Ulu Kupu(2022)

Name: Ulu Kupu
Director: Tiare Ribeaux
Released: 2022-01-01
Duration: 15 min
Cast: Nanea Lum, Lise Michelle Suguitan Childers, Kālikopuanoaheaokalani Aiu, Ara Laylo, Waikapu

Nanea Lum Lise Michelle Suguitan Childers Kālikopuanoaheaokalani Aiu Ara Laylo Waikapu

Ulu (ʻŌlelo Hawai'i): “to grow, increase, spread, to protect, to rise”; Kupu: “sprout, offspring, germinate” or a “spirit or supernatural being”. Through video that mixes parallel visual narratives, Ulu Kupu follows a “Labor Hula”, a performance of harvesting plants/materials from the 'āina (land): hala which is used for weaving; wauke, which is used to create kapa or tapa, a textile; and hau which is also used as a textile or decorative fiber. This dance with the materials of the land is further expanded through the performance of a dancer, wearing the materials on their body and dancing in a wahi pana (sacred place) as well as in a grove of hau trees.