Kamaliikupono Hanohano

Aloha kāua, I am Kamaliʻikūpono Hanohano, of Oʻahu, Hawaiʻi. I am a cultural practitioner of Kākau Uhi- traditional Hawaiian tattooing. Following a ten year tutelage under Suʻa Suluʻape Keone Nunes, who is vastly accredited with restoring this lost tradition to Hawaiʻi, I underwent ʻūniki-formal graduation rites. In an ever accelerating world, I believe a strong focus needs to be placed on the manner in which we learn, rather than just the quantifiable end result. Traditional pathways of teaching are often the rubric to the successful transmission of indigenous knowledge. Kākau uhi aims to model those pathways while kindling the flame of identity within the hearts of our people. We cannot defend or develop, protect or perpetuate, without first re-indigenizing our minds to preserve what is coded in our bones.