By Lee Cataluna
Advertiser Columnist

Add this to the growing list of complications that arise when native culture and commerce try to set up shop together.

How much do you pay a kumu to share their knowledge? Do you pay them at all? Can you imagine asking a kumu to pay for the privilege of teaching?

A mass e-mail went out last week from a Florida-based entertainment company looking for kumu and experts on Hawai'i who can lecture on a variety of topics on cruise ships passing through Hawaiian waters.

In lieu of remuneration, the kumu get to go on the cruise for $50 a day. That's right. They would pay to work.

The e-mail from Sixth Star Entertainment reads:

"The Kumu would provide the ship's passengers with talks that would pertain to Hawaiian history, customs, legend, culture, facts, myths and folklore. The Kumu should also be able to conduct demonstrations such as hula, singing, dancing, storytelling, or play a native instrument. A combination of any six of the above mentioned topics or demonstrations would be fine."

Cruise lecturers are being sought for three upcoming cruises — two from Vancouver to Honolulu in September and a third from Honolulu to Ensenada in October on the ships Radiance of the Seas and Vision of the Seas.

Cruise lecturers pay $50 a day and get to bring a guest for free. Lecturers are responsible for paying for their own transportation to and from the ship plus all incidental expenses on board, including tips. Travel and medical insurance is not provided.

The e-mail adds:

"During your cruise, you will be an important part of the shipboard Entertainment team. As a part of the department, you and your companion are asked to dress and conduct yourselves in an appropriate manner during the voyage. Throughout your cruise experience, it is critical that you have a kind, flexible and helpful attitude towards all passengers, officers, staff and crew aboard the ship. Your post-cruise rating will reflect not only your performance on stage, but your day-to-day attitude and social skills."

Is this OK? Asking kumu and Hawaiian experts to play nice, be of service and pay their way?

As we all know, kumu come in many colors and styles these days, and one person's cultural insult might be another's great opportunity to travel and make new friends.

Lynda Davey, director of operations for Sixth Star Entertainment & Marketing out of Fort Lauderdale, said the company supplies lecturers in all sorts of topics for 14 cruise lines and 65 different ships.

Davey wrote in an e-mail, "In fact, Sixth Star will be placing more than 5,000 qualified speakers and personnel this year alone. We decided recently to focus some of our recruitment efforts in Hawai'i as our cruise clients have specifically requested more Hawaiian experts, including Kumus, on their sailings."

"In exchange for offering four to five 45-minute presentations per cruise, the speaker enjoys all the normal cruise amenities as if they were a paying passenger. There are no lectures on port days, so speakers are free to enjoy the sights. So, basically, it's a working vacation!ÊAs a point of reference, typical cruise passage on a premium cruise ship usually starts at about $150-$200Êper person, per day. In addition, passengers must pay applicable port charges, which are waived for guest speakers."

Heipua Kaopua, a counselor at Windward Community College, just got back from her second cruise as a lecturer for Sixth Star.

Kaopua lectured on art and the psychological effect of color. Her first cruise was to Mexico, Panama and Costa Rica. Her most recent cruise was to Puerto Rico, Saint Thomas and the Bahamas.

"When you figure the cost of what people actually pay for a cruise, it's very nominal, what a lecturer has to pay," she said. "I think it's well worth it for the opportunity to see exotic ports around the world. I just love it."

Kaopua said lecturers are treated just as well as the passengers, and she can't wait to go on her next working cruise.

"You have to be comfortable with people," Kaopua said. "It's one thing to have an expertise in a particular area, and it's another thing to be able to be comfortable enough to share it. I guess because I teach at the college, I'm very comfortable in talking to audiences ... it really works for me."

Sixth Star also books arts and crafts instructors, bridge directors, ballroom dance instructors and gentlemen dance partners for women traveling solo.

If you're so inclined, you can read more about the company on its Web site, www.sixthstar.com.

Lee Cataluna's column runs Tuesdays, Fridays and Sundays. Reach her at 535-8172 or lcataluna@honoluluadvertiser.com.