hula kahiko (dance costume)

item details

Namehula kahiko (dance costume)

ProductionKahalepuna Richardson-Naki; artist; 1996; Hawaii

Classificationcostume

Registration NumberFE011977/1

Credit lineGift of Kahalepuna Richardson-Naki, 2005

Overview

This is a female costume for an 'old style' hula dance, the hula kahiko. Chants and musical instruments such as the ipu (gourd) accompany a hula kahiko. The costume is made from polyester and cotton. Today most Hawaiian dance costumes are made from imported fabrics instead of the kapa or tapa (barkcloth) that was formerly used.

Environmental theme

The costume was made for the opening of the renovated Sheraton Waikiki Hotel in Waikiki, O'ahu, Hawai'i, in 1996. The hotel took the endangered Hawaiian sea turtle as its theme and mascot, and the dance the costume was worn for reflected this theme of the precious resources of the ocean and the need to protect them. The costume's blue, brown, and black colours portray the sea, the coral reefs, and the darkness before the creation of the world.

Acquisition

The costume was gifted by its maker, Kahalepuna Richardson-Naki, to Te Papa in 2005 specifically for the Culture Moves! Dance costumes of the Pacific exhibition, which ran from September 2005 to September 2006.