The string figure Lonomuku represents the woman in the moon. One leg (side) is shorter than the other because when she tried to escape from her abusive husband by leaping to the moon, he grabbed hold and tore it off. Her family maintains that she dismembered her leg as a pinned mo'o does to their tail when trapped. Picture taken outside of Pa'I Foundation where classes are held free of charge to interested learners.

Here I am in my first Papa Hei performing Koko a Makali'i, the net of Makali'i. Our kupuna (elders)tell us that Makali'i took all the food on earth and hung them in the sky. Only the rat people were able to save mankind from starvation by climbing upon the rainbow and nibbling on the net so that food would once again return to earth. The place that the rat people fell is called 'Iole (rat) on the island of Hawai'i. A portion of the net was embedded in a rock on the south side of the island.

Calabash holding net of Makali'i

Accordingn to tradition. all the foods of Hawai'i were gathered up by Makali'i, placed in a calabash and held in a net hung in the heavens. The small race of rats volunteered to get food back so they travelled on the back of a rainboe and gnawed at the net releasing all food to the earth. The fallen net can be found imprinted on a rock on the south point of Hawai'i island.

The large central figure held all the major foods. The smaller sides held the minor foods. It is one of a few figues made with the assistance of a toe.

Hawaiian Language Day

October 22 - High school, immersion school, parents gather to participate in various activities like hei. One young 1st grader creates his own pyramid. Another high school couple stunble upon another (triagle)after learning "Kauhale a Limaloa"

Nana I Ke Kumu Workshops

I was privileged to share hei at Kumu Hula Vicky Takamine's Pa'i Foundation's "Nana i Ke Kumu" workshops held at the University of Hawai'i Music Department. The weeklong workshops featured oli, hula, 'ukulele and other performing arts. Hei is a performing art. Here , students marvel at one of the stages of "Kauhale a Limaloa". They form what Dickey calls "Hale 'Ilikini" (teepee). It is actually a mauna (mountain).

Na Hiku o Makali'i

April hei workshop with Moku Yoshikawa. Here he forms 7-eyes or Na Hiku o Makali'i, The Seven Stars of the Pleiades. He also learned 1-eye. A traditional way to learn hei was from parents and grandparents as I did from kupuna (elder) Aina Keawe. She taught me 1 and 7 eyes saying that one should begin with 1 eye or Nenue (rudder fish). This custom of beginning learning with an established form is similar to quilt makers who first learn the 'ulu (breadfruit) design or feather lei makers who first start out with the poepoe (rounded) style. Of course the raison d'etre lies in the meaning: 'ulu (breadfruit) is similar to ulu (grow); poepoe (rounded) implies fulness; and the One-eye represents beginnings.

Hei Workshop on Maui

11/27/10 - Spent the day working with Keala'iliahi Paredes on hei for children. Here he makes 'Opae (Shrimp) which will be part of the story "'Öpae E". We also learned puhi (eel), honu (turtle), nenue (rudder fish).

Later that day Keali'i Reischel and Hulali joined us to learn "Kuhau Pi'o ka La". We began with "Kauhale o Limaloa." Keali'i is a well known composer, singer, producer, and kumu hula but is also an expert in Hawaiian knotting and netmaking. He found the skill to make hei different from knotting and commented that he found it harder.