Ka Hana Tapa O Hawai'i Nei (The Art of Hawaiian Tapa Making)

Tapa/Kapa or bark cloth was the fabric for clothing and bedding in Old Hawaii.  We use the word Tapa instead of Kapa because to our present day elders, Kapa means quilt. It was made from the inner bark of the Wauke or Paper mulberry plant. To make Kapa took much skill and hard work. Due to this and the introduction of woven fabrics Kapa makers ceased to make their product and good Kapa was not made in Hawaii for almost a period of a hundred years. Through our present research and experiments we have revived this art. At present there are many young Kanaka Maoli native Hawaiian Tapa makers that are doing beautiful work. We were one of the several pioneers in reviving this art in the early 80s, Malia Solomon, Pua Van Dorpe, Dennis Keawe, Carla Freitas and others were instumental in this endeavor. The late Dr.Beatrice Krauss of the Lyon's Arboretum and the late Siapo Master artist Mary J. Pritchard of American Samoa were two of our greatest mentors.  But most of all we give all the credit to the Lord, I remember back in 1979 experimenting with making Tapa and asking the Lord, "Will you show me how the Kupuna of Old made those beautiful Tapa"? All that I have learned was given by divine inspiration and countless hours of work & research in the Bishop Museum Collections. As younger Hawaiians desire to experience the legacy that was left by their ancient ancestors, we are reminded by the song Na Ali'i, Ua pau, ua hala lakou, no koe no na pua, they (ancestors) have all past away and done with their work, now remains their descendants to carry it on. As the Word of God says, Old things are passing away and all things are continuing to become new. May we allow the Aloha of God to change the lives of all those we share Tapa making with.

At the present, we are growing wauke from the shoots of parent plants known to be the native variety grown here in Hawaii. In searching for Wauke plants we have found two varieties that are mentioned in various resources. One variety has three lobed leaves and the other has ovate leaves. According to Kalokuokamaile Wauke and Poaaha were different. Wauke had fingered leaves (lau manamana) and Poaaha had round leaves (lau poepoe). Each had its use depending on the type of Kapa to be made. Wauke must be planted in a well watered area. Some areas on Oahu were noted for being good for cultivating Wauke such as Kualoa on the windward‑side of Oahu.

Before one can start to beat the Wauke bast into Kapa, one needs the proper tools. We are also involved with research on the different native woods that were used for beaters and anvils. We carve our tools carefully examining originals to make sure we have those that will help us produce Kapa just like that of Old Hawaii. We have found that the beaters were usually made of hard, heavy woods such as Kauila, Koai'a and Ohia lehua. Anvils were usually made of semi hard woods like Kawa'u, Kolea and Kopiko. Through our experience in beating Kapa we find that the combination of a hardwood beater on a semi hardwood anvil helps absorb, the shock and produces a more pleasing resonant sound. The Hawaiians on Kauai valued a certain wood for anvils more than others because of the resonant sound it produce which reminded them of the sound of waves crashing on the rocks.

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Before you can start to create beautiful sheet of Kapa you must do the hard and time consuming job of striping the outer bark from the main stick of the plant. Then you have to scrape the outer brown bark from the inner bast. If you are not going to soak it in water right away then you have to roll it in a coil, inner side facing out and dry it in the: sun. This can be kept till you are ready to use it.

Next the wauke must be soaked in salt water from the sea for a week to ten days. The purpose is to rot the fibers of impurities. Sea water should be used if a whiter wauke is desired; otherwise fresh water will do although the wauke will be darker. If young wauke is used then the soaking time will be less than if you are using older wake. When the bast is soft and slimy then it is ready for the first beating with the Hohoa (round beater).

This beating can be done either on a smooth pohaku (lava rock) or on a wooden Kukua (anvil). First uncoil the fermented wauke and put 3 to 5 bast together tying them at 6 to 8 inch intervals with strings of wauke. Then lay the bast on the anvil and start beating from the wider lower end of the wauke. Beat first with the smooth side of the Hohoa just to break up the fibers, do this by beating from the lower end of the wauke to the top portion, which is smaller. After this you beat again using the previous method only this time use the wider grooved side of the hohoa. The bast will start to spread out and you must beat from right to left felting the bast as you work from the wider end to the narrower top. As soon as you have finished then beat again using the side with smaller grooves, this time making sure that the texture of the bast is even and welding any holes by felting. next page>>

DVD now available for purchase of entire Tapa making process. Tapa workshops in 2008 at Amy Greenwell Ethnobotanical Gardens in Kealakekua, Kona, Big Island of Hawaii.