Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 5, Number 3, 1 March 1988 — 2,000 Participants from 27 Countries Expected [ARTICLE]

2,000 Participants from 27 Countries Expected

Festival Serves as Forum for Cultural Pride

By Puanani Fernandez-Akamine Communications Specialist Kamehameha Schools/Bishop Estate Imagine hundreds of individuals fromdozens of Pacific nations gathered together to share with one another their art, music, dance and cultural traditions. Envision artists and performers, elders and young people, from a myriad of cultures celebrating their heritage in the spirit of aloha and mutual respect. The Fifth Festival of Pacific Arts is exactly this kindof event. lt willbe held this year inTownsville, Australia, Aug. 14-27. An estimated 2,000 people from 27 different countries will participate. The Festival is being organized entirely by Australia's Aboriginal people and is not related to that eountry's Bicentennial whieh is being observed throughout 1988. The idea for the Festival was first conceived by the Fijian Government in the early 70s. After more than a century of Western influence, the government feared the comp!ete erosion of the traditional Fijian culture and lifestyle. It was thought that a Festival whieh emphasized cultural pride would inspire active perpetuation of Fijian cultural arts and traditions. The First Festival of Pacific Arts in 1972 was held in Suva, Fiji, and was attended by delegates from nearly 20 Pacific island nations. From the very beginning, the Festival focused on traditional music, dance and art forms, both as a means of highlighting the similarities that all Pacific peoples share, and of demonstrating those things that make eaeh culture unique. The success of the first festival was phenomenal and inspired the South Pacific Commission to sponsor festivals on a regular basis. Based in Noumea, New Caledonia (Kanaky), the Commission is a 26-member regional body similar to the United Nations. In 1976, a second Festival was held in Rotorua, Aotearoa (New Zealand), and a third was held in Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea in 1980. The fourth Festival, held in Pape'ete, Tahiti in 1985, was the first time Hawai'i sent a delegation. For the Fifth Festival, Governor John David Waihe'e III and the State Foundation on Culture and the Arts have requested that Kamehameha Schools organize Hawai'i's delegation. Chairing Kamehameha's steering committee is Kamehameha Schools/Bishop Estate Trustee Myron Thompson. KS Campus Financial Aid Director Bob Worthington is coordinating selection and preparation of some 90 representatives. Momi

Naughton, an associate of Bishop Museum, is handling the Visual Arts portion of the delegation, while KS music and drama department head Randie Fong is organizing the Performing Arts component. Theme of this year's Festival is "Pacific Achievement/' The Festival organizing committee īn Australia explains that "the achievements of the indigenous people of the Pacific Region include not only the physical accomplishments of the numerous individuals who have worked for the benefit of their own people and that of a better world but also, and most importantly, the achievement of survival from the many influences whieh have, and continue to, endanger the cultural heritage of the Pacific." Kamehameha's organizing committee sees inva!uable educational experiences to be derived from participation in the Festival, for both students and the community. To this end, a multi-faceted plan is being developed: • A performing arts group comprised of Kamehameha High School students will demonstrate a variety of traditional hula styles as taught by various kumu hula, as well as modern interpretations. • A visual arts component of master artisans from the community, eaeh of whom will be assigned a haumana (student) from Kamehameha to assist and study with them for the two-week Festival. A special display on way-finding and the

Hōkūle'a will also be included. • A communications and media component will combine video, journalism and photography to bring the Festival experience home to Hawai'i. The video project includes a commercial program produced by Elisa Yadao of KGMB-TV, and educational videos for loeal public and private schools by professional videographers trom the Kamehameha staff. • A community outreach program will sponsor free public performances locally of the music and dance portions of the Hawai'i delegation, and possibly arts and crafts demonstrations as well. A photographic display for loeal shopping malls and libraries is also planned. The philosophy of the Hawai'i delegation is based "on the harmony of two concepts: Preservation and Perpetuation. The preservation of the Hawaiian culture specifically refers to the revival and maintenance of traditional skills and knowledge . . . The 'living culture' must continue to grow, and that 'change' for all living entities is a natural and inevitable occurance." Thus, traditional chants and dances will be performed at the Festival along with newly composed chants, innovative choreography and the staging of legends. T raditional artisans in mediums such as lauhala weaving and tapa making will be joined by contemporary artists who use traditional materials to create new Hawaiian forms.