here, another young participant at the Smithsonian Folklife Festival learns "Honu/Turtle" She is also in elementary school and demonstrated a propensity to learn quickly.

The Wayuu are from NE Columbia/NW Venezuela on the Guajira Peninsula. They learned to weave from a female ancestor who learned from a spider. Their string figures tell of this story as well as other arts taught to this woman. The Wayuu were one of 4 indigenous peoples from Columbia whose languages are endangered that performed and shared their language and arts at the 2013 Smithsonian Folklife Festival in Washington, D.C. The theme was "One World, Many Voices" and we Hawaiians were also represented.