100% Organic cotton | ʻĀina-friendly dyes & inks | Designed in Hawaiʻi | Made in the USA | Dimensions: 70" long x 44" wide
Some of the most radical designs our kūpuna produced live on kapa now kept at the British Museum in London. Perhaps the largest collection of mea kūpuna (ancestral items) outside of Hawaiʻi, it holds some of the oldest pieces of kapa in existence. They were taken out of Hawaiʻi between 1779 and 1789, either by Captain James Cook on his last trip, or by his understudy Captain George Vancouver. We don’t know who created or owned them, or what island they came from. We do know that both these captains had dealings with Hawaiian chiefs. They exchanged goods and received gifts, including high value items like ʻahu ʻula, and intricately decorated kapa. The design reproduced here comes from these earliest collections of kapa. While it’s not among the most complex, its consistent visual rhythm and the deeply attractive earth tones (see original) come together to make magic that feels regal. Like most pieces from this era, the design was applied with a lapa (bamboo lining tool). In this case, they laid down the linear pattern with a single blade lapa, then filled the triangles, perhaps using brushes made from hala keys. We named our version Kūlua for the bi-color triangles, the two versions of this design that now exist (one from the past and one from this time), and for the notion that Hawaiian practices require us to continually seek the knowledge of our kūpuna, while also innovating for the times we live in. When makers sit with historic pieces, the noʻeau of the past comes into the present. See the original piece that inspired this design on Kealopiko Moʻolelo: Kūlua.