‘Fafa’ Toofa, 67; Helped Revive Tradition of Koa Canoe Building
Leon “Fafa” Toofa, 67, a master canoe builder from Tahiti, died June 25 after a large wave swept him into the ocean off Maui.
Toofa was credited with helping to revive the tradition of koa canoe building on Maui, beginning in the late 1990s, when the island’s Kihei Canoe Club harvested its first koa log in more than 77 years.
As part of the building ritual, Toofa would bless the trees before they were cut down, then rely on club members and others to haul the logs out of the forest, said Maui resident Charles Noland, who apprenticed with Toofa.
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