MOON KINE TINGZ

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Moon Kine Tingz  pulls on our connection to our akua and ʻāina, serving tribute to  Hina, goddess of creation, feminine energy, growth, and lunar events. In traditional times, our kūpuna turned to her for answers. She dictated the days to plant, fish, meet, rest, and conduct business. She answered all questions twisting about in our personal kanaloa. She was the all seeing eye. Moon Kine Tingz encourages us to turn back to ʻike kuʻuna and traditional knowledge and practices for the questions we have today. Because we believe that our pilina with our ʻāina is a reciprocal one, a percentage of profits from certain designs will be put towards research or existing hui that mālama that specific issue. 

We aim to sell our products to the contemporary Hawaiian. From the Hawaiians that live homestead to the ones away in America, from those who speak fluently to those who use pidgin as a main form of communication, from those employed by our ʻāina to those who aloha ʻāina on their free time… We create products that spark conversations, show your love for your kūpuna and kingdom, and make you feel GOOD about the culturally accurate message youʻre sending. From moʻo to kūpuna, we create products to enhance your Hawaiian lifestyle. 

My background in ʻōlelo started when I was in kindergarten, and grew to a passion and lifestyle by high school. I attended college with the idea of becoming  a Hawaiian language/culture teacher and graduated with a BA in Hawaiian studies. When we found out I was hāpai, I knew my childʻs first language would be our mother tongue. Even though I was the only one who could speak fluently in our household, I was determined to raise a child that spoke Hawaiian first.

Moon Kine Tingz  is a small kānaka owned and operated business dedicated to creating more awareness and use of ʻōlelo Hawaiʻi. This venture was born from a need for our people to have clothing that accurately represents them, that starts conversations (hopefully in ʻōlelo!), that declares your pride for our living kingdom, that shows the world we are not flying our flag upside down anymore! The 21st century Hawaiian is a proud one, that goes against every law and societal norm our kūpuna were oppressed with.

I came up with the idea for this line after seeing the options for Hawaiian culture/ lifestyle/language based clothing and being disappointed with the image we were sharing with the world. Cultural appropriation was one of the biggest issues that pushed me to make this a reality. I was tired of just being angry at the designs that exploited our culture for money, and exploited them in an inaccurate manner! I was sick of the continuous prostitution of my kūpuna, ʻāina, and akua. So I decided to make my own !

Me ka leo kūkala me ka haʻaheo,

Wahinekoa