Kapa

Program Lead

Dalani Tanahy

Dalani Tanahy is a native of San Diego, California with maternal roots in Maui, Molokai and Moku O Hawaii and has lived in Makaha, O`ahu since 1986. She has been a practitioner and teacher of the arts of Hawaiian kapa or bark cloth making. Dalani’s work has been one of revival, as the art of kapa was dormant for almost one hundred years. She not only creates kapa but also grows the Paper mulberry/Brousonettia Papyrifera trees necessary to create the bark cloth, but also the wood and stone tools and plants used for dyes. Teaching kapa extensively ensures that it is not lost again, and she is currently an instructor at the University of Hawaii-West O’ahu Campus in the Hawaiian and Pacific Studies Department. As a researcher Dalani has been able to study collections globally and has her work in permanent collections at the British Museum in London, the National Museum of the American Indian in Washington DC and The Museum of New Zealand-Te Papa O Tongarewa. As a commissioned artist, Dalani has original and graphic work in many hotels, resort, and other properties in Hawaii, including the Aulani Disney Resort and Spa, Ka Makana Ali’i Mall in Kapolei, O’ahu, St. Andrews Priory Chapel/Royal Patrons Chapel in Honolulu, O’ahu and many more. Dalani’s work as a traditional Hawaiian practitioner and cultural ambassador has been recognized by the Polynesian Cultural Center as a recipient of the “Lei of a Living Treasure Award” 2013, and the Hawaii State Legislature as “Mana Wahine O Makaha”.