Pasifika Series | Oli, with Kahu Kris

Welcoming Kahu Kris to the Pasifika Series! The February offering is Oli, the art of Hawaiian chant.

“A junction where memory and naʻau (intuition, gut feeling) meet and produce instantaneous moments when ancestral knowledge is reborn again.” –Dr. Pualani Kanakaʻole Kanahele, Ka Honua Ola: The Living Earth

This 90-min, open-level workshop will cover exercises for chant practitioners, offer an introduction to ʻŌlelo Hawaiʻi (Hawaiian language), and explore select Oli that access the cultural significance of Ka Piko o Wākea, the Spring Equinox. All are welcome, especially folks interested in Hawaiian culture + supporting Indigenous artistry.

Limited capacity, pre-registration recommended.

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KRIS KATO is a Kahu Oli (caretaker of songs and chants) who has achieved the title, Kahu Oli Lae Oʻo, having completed the ʻuniki rites of the Edith Kanakaʻole Foundation under the direction of Dr. Pualani Kanakaʻole Kanahele. His practice shares his pursuit of knowledge found in Hawaiian mele.

Kahu Kris has shared chants for: Pagan Pride III (National Opera Center), Mālama Honua Worldwide Voyage (New York), Ke Aloha Outrigger (Hoboken Cove), Indigenous Peoples Day with Te Ao Mana, Liliʻu: Tribute to a Queen (La MaMa), Ka Lā Hoihoi Ea New York, Oceania (The Met Museum), Margaret Mead Film Festival (Museum of Natural History), Mother Tongue Film Festival (Smithsonian - DC), Heiva Pasifika NYC, Hui ʻo Kaulana Mahina NYC, Kiernan Surfing Association, Hālāwai NYC, and Hui Hoʻokahi o Tejas. He lives on the ancestral homeland of the Lenape people, Lenapehoking, in Brooklyn, New York.