KAHIKO ARTS WORKSHOPS IV
Carrying Net
The gathering and hunting grounds were often a long
distance from the homes of hunter/gatherers. When the load got
heavy and became too great to carry in their arms, carrying nets
were devised to hold as much as the harvester or hunter could
carry. Items were carried in the small hammock of large mesh.
The net was attached to a carrying strap, which was suspended
from the head or shoulders. The carrying net was no trouble to
carry empty, yet convenient if one needed to transport something.
The making of the mesh net will be started on the
first day. You'll learn to use a shuttle and gauge to construct
the netting knot. On the second day, we'll continue the net and
also begin creating the carrying strap.
Coconut Shell Drum
In the traditional
Hawaiian hula, music and dance were performed for religious purposes
to honor gods, ruling chiefs and their family history. The hula
involved dances accompanied by mele (music, song, prayers and
poetical chants) and a variety of sound-producing instruments,
some of which were musical. Others were used to beat time for
hula dancers. One of the musical instruments used by the drummer/chanter
was the coconut shell drum.
We will make a rhythm drum out of a coconut shell
and lash it to a goat skin rawhide. The drum beater will be made
from coconut fibers.
Tule Sun Visor
Tule or bulrushes
were used by local groups throughout the world. 
It's
length, pliability and cell structure made the plant suitable
for making baskets, clothing, mats, watercrafts, paper, toys,
duck decoys and sun visors.
The class will deal with constructing a sun visor
from tule. When hiking or working in the field on a hot day, a
sun visor will protect your eyes from the glare of the sun. The
wide brim will also shade your face and keep you cool.
Looped String Bag
The textile
technique of intertwining cordage to make a usable 
container
or bag is found throughout much of the world, from the Pacific
Islands to Australia, Africa, Europe, Asia, and the Americas,
both prehistorically and historically. This form of producing
fabric, also known as knotless netting, is as old as cloth itself.
It has been used by virtually every culture through history.
Using just a string and a needle, we'll create a looped
string bag to hold your primitive tools.
Knots and Lashings
Cordage was one of mankind's first inventions, certainly
predating the wheel, and its structure has remained essentially
the same for centuries. Cordage and knots are two words that go
hand in hand, for one is useless without the other. What use is
a length of cordage without at least one knot in it? The art of
knot work was used to haul, secure and repair the items that were
used everyday.
The workshop
will be a hands-on activity involving knots and lashings that
are most used and are useful in the field. You'll learn several
knots and lashings from a clove hitch to a tripod lashing to perform
various tasks.
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