Kapu

Kapu refers to the ancient Hawaiian code of conduct of laws and regulations. The kapu system was universal in lifestyle, gender roles, politics, religion, etc. An offense that was kapu was often a corporal offense, but also often denoted a threat to spiritual power, or theft of mana. Kapus were strictly enforced. Breaking one, even unintentionally, often meant immediate death,Koʻo kapu. The concept is related to taboo and the tapu or tabu found in other Polynesian cultures. The Hawaiian word kapu is usually translated to English as "forbidden", though it also carries the meanings of "sacred", "consecrated", or "holy".

As these examples might suggest, the sense of the term in Polynesia carries connotations of sacredness as much as forbiddenness. Probably the best way to translate kapu into English is as meaning "marked off" or ritually restricted. The opposite of kapu is noa, meaning "common" or "free".

Kapuhili

Most famous are the Kapuhili restrictions placed upon contact with chiefs (kings), but these also apply to all people of known spiritual power. Kapu Kū mamao means prohibited from a place of the chief, while Kapu noho was to assemble before the chief. It was kapu when entering a chief's personal area to come in contact with his hair or fingernail clippings, to look directly at him, and to be in sight of him with a head higher than his. Wearing red and yellow feathers (a sign of royalty) was kapu, unless an individual was of the highest rank. Places that are kapu are often symbolized by Pahu Kapu, two crossed staffs, each with a white ball atop.

Kapu (caste)

Kapu refers to a social grouping of agriculturists found primarily in the southern Indian states of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana (the Telugu-speaking states). Kapus are primarily an agrarian community, forming a heterogeneous peasant caste. The subcastes of Kapu include Telaga, Balija, Ontari, Munnuru Kapu, Turpu Kapu etc.

The Kapu community in the Telugu states is predominantly concentrated in the coastal districts, North Telangana and Rayalaseema regions. They are also found in large numbers in Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Kerala, Maharashtra, Chhattisgarh, Orissa and some other Indian states as well as Sri Lanka.

Etymology

Kāpu or Kāmpu literally means cultivator or agriculturist in Telugu. Various subgroups of kapus branched off into separate communities in the post-Kakatiya period (Velamas, Panta Kapus and Pakanati Kapus—both of whom got labelled Reddis, and Kapus of Kammanadu—eventually labelled Kammas). The remaining kapus continue to use the original label. All the cultivator caste clusters have a common ancestry in the legends. According to Cynthia Talbot, the transformation of occupational identities as caste labels occurred in the late Viajayanagara period (17th century) or later.

KAPU-LP

KAPU-LP (104.7 FM) is a radio station broadcasting a Hawaiian Music format. Licensed to serve Watsonville, California, USA, the station is currently owned by Ohana De Watsonville. Starting its broadcast in September 2004, KAPU-LP claims to be the only radio station on the U.S. mainland broadcasting a Hawaiian Music format 24 hours a day.

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