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Overview
This kapa (Hawaiian tapa) was created by Dalani Tanahy (Hawai’i) as a part of the 'Ahu: Ngā wairua o Hina project.
Making for the future
This fine white kapa reflects Dalani's hopes for the future of kapa making and her own artistic journey. Tasked with creating a piece that embodied the future of the art form, she pondered its potential and her own dreams. Inspired by Hawaiian scholar Samuel Kamakau's (1815-1876) descriptions of kapa so fine it could be held in one hand yet unfurl to blanket size, this piece represents both her current achievements and her aspiration to one day recreate this quality.
"Samuel Kamakau wrote about a particular kapa and he said this kapa is so amazing because you can crush it and put it all in your hand like this, but when you throw it out it opens like a big blanket. And that’s always been my dream to make that fine kapa. That kapa is exactly what we saw, that type in the Shaw collection. When Martin opened the book and we stared at the pages going "where is the kapa?" So fine that we couldn’t even see it. That was the kapa Kamakau talked about."
Dalani Tanahy, 2023
Background
In 2021, with the Te Papa Foundation’s support, Te Papa acquired a rare book of tapa cloth samples, one of many assembled by Alexander Shaw in 1787. The samples were cut from larger pieces of tapa collected on Captain Cook’s voyages to the Pacific (1768, 1772, 1776) and represent tapa-making practices from various islands including Hawai‘i, Tahiti and Tonga. While the books contain only fragments of much larger creations, they highlight the variety of textures and artistry attained through the practices, knowledge, and skills of Pacific peoples.
Held in Tahiti in 2023, 'Ahu: Ngā Wairua o Hina brought tapa makers of Tongan, Sāmoan, Niuean, Fijian, Hawaiian, Tahitian, Pitcairn-Norfolk Island, and Māori descent. Over five days this group worked together to re-establish their living relationships to the cloth held within the Alexander Shaw book. Through a process of wānanga this group of makers created two tapa bundles, incorporating the ideas of past, present, and future. Today, one of the bundles resides with Te Papa and the other with Te Fare Iamanaha-Musée de Tahiti et des Îles.