Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 32, Number 5, 1 May 2015 — Read all about it [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

Read all about it

Learn more about lauhala in a related book, Ike Ulana Lau Hala: The Vitality anel Vibrancy ofLau Hala Weaving Traditions in Hawai 'i. The third volume in the Hawai'inuiākea series published by University of Hawai'i Press ($16,

paperback) compiles musings from scholars, elders, cultural practitioners and students on topics ranging from its botany and current struggles with an invasive-insect infestation on Maui, to an informal interview with lei-hala maker Unele Roy Benham, who traces his appreciation of hala to his time renting a cottage on Maui surrounded by a hala grove. In another pieee, co-authors Marsha MacDowell and C. Kurt Dewhurst, both of Michigan State University, together with

Hawaiian fiber artist Marques Hanalei Marzan explore lauhala in Hawaiian cultural heritage. "The art of lau hala - the weaving - turning the lau (leaves) of the hala (pandanus palm) into mea ulana (woven objects) is fundamental to the craft and art of this treasured cultural heritage practice," they write. "For some practitioners, making and using lau hala makes them feel connected to this plaee, Hawai'i, and to others who weave lau hala." — LisaAsato ■