by JOANNE ARNOTT
Hapa-Palooza Festival: September 7-10, 2011 – A Vancouver Celebration of Mixed-Roots Arts and Ideas
Fred Wah, Tanya Evanson, and I will have words
at Vancouver Public Library, Sept 7th
Visit the website for details on the many free events and wondrous performances!
Hapa: Etymology
In the Hawaiian language, hapa is defined as: portion, fragment, part, fraction, installment; to be partial, less. It is a loan from the English word half. However, in Hawaiian Pidgin (the creole spoken by many Hawaii residents), hapa has an extended meaning of “half-caste” or “of mixed descent”. Mary Pukui and Samuel Ebert’s Hawaiian Dictionary define hapa as: “of mixed blood, person of mixed blood as in hapa hawai?i, part Hawaiian.”[3] The word hapa has moved into mainland English. (Wikipedia)
Charming invitation to celebrate, participate, & mate:
Recounting the life experiences of four descendants of mixed heritage, CEDAR AND BAMBOO explores the unique relationships shared by early Chinese immigrants and Indigenous people on Canada’s West Coast. Set in British Columbia, their stories reveal the difficult circumstances of Indigenous people and early Chinese immigrants.
Joanne Arnott for more