LIHU‘E – The convention hall kitchen meeting rooms resounded with the sound of taiko as groups of students at the Warabi Ashibi got an opportunity to enjoy the fruits of their labor. The Warabi Ashibi, or Children at Play 2004
LIHU‘E – The convention hall kitchen meeting rooms resounded with the sound of taiko as groups of students at the Warabi Ashibi got an opportunity to enjoy the fruits of their labor.
The Warabi Ashibi, or Children at Play 2004 program, is a special cultural day camp hosted by the Hui Alu Okinawa club here, as well as the Hawaii United Okinawa Association.
Bernie Sakoda, one of the lead instructors, pointed out that in addition to learning about the Okinawa culture, day-camp participants also got lessons in how children in the plantation era spent their energies in activities such as playing marbles, milk-cap tossing (milk caps are more commonly known today as “pogs”), creating buzzers, as well as participating in pneumatic car races using plastic cups, straws and balloons.
Under the leadership of Glenna Ueunten and Amy Ueunten, the students got to hear their taiko in actual performance as they learned a taiko routine performed by members of the Ryukyukoku Matsuri Daiko.
Earlier in the morning, they learned the Okinawan version of greeting people, and with that started on a day-long trip where they got to create taiko using plastic containers and duct tape.
This was followed by the instructional phase that led into the art section, where Kaua‘i Community College ceramics instructor Wayne Miyata got help from Dean Oshiro as the young students got to stamp and imprint their own clay slabs for a creation that will leave with them on the final day of class Wednesday.
Unchinabingo taught the youngsters various Okinawa terminology, as Sakoda called out the terms with students covering the corresponding squares using dry red beans.
More fun activities included other plantation-style games, and the finale will come on Wednesday when “campers” get to try their hands at creating some of the recipes that accompany the special booklet that each participant received on registering for the three-day event.
In addition to providing a geography lesson on Okinawa, the booklet touches on many different aspects of Okinawa culture, including the food, martial arts, songs, origami crafts, and Okinawa folklore.
Participants lost little time getting immersed into the program as the booklet, pre-holed, had to be assembled using a modern twist to an Oriental style of bookbinding.
