Lilo i Kapa - Transformation and continuity in early-nineteenth century Hawaiian Kapa, 1810-1850

Kuaiwa, Sarah Mieko Tamashiro (2024) Lilo i Kapa - Transformation and continuity in early-nineteenth century Hawaiian Kapa, 1810-1850. Doctoral thesis, University of East Anglia.

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Abstract

“Lilo i Kapa - Transformation and Continuity in Early-Nineteenth Century Hawaiian Kapa, 1810-1850” re-examines the early-nineteenth century as a period of kapa resilience and creativity, a stark contrast from previous literature that has deemed the period as one of kapa
disappearance and decline. This art-historical study looks at changes and continuity of Hawaiian self-presentation with kapa (how individuals intentionally construct themselves in a way to be seen by a larger community), even as Hawaiian kapu (prohibitions) around dress altered and as
foreign clothing from merchants and missionaries arrived onshore. I identify and describe previously unrecognised genres of kapa created during the nineteenth century that use imported materials in their creation (e.g. scissors, dyes), reflect new types of clothing (e.g. dresses, bonnets) and include hand-drawn designs that imitate foreign cloth (e.g. paisley, plaid). The methodological approach used in this project utilises both Hawaiian and English-language sources to contextualise surviving examples of nineteenth-century kapa in museum collections in Hawaiʻi and the continental United States. This approach of bringing multilingual textual and material sources together provides new research that both contemporary kapa practitioners and museums may find compelling and useful to understanding the trajectory of kapa making over time.

Item Type:	Thesis (Doctoral)
Faculty \ School:	Faculty of Arts and Humanities > School of Art, Media and American Studies
Depositing User:	Nicola Veasy
Date Deposited:	02 Jul 2024 12:50
Last Modified:	02 Jul 2024 12:50
URI:	https://ueaeprints.uea.ac.uk/id/eprint/95760
DOI:

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