Volunteers help rebuild kahili

LIHUE — The Kauai Museum launched its Kahili Restoration Project on Thursday.

“We have three kahili which need work,” said Lyah Kama-Drake, Kauai Museum membership manager. “By working a little at a time, we should have the project completed within a year.”

 Kahili are feathered standards used from ancient times by Hawaiian royalty to show status, lineage, and family ties.

Jennifer Arnold of the Kauai Museum led a group that stopped in for the inaugural lunchtime work session involving the collecting and grouping of feathers.

“We had four children, and even a lady who learned of the project and contributed to the calabash,” Kama-Drake said. “The workshops aren’t long — an hour, maybe an hour-and-a-half, and participants learn the art of the traditional kahili.”

Arnold, who spent time chatting with a youngster from Los Angeles, said she could spend hours working on the project.

People interested in helping are welcome to drop in at the Kauai Museum from noon until 1 p.m. Thursday.

Info: 245-6931