Paliku Surf

KŪPE’E

Shellfish are plentiful in the islands!  From ʻopihi to leho, pū to pīpīpī, there are no shortages if you are craving a good meal.  Kūpeʻe are shellfish that we like to seek out and fry them in garlic and butter.  Delicious indeed!

We are most familiar with them because we collect them to make anklets, wristlets, and also necklaces.  Our use of them in hula run parallel to the manner in which kūpeʻe  surface through the sand.  Burrowing deep, they come out at night to feed on the rocks.  The dancer, similarly, practices in the protected hālau, exiting only to perform.  Binding our bodies with lei of kūpeʻe is like ensuring the knowledge from the depths surfaces when we dance outside of the hālau.

Coming soon!