HO’Ā WAILOA - A tribute to Pi’opi’o
Original blockprint by Malie Moana
Growing up anywhere, even somewhere as beautiful as Hawaii, you can sometimes take advantage of your surroundings. I use the phrase “take advantage of” very loosely here, but when all you know is the waterfall up the road, the river running through town, or the refreshingly clear ocean - itʻs just home.
All this, of course, is purely from an aesthetic perspective.
Luckily, we have fellow community members doing the work to revitalize and share the rich history of our ‘āina so that we may gain a cultural understanding of the places we grew up seeing. In the beginning of the summer a talk story was hosted by the Hawaii Island Art Alliance (HIAA) featuring guest speakers, Loke Brandt, Keahi Warfield, and Leslie Lang on the significance of Pi’opi’o, or today more commonly known as the Wailoa State Park.
They talked about the name “Pi’opi’o” itself, how the word “pi’o” means arch and how that could give insight to how that place name came to be, and the cultural significance of the area among ancient ali’i.
an arch created from bamboo
What stuck out to me was how abundant the land was - growing ulu, hala, kalo - all staples we still consume today, as well as being a working fish pond or loko i’a. For these reasons it was the dwelling place of ali’i or nobility.
stamping picture from hiaa instagram
Following the talk story I had the privilege of creating a few block prints to represent Pi’opi’o for an ‘ohana workshop day at the Wailoa Art Center. Parents and children were invited to bring items to print on using the inspired blocks. It was heart warming to see the kids be able to get paint on their clothes and their parents have fun with the provided medium.
kupuna in on the action
Being able to create this piece, being from Hilo myself, felt incredibly full circle.
To listen to the talk story please visit hiaa.art
To purchase the Pi’opi’o block print please visit my etsy shop at etsy.com/shop/printsbymalie
