Kumulipo

The Kumulipo. A creation chant delivered in ʻŌlelo Hawaiʻi (Hawaiian language) that spans for 2,102 lines. Much like our moʻokuauhau (genealogy), we recite it through oral tradition. This animation, created by a group of seniors from Kamehameha Schools Hawaiʻi Campus, is an interpretation of the first 28 lines of the first era of the Kumulipo. This sacred chant is significant because it tells the beginnings of the world and the life that resides in it through the eyes of our kūpuna (ancestors). The Kumulipo is what connects kānaka to the ʻāina; it confirms that the land we live on and the creatures that surround us are our ʻohana and that we should treat them as such. Animation has been chosen as the medium to best illustrate what has only been put into words. Through this modern depiction of the Kumulipo, we hope to educate the community on the origin of the world we’ve come to know.