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THE PACIFIC TRADITIONS SOCIETY NEWSLETTER
April 1999

ALOHA TO THE VAKA TAUMAKO 'OHANA! 8 April, 1999 Great news! Thanks to several very generous donors, the Project has funds to bring 6-8 Duff Islanders to Hawai'i from 18 May-18 July 1999. This will be an opportunity for anyone on Kaua'i to meet these remarkable people. A primary reason for the journey is so that Paramount Chief Kaveia can have cataract surgery on his eyes. Wilcox Hospital and several doctors have kindly donated the operation and hospitalization costs. Recuperation will require a minimum of six weeks. The other Taumako will keep him company during his recovery. That is not all they will be doing. They plan to build a small voyaging canoe of the type called te alolili at Anahola Taro Patch, or at the beach. Kaua'i people will be welcome to come see them at work, and participate in such activities as lauhala sail-weaving, sennit cord-making, and 'ilihau rope preparation. Later there will be opportunities to learn to sail the finished vaka, which will stay on Kaua'i. We hope to sail it around the island, and possibly to enter it in Na Holo Kai or another sailing canoe race. Two members of the group, Kaveia and Spokeman Mostyn Vane, visited us in June 1998. New to Kaua'i will be the Chief's wife, Cecilia, a master weaver and traditional massage expert, tepuke steersman and master carver Chief Jonas Holani, whose son Dixon Wia came here last year, Chief Barnabas Bolami, also a master carver, and Jennifer Vailau, a video student. (Those of you who have seen "The Heirs of Lata" may recall a young woman filming the canoes as they rolled down to the lagoon in the 12-9-97 launching ceremony. That young woman was Jennifer.) It is possible that others will be able to join the delegation. We would especially like to bring one or two 10-15 year olds. Meph will go to Solomon Islands in late April to meet the delegates. Depending on how long it takes to secure their passports and US visas, they will probably arrive on Kaua'i in mid-May. Mimi, meanwhile, will have gone to New Zealand in mid-April to work on repairs to yacht Gryphon's mast. She should return before Nga Taumako arrive. IF YOU WANT TO MEET THE DELEGATES: Please telephone Healani Waiwai'ole at 808-245-7133 for information on registration, orientation etc. We advise you to call well in advance. Many people have already asked to meet the group; we want to accomodate as many as we can without exhaustin1g our guests. This means that we need to co-ordinate worksite visits, invitations from local organizations etc. well ahead of time. PLEASE NOTE: WHOEVER WANTS TO BRING CAMERAS, VIDEO, AND OTHER RECORDING DEVICES TO THE WORKSITE MUST REGISTER THEM WITH THE VAKA TAUMAKO PROJECT. THIS RULE APPLIES TO EVERYONE. HOW YOU CAN HELP To be blunt, we need donations. We have enough for airfares from Lata to Honolulu and back, but we also require funds for transport from Duffs to Lata, for passport and visa fees, accomodation in Honiara, FAX and telephone costs etc. We also need help with the expenses of interisland travel and of hosting the visitors on Kaua'i. We know that many of you who want to kokua do not have a surplus of cash. Don't worry, we are grateful for all forms of support! SOME SUGGESTIONS:  1) If any of you want to provide food to the worksite, or invite the group for a meal in your homes, we and they would be delighted.   2) We need people to help with driving, materials gathering, orientation, entertainment etc.   3) We have secured a van for the Project's use. However, unlike the Vaka Taumako itself, the VTvan cannot run on air. We need donations to the fuel fund.   4) One of the highest priorities of the Vaka Taumako Project is documentation. Jennifer Vailau will not only be recording the June visit, she will also be learning to edit the archival material that she and the other Taumako students have been shooting. We urgently need funds for digitally mastering this raw footage, which deteriorates frighteningly fast.   5) The Duff islanders are eager to repay our hospitality, and anxious for the folks at home to meet more Hawaiians, but logistics are soliciting sponsors for exchange delegates to visit Duffs. FROM THE JUNE 1998 CULTURAL EXCHANGE: Kaveia teaches a member of the National Tropical Botanical Garden's summer education program how to weave.