Hilo rock-wall builder to demonstrate skills
By Hugh Clark
Advertiser Big Island Bureau
KAILUA-KONA, Hawai'i — Billy Fields of Kona has been invited to share his skills in traditional Hawaiian dry-stack rock-wall building at the nation's capital.
Billy Fields photo
The expert on "uhau humu pohaku" — stacking stones without the use of mortar — will participate in the "Masters of Building Arts" folk life festival June 24-July 8 at the Smithsonian Institution.
Billy Fields and an unidentified helper work on a traditional Hawaiian dry-stack rock wall on the Big Island.
Fields, 49, began his working life as a union mason using modern equipment and methods. In the 1980s, he shifted to traditional Hawaiian techniques.
The Hilo-born Fields said he learned the craft from kupuna.
"It's all in the eye," said Fields, describing his talent for placing loose stones together so that they are locked in place.
He undertook some of his first major work in 1989 when he restored walls and a fishpond at the historic Hulihe'e Palace in Kailua-Kona for the Daughters of Hawai'i. In the following dozen years, he has constructed or restored dozens of stone works, from walls and fishponds to heiau and burial sites.
Fields incorporates chants, prayers and family history into his projects. "Once they understand the significance of historic sites, they will be more likely to maintain them," he said.
He recently received the Hawai'i Visitors and Convention Bureau's Kahili Award for "Keeping It Hawai'i." The award honored Fields not only for his own restoration work but for sharing his knowledge.
