Even before her visit to the Humboldt Forum and the collections of the Ethnological Museum, Hawaiian author Noʻu Revilla was led to Berlin by a clear desire: to meet the kiʻi (sacred figure) of Kihawahine, one of the most powerful deities in Hawaiian history. Without knowing that the kiʻi would not be on display, she set out in search of stories – where had the sacred figure been kept and moved, what happened to her body, who kept her company, how will she return home? Noʻu now presents a poetic text for Kihawahine, inspired by a visitation practice that eschewed sight and grew instead from the power of story and song.
With Noʻu Revilla
Curator of the series Priya Basil
In English