The ancient Hawaiian method of communicating and recounting stories by creating string figures, known as hei, was the focus of a series of workshops during the spring 2018 semester at Hawai‘i Community College and the University of Hawai‘i at Hilo.
“In the Hawaiian language, the word hei means to net, ensnare, entangle — and furthermore to be adept and absorb knowledge or a skill,” said Rebecca Jacobs, an English instructor at Hawai'i CC, who helped lead the workshops. “Hei is also the term for a string figure.”