LIHUE — The sound of more than 10,000 firecrackers welcomed the Year of the Monkey Saturday during the Chinese New Year luncheon hosted by the Kauai Chinese Heritage Society at the Kauai Museum.
Maryanne Kusaka, the Kauai Museum’s trustees president, is also president of the Kauai Chinese Heritage Society. She coordinated the festive event which drew more than 80 people, including visitors and residents, to the lunch festooned with Chinese decorations, icons and greetings of “Kung Hee Fat Choy!”
“We just wanted to put on something fun,” said Sharon Sahara, described by Kusaka as the event’s “right hand.” “There are a lot of names to the Kauai Chinese Heritage Society, but unfortunately, a lot of them have passed. This is just something fun to keep the culture alive.”
The Chinese welcomed the Year of the Monkey, the ninth in the 12-year cycle of the Chinese zodiac, with firecrackers, traditional charms and good food prepared by Mark’s Place and Contemporary Flavors Catering.
Kusaka, drawing from her heritage as a teacher, described the monkey, the Chinese zodiac, and the symbolism of the holiday and its foods, before sending visitors to hit the seven-course meal first.
Dickie Chang was also there, appropriately garbed in Chinese attire embellished with appropriate facial markings.
“I brought my own Buddha,” said Jim Jung, a Kauai Museum docent. “I also have a portrait of my dad which has Chinese calligraphy on his frame. I’m wondering if there is someone out there who can translate it.”
Winnie Lu, who gained a lot of her Asian knowledge from living in Taiwan, brought a Chinese knot hanging to supplement the decorations provided by Bob Heyn for the event.
“The hanging of knots resembles a bat,” Lu said. “The reason why bats are so important in Asian culture is because the word for bat, ‘fu,’ is pronounced very close to the word meaning luck and fortune.”
This aspect overflows to the Year of the Monkey as the monkey is a clever animal, often compared to a smart person. During the Spring and Autumn Period (770-476 BC), the dignified Chinese official title of marquis was pronounced “Hou,” the same as the pronunciation of “Monkey” in Chinese. The animal was thereby bestowed with an auspicious meaning, according to a Year of the Monkey handout.
Sahara said a lot of the decorations were provided by Heyn, who stores the material at the Kauai Community College where it is used for the fine dining program during its Chinese kitchen phase.
“Bob also donated a chair to the museum which is more than 500 years old,” Sahara said. “The decorations at Kauai Community College are available whenever the Kauai Chinese Heritage Society has an event.”
Chang said the Kauai Museum has a special Chinese exhibit coordinated by Chucky Boy Chock available for viewing to celebrate the Year of the Monkey.
