A new exhibition, Haili Moe, opens at 6 p.m. on Friday at the East Hawaii Cultural Center. It presents art by six indigenous Hawaiian women that contributes to a conversation about how history informs present and future Hawaiian culture. It also takes a look at how that culture has had to adapt to the forces of colonialism.
The works on view include video art of wai (water) on kapa and paintings by Nanea Lum, photographs by Mahina Choy, poetry by Jamaica Osario, an installation about the ki‘e petition and handmade books by Allison Milham, and a full-length documentary on incarnation and hula by Ciara Lacy. The exhibition opening will feature oli and hula with Kumu Polani Kahakalau-Kalima from Halau Hula Kauluola.
The exhibition will be on view until Nov. 24. Its title is taken from the Hawaiian phrase “Ke kau mai nei ka haili aloha … haili moe,” meaning “The loving memory returns … in a premonition.”
Indigenous Curator Kanani Daley explains, “One of the qualities of Hawaiian spirituality is its embodied practice of ancestral knowledge. We believe that our ancestors live within the natural elements as conscious sentient forms who are inextricably connected with humanity. We embody these spiritual forms through oli (chant), hula (dance), and aloha ‘aina (deeply and actively caring for the land). These practices provide the sustaining foundation for Hawaiian culture, and unite us to our genealogy, the natural and spiritual world, and to one another.”
Adds Daley, “Between 1820-1893, and throughout the territorial period, 1900-1959, these Hawaiian practices were aggressively replaced with an American education system and a monotheistic religious system intended to extinguish the existing polytheistic beliefs; while native people were trained to be a passive workforce, as colonizers seized the land for profitability.”
The exhibition urges Native Hawaiians to remember their roots, and asks others the question: “If you’ve made Hawaii home, can we, together, perpetuate a diverse culture, participate in the healing of wounded generations of Hawaii’s indigenous people, and contribute to the health of the generations who will come after us?”
For more information, visit EHCC online at ehcc.org, call 961-5711, or visit EHCC at 141 Kalakaua Street. Current gallery and office hours are from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., Tuesday through Friday, and the gallery is open Saturday 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.