Kapa Vocabulary
The Hawaiian name for the paper mulberry plant, the source of kapa fiber.
Wauke
The primary weather problem that is solved by planting dense, tall hedges around the māla.
Wind (or wind damage)
This yellow-orange dye comes from the root (rhizome) of a relative of ginger, often grown in the partial shade of the banana circles.
ʻŌlena (Turmeric)
The height range (in feet) wauke must reach before it is ready for harvesting the best kapa fiber.
6 to 10 feet
The name for the dried plant material used to cover the soil to keep it moist and cool.
Mulch
The tool traditionally made from bamboo, used to stamp patterns onto kapa cloth.
`ohe kāpala
To grow straight, high-quality bark, wauke needs this level of sunlight.
Full Sun
This tree provides the nut that is burned to create black soot, a traditional dye.
Kukui (Candlenut)
The number of years wauke takes to grow from a cutting to a mature harvestable trunk.
1.5 to 2 years (or 18-24 months)
The type of plants (like Banana, Kukui, and Noni) that we look for to provide shade to the ʻōlena.
Understory Plants (or canopy/shade plants)
The name for the inner bark fiber that is stripped from the wauke trunk.
Bast
What you build along the contour lines of a slope to slow water and prevent soil washing away.
Terraces (or berms/contour planting)
This hardy shrub provides a strong reddish-brown dye from its root bark.
Noni (Morinda citrifolia)
The required spacing in inches between wauke plants to make them grow tall and straight.
12 inches (or 1 foot)
The special, water-retaining feature where bananas and compost are grown together.
Banana Circles
This is the hard, wooden implement used to pound the wauke bark into kapa fabric.
Iʻe Kuku (or simply kuku or hohoa)
Planting different crops together so they help each other grow is called this.
Companion Planting (or polyculture)
The dye source from the māla that yields a blue or purple color.
ʻUkiʻuki Berries
The reason we must remove all small side shoots from the wauke trunk while it grows.
To prevent holes or blemishes in the final bark fiber.
The tool used for the initial pounding (kuʻi) of the bark to soften it before the final beating.
Hohoa (round pounder) or a smooth stone/pōhaku.
This term refers to the process of caring for the land that sustains the kapa māla.
Mālama ʻĀina
The most effective plant on the slope's bank for binding the soil and preventing erosion.
ʻUkiʻuki (or Dianella sandwicensis)
The native Hawaiian plant with yellow flowers that provides a rare and valuable dye
Maʻo (Native Cotton)
The number of separate stands of wauke the māla must maintain to ensure a continuous, sustainable annual harvest.
4 stands
The term for the practice of cutting and peeling the bark from the wauke trunk.
Stripping the bark (or unuhi)