In this video, Cinta Kaipat describes the tradition and importance of Lighatutuur in her Refaluwasch community.
The story behind the "Protector Lighatutuur" as told by Cinta Kaipat
Through my years of advocacy work, I have had the privilege of working with some of the most influential and talented people who share the same passion to protect our environments, our natural resources and our communities. I noticed that while our backgrounds might be different, we share some very similar core values. When I create lighatutuur, I draw inspiration not just from home but from several countries actually such as Mexico, Spain, Ukraine, Russia, Turkey and some Native American groups.
I look back at my training as a law student, getting to know the works of the various Supreme Court Justices. The one I remember fondly was Justice Ginsberg. Her spirit touched me. Her influence and her presence looked larger than life despite her diminutive appearance. One of things that stood out was when she was appointed and she chose to embellish her wardrobe with something truly special. She chose to wear a white beaded necklace. These are like the very iconic cultural bead necklaces that my Refaluwasch community wears. For a while I thought about how special it was that she chose this design. She wore so many different styles but I chose the white beaded one to adopt in my advocacy work. That’s the style that I make in my work now.
I’m thinking ahead to how we become visible in our community as we raise awareness for our causes. When we, as advocates, go out to speak on different stages throughout the world, one thing we can recognize is what I call the “Protector Lighatutuur” to symbolize protection of our land and resources. We are protectors of these various lands and my idea is to get all the protectors who are interested in wearing them to wear them when they cross important stages to speak. And when a fellow protector sees it, they will immediately know what it is, and to see the person as one of their own fellow advocates. I thought this was such a strong symbolic way to get someone’s attention and say “hey I have something important to say in my community.”
I’m so pleased because protectors in New Zealand, Hawai’i, Guam, the United States, Saipan and other places wear them. This to me is one of the most important symbolic pieces of jewelry that we can wear to connect us together. So in that spirit, bound together by this Protector Lighatutuur, I know we are spreading our message. It is my hope that one day we see so many people wearing them together. So this piece links us together in our causes. We want to leave our mark and message in our communities long after we leave this earth.
I look back at my training as a law student, getting to know the works of the various Supreme Court Justices. The one I remember fondly was Justice Ginsberg. Her spirit touched me. Her influence and her presence looked larger than life despite her diminutive appearance. One of things that stood out was when she was appointed and she chose to embellish her wardrobe with something truly special. She chose to wear a white beaded necklace. These are like the very iconic cultural bead necklaces that my Refaluwasch community wears. For a while I thought about how special it was that she chose this design. She wore so many different styles but I chose the white beaded one to adopt in my advocacy work. That’s the style that I make in my work now.
I’m thinking ahead to how we become visible in our community as we raise awareness for our causes. When we, as advocates, go out to speak on different stages throughout the world, one thing we can recognize is what I call the “Protector Lighatutuur” to symbolize protection of our land and resources. We are protectors of these various lands and my idea is to get all the protectors who are interested in wearing them to wear them when they cross important stages to speak. And when a fellow protector sees it, they will immediately know what it is, and to see the person as one of their own fellow advocates. I thought this was such a strong symbolic way to get someone’s attention and say “hey I have something important to say in my community.”
I’m so pleased because protectors in New Zealand, Hawai’i, Guam, the United States, Saipan and other places wear them. This to me is one of the most important symbolic pieces of jewelry that we can wear to connect us together. So in that spirit, bound together by this Protector Lighatutuur, I know we are spreading our message. It is my hope that one day we see so many people wearing them together. So this piece links us together in our causes. We want to leave our mark and message in our communities long after we leave this earth.