Kauai History and Kapa Designs
Kapa was made throughout ancient Polynesia, but the highest quality kapa was produced in the Hawaiian Islands. When it came to dying kapa, the people of Hawaii loved to use color and intricate patterns. Dyes were made from different plants and their many parts including leaves, flowers, sap, roots, and bark. These dyes could be painted on or the kapa immersed in the waiho’olulu (dark water). The waiho`olu`u was fixed to the cloth with mordants of salt (pa`akai), mud (lepo), and coral (ko`a). Patterns were stamped onto the finished kapa cloth with blocks of wood carved with designs. Geometric designs with inherent symbolism, such as lines, triangles, circles, and chevrons were carved in `ohe (bamboo) and called `ohe kapala. The process of decorating the kapa involved dipping the carved wood block or bamboo stamps into a shallow stone bowl containing colored dyes, and then pressing the design onto the kapa. Each impression was aligned with the edge of the previous impression forming a pattern. This intricate bamboo stamp printing method utilized by Hawaiians was found nowhere else in Polynesia.
Colored dyes for ancient Hawaiian kapa came from varied natural sources:
Green/Gray – ‘Ala‘ala Wai Nui (Leaves, Stems), Ma‘o (Leaves), Pōpolo (Leaves)
Yellow – Hōlei (Stem, Bark, Roots), Kūkaenēnē (Inner Bark of Stem), Nānū (Fruit)
Orange – ‘Alaea (Red Dirt), Noni (Roots), ‘Ōlena (Underground Stem), ‘Ulu (Male Flower)
Pink/Red – ‘Akala (Fruit), Hau Hele ‘Ula (Flower Petals)
Red – ‘Ama‘u (Young Fronds), Kalo (Corm), Koa (Bark), Koki‘o ‘Ula‘ula (Flower), Kōlea Lau Nui (Sap)
Red/Brown – Kukui (Inner Bark of Trunk), Kukui (Inner Bark of Root), Pala‘ā (Older Leaves)
Brown – Kou (Leaves), Kamani (Husk of Fruit), ‘Ōhi‘a ‘Ai (Inner Bark of Trunk)
Purple – Hame (Fruit), ‘Ūlei (Fruit)
Dark Purple – Kūkaenēnē (Fruit), Naupaka Kuahiwi (Fruit), Pōpolo (Fruit), Pōpolo Kū Mai (Fruit)
Blue – Kauila (Leaves and Bark), ‘Uki‘uki (Fruit), Wana (Sea urchin), ‘Ulu, ‘Ōlapa (Fruit, Leaves, Bark, Roots)
Black – Alahe‘e (Leaves), Huahekili Uka (Fruit), Kō (Charcoal from Leaves and Stems), Kōlea Lau Nui (Charcoal from Stem), Kukui (Soot from Burning), Mai‘a (Skin of Trunk), Pā‘ihi (Stem Bark)
