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Lost Hawaii: Lauhala Hats

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  • Lost Hawaii: Lauhala Hats

    Neat story from Bob Krauss in this morning's Advertiser. Can you imagine only paying $3 for a lauhala hat? How many people still know how to make these hats today?

    Miulang
    "Americans believe in three freedoms. Freedom of speech; freedom of religion; and the freedom to deny the other two to folks they don`t like.” --Mark Twain

  • #2
    Re: Something else Hawai'i has lost...

    Originally posted by Miulang
    Neat story from Bob Krauss in this morning's Advertiser. Can you imagine only paying $3 for a lauhala hat? How many people still know how to make these hats today?

    Miulang

    Just about every tutu at da PCC

    a couple guys along Kalakaua

    most all Samoans selling swap meet.


    a haole guy; coconut bob or sumpin li dat kualoa mac farms store.

    at PCC, I see them whip one out in a couple minutes, and they motion toward a collection of them, a little pile of them on da mat, they say: "yer choice, six dollah each."
    and invariably da touriststs will say, "But i want THAT one!" cuz they watched it being made...

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    • #3
      Re: Something else Hawai'i has lost...

      Originally posted by kimo55
      Just about every tutu at da PCC

      a couple guys along Kalakaua

      most all Samoans selling swap meet.


      a haole guy; coconut bob or sumpin li dat kualoa mac farms store.

      at PCC, I see them whip one out in a couple minutes, and they motion toward a collection of them, a little pile of them on da mat, they say: "yer choice, six dollah each."
      and invariably da touriststs will say, "But i want THAT one!" cuz they watched it being made...
      I not talking about dakine green coconut hats...I talking about da kine dat takes hours to make and is crafted by someone who cares about the end product.

      Miulang
      "Americans believe in three freedoms. Freedom of speech; freedom of religion; and the freedom to deny the other two to folks they don`t like.” --Mark Twain

      Comment


      • #4
        Re: Something else Hawai'i has lost...

        Originally posted by Miulang
        I not talking about dakine green coconut hats...I talking about da kine dat takes hours to make and is crafted by someone who cares about the end product.
        So the people making hats to sell today don't care about the end product? The amount of labor required determines their quality or worth? Even the people profiled in the 1901 article were pumping them out for tourists. The fact that there are still people here in Hawaii putting these things together by hand is something to be happy about -- it's probably cheaper and easier to have 'em made by the containerload in Taiwan and shipped in.

        And I don't think folks are too sorry to see the end of "peacock quill" hats and hats that use hard-to-find and probably rare ferns. 400 quills - with the feathers removed - to make one hat? That's gotta be one cold peacock. (And the bird isn't even native to the islands.)

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        • #5
          Re: Something else Hawai'i has lost...

          Originally posted by pzarquon
          So the people making hats to sell today don't care about the end product? The amount of labor required determines their quality or worth? Even the people profiled in the 1901 article were pumping them out for tourists. The fact that there are still people here in Hawaii putting these things together by hand is something to be happy about -- it's probably cheaper and easier to have 'em made by the containerload in Taiwan and shipped in.

          And I don't think folks are too sorry to see the end of "peacock quill" hats and hats that use hard-to-find and probably rare ferns. 400 quills - with the feathers removed - to make one hat? That's gotta be one cold peacock. (And the bird isn't even native to the islands.)
          No, the QUALITY of the product very often means it takes more time. The "junk" that's really mass produced today looks good for a few days or months or maybe even years, but those are the kind of things that get tossed aside eventually. The quality stuff is the stuff that's handed down as heirlooms. For instance, I'm not sure I'd will a machine made Hawaiian quilt from Sears Roebuck (probably made in Taiwan)to anyone; I would probably will a Hawaiian quilt that is pieced together by an artisan using a sewing machine because each one is unique. That's the difference.

          Miulang

          One of the problems with our society is we are all consumers. When something breaks (as it will if quality standards are not adhered to, or if the stuff is engineered to break down), we run out to buy a new one rather than try to fix it. And I'm not exempting myself completely from this mentality, either.
          Last edited by Miulang; June 15, 2005, 12:24 PM.
          "Americans believe in three freedoms. Freedom of speech; freedom of religion; and the freedom to deny the other two to folks they don`t like.” --Mark Twain

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          • #6
            Re: Lost Hawaii: Lauhala Hats

            i no can even find lauhala trees anymore. used to get choke in kalihi now no moa! anybody know whea get some trees. i need some leaves for some pandan rice and other kakanin recipes! hehehe if get extra leaves i go try make hats!
            Reggie aka pinakboy
            Reggie's Kaukau Time! blog
            Raw Eats Veggie Videos
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            checkem out!!

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            • #7
              Re: Lost Hawaii: Lauhala Hats

              Dear Seattle--
              The art of weaving a lauhala hat is not yet dead. There has been a resurgence of this craft in the last few years. The travesty is that Hawaiians are not interested in learning. I learned to weave hats from an elderly Japanese woman who now lives in Honolulu - she was raised in Kona. Most of her students are Japanese businessmen who come from Japan.

              Making a lauhala hat is extremely labor intense. Gathering the leaves is a discouraging job in it's self. The leaves (when you can find the right kind of tree) are filthy and house lizard eggs and bugs - sometimes centipedes. To gather the really good leaves, you have to climb up into the tree. That is not fun - remember I mentioned bugs and centipedes? There are also thorns that grow along each side and middle of the hala. I'm lucky, I know where there is a thorn less tree. The quality of hala on the thorn less tree is not as good, however, those thorns can be merciless. Cleaning is just as much work. Each leaf is cut, washed, stripped and rolled between a press to flatten it out. After that, each leaf is sorted by color and stripped into different widths.


              When you get to the point where you've visualized the end product - weaving becomes fun. But first you have to get past an enormous amount of tedious and redundant weaving.

              It amazes me how I can take 25 filthy bug infested leaves and create something so beautiful and lasting. I've made 18 hats since starting in 1998 - it took me the first 14 to get my groove. Email me for pics.

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              • #8
                Re: Lost Hawaii: Lauhala Hats

                Dawn, how many hours of work does each hat take? No wonder the good ones cost so much.

                Comment


                • #9
                  Re: Lost Hawaii: Lauhala Hats

                  A lot. I've never counted it's hard to judge - the prep work is done in bulk stages. The weaving is done a few hours here and there... usually when I should be sleeping. It's a labor of love.

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                  • #10
                    Re: Lost Hawaii: Lauhala Hats

                    I hear there's a lauhala weaving class coming up soon at da Bishop Museum...

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                    • #11
                      Re: Lost Hawaii: Lauhala Hats

                      Bishop Museum offers a basic weaving course, bracelets and fans etc. it's a good class - I took it myself.

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                      • #12
                        Re: Lost Hawaii: Lauhala Hats

                        Originally posted by Dawn Summer
                        Bishop Museum offers a basic weaving course, bracelets and fans etc. it's a good class - I took it myself.
                        I called Bishop Mujseum and adult schools and they denied any lauhala class. Any ideas for a class

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                        • #13
                          Re: Lost Hawaii: Lauhala Hats

                          When I was at the 'Iolani Palace a couple of Saturdays ago, there were a bunch of women sitting at a table next to the ticket office (at the Palace Barracks) doing lauhala weaving. It seemed to be a regular thing they did. They were all local women--no tourists. You might give them a call and see if that was a class available to the general public.
                          * I would be most content if my children grew up to be the kind of people who think decorating consists mostly of building enough bookshelves. *
                          - Anna Quindlen

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                          • #14
                            Re: Lost Hawaii: Lauhala Hats

                            Dear Dawn Would you have the info on your teacher?

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                            • #15
                              Re: Lost Hawaii: Lauhala Hats

                              Speaking of lost Hawai'i fashions, are palaka shirts still made in Hawai'i? I own one solitary palaka shirt..the lone survivor of many I used to own...and it has gotten so worn, I'm just about ready to retire it, only to bring it out of the closet on special days. It was one I bought a long time ago at a general store in Makawao on Maui.

                              I've lost track where I can buy them in Hawai'i, if they still can be had. They don't seem to be as prevelant out in the ag areas of Hawai'i as I remember.

                              Anybody know if I can still buy one off the rack, and if so, where?

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