Hawaiian Soul

Hawaiian Soul stories published in Maui Nō Ka ʻOi Magazine.

Hawaiian kapa

Kapa: More to Learn

See all eleven kapa Pua Van Dorpe created to honor ancient Maui chiefs, and read their stories.
Hawaiian dyes

Shades of the Past

More than any other Polynesian people, Hawaiians excelled in the use of color, coaxing incredible hues from the natural world around them.
oli hawaiian chant

Giving Voice to a Culture

For more than a millennium, Hawaii relied on was an oral culture. It’s not mere chance that the spoken word has regained its importance today.

Kapa: Fabric of a Culture

Pua Van Dorpe has spent a lifetime pursuing her passion—reclaiming this ancient and lost Hawaiian art
Hawaiian taro

Cultivating an Ancient Wisdom

How food is grown, prepared, and used is arguably as important in defining a culture as lineage, language and lore.
native Hawaiians

What Does a Hawaiian Look Like?

Through their portraits, handprints and signatures, Jordan Murph is helping native Hawaiians create an indelible legacy.
Pele by Linda Rowell Stevens

In Praise of Wāhine

From the very beginning, Hawaiian culture has celebrated women’s power, passion and intellect. We dig into Hawaiian wāhine culture to learn more.
Kahoolawe island

Kaho‘olawe’s Legacy

Now that federal funds to restore "the Target Island" have dried up, Kaho‘olawe's caretakers are scrambling to maintain the work of healing this sacred place.
Kino Lau

Kino Lau

Hawaiian lore finds the spirit of the divine in the ordinary world.
Olowalu Maui

Olowalu’s Gift

This West Maui valley witnessed some of the island's most turbulent history. Now it's helping to redeem the past.
Haleakala Crater

Into the House of the Sun

A millennium before Haleakala became a national park, Hawaiians traversed its moonscape crater. On the park’s centennial, we reprise that journey.
lessons from the past

Lessons from the Past

What can the ancient Hawaiians teach us about preserving today's resources for tomorrow?
limu

The Lure of Limu

The study of seaweed has enabled Hawaiian women—past and present—to sharpen their scientific eye, flavor bland meals, and exercise the art of metaphor.
Hale Pa'i

Hale Pa’i

One hundred seventy-four years ago, Maui's first print shop published the first Hawaiian-language newspaper...and launched a small revolution.
Hawaiian weapons

The Weapon Maker’s Art

Wood and cordage, tooth and bone are used to recreate the ancient Hawaiian instruments of war. A modern weapons maker finds connection to a culture.
Maui girls canoe club

Keeping Culture Afloat

Maui's winningest canoe club is borrowing lessons from the past to surge ahead.
Waiopae Fishpond Lanai Hawaii

An Ancient Fishpond Resurfaces

Lānaʻi Waiaʻōpae fishpond once helped feed the island's people. Today it's feeding a hunger for culture.
wooden surfboards

A New Wave for Wood

Nearly a century after solid wooden surfboards started slipping from favor, there is a renewed swell of interest in this ancient Hawaiian craft.
hawaiian cosmos

Hawaiian Cosmos

How did Hawaiians use the stars?
Hokulani Holt

What is a Hawaiian Education?

We ask three maoli (native) educators to consider what it means to be an educated Hawaiian in the twenty-first century—and why it matters.
kakui nut lei

The Tree of Light

The magnificent kukui, the state tree of Hawai‘i, has brought food, medicine, and both actual and spiritual illumination to generations of Maui residents.
Lanai Hawaiian island

To Know Lāna‘i Once Again

Kepā Maly is restoring authenticity to the stories of the island he loves.
Hawaiian names

Defining Identity

When your name includes twelve syllables and nearly as many letters as the alphabet, you often have some explaining to do.
hula tradition

Where Tradition Holds Sway

John Ka‘imikaua's Legacy Lives on through Moloka‘i's Homage to Hula
Kipahula Kitchen

Kipahulu Kitchen

From the beginning, the idea was that “it would become an anchor for the whole community.”
Moo Hawaiian Dragon

The Sacred Spine

Ancient Hawaiian mythology tells of the sacred shapeshifting dragons, or moo, which holds supernatural powers. Their presence is still felt by many.
Hawaiian cultural leaders in Maui

The Thousand-year-old Gift

Hawaiian culture evolved over millennia, then almost disappeared after Western contact. Maui's cultural advisors are committed to bringing it back.
makahiki

The Rebirth of Makahiki

Maui and her sister islands are reviving one of the most important spiritual times of ancient Hawai‘i: Makahiki.