Iwi Core Collection: Pōʻele (Dark Night)

Pō wale ho‘i (Nothing but night)
Hānau ka pō (The night gave birth)
Hānau Kumulipo i ka pō, he kāne (Born was Kumulipo in the night, a male)
Hānau Pō‘ele i ka pō, he wahine (Born was Po‘ele in the night, a female)

These are a few lines from the Kumulipo, a creation chant and moʻokūʻauhau (genealogy) of Kānaka Maoli. It speaks to the duality and connectedness amongst all things. This nail set is named for the dark at the beginning of the chant. It is black with silver sparkle.

For more information on the Kumulipo, check out Queen Liliʻuokalani's translation, or the book The Kumulipo: a Hawaiian Creation Chant by Martha Beckwith.

I chose the name Iwi for this business because not only were these nails inspired by various iwi (shells, antlers[kiwi], coconut shells & more) but these nails also take on an iwi like quality when you cure them. Koʻu iwi, my bones, are both figuratively and literally at the core of who I am, as iwi are integral to many living things around us (even mea kanu, plants). The IWI Core Collection are our solids and plain colors. These ʻāina inspired colors will be restocked periodically, so you can count on these basics to be around!

We do our best to photograph the nail strips to capture the true color, but color online may vary slightly from actual color. Nonetheless, the best representation of the nail colors are the photos of the actual strips on our site (sticker on the box is not an accurate color representation). To get the best idea of the true color, focus on the photos of the actual strips. Mahalo!