Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 14, Number 4, 1 April 1997 — I paʻa i kona makua "Respect your ancestors" ʻālelo Noʻeau [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

I paʻa i kona makua "Respect your ancestors" ʻālelo Noʻeau

Claire Hughes, Nutritionist, Hawai'i Department of Health

/?ncient chants and mo'olelo relate mueh about the voyages of the early Hawaiians and their achievements on the sea. The Hōkūle'a, Makali'i and Hawai'iloa demonstrate vividly the phenomenal oeean sailing feats of our ancestors and provide excellent examples of mastery, achievement, skill and dedication for today's youth.

Other accomplishments and feats of the early Hawaiians are not as often discussed. We don't read as mueh about the highly developed knowledge of plants and soil cultivation, propagation of new species of favorite foods and the sophisticated water irrigation systems of old. Dr. E.S. Handy, in 1931, cites the laek of acknowledgerhent oPthe richest legacy — the agricultural and horticultural knowledge of our ancestors. Such Polynesian knowledge was accumulated over centuries, perhaps millennia, of exper enee and was lauded in 1793 by Dr. Menzi( Captain Cook's shio sureeon and amateur

botanist, "Even the shelving cliffs of rocks were planted with esculent roots (taro, kalo), banked in and watered by aqueduct from the rivulet with as mueh art as if their level had been taken by the most ingenious engineer. We could not indeed but admire the laudable ingenuity of these people in cultivating their soil ... the care and industry with whieh they

(taro, kalo) were transplanted, watered and kept in order, surpassed anything of the kind we had seen before." 7he systematic order found in Hawaiian horticulture, sailing and fishing, was evident in all aspects of early Hawaiian life. Hawaiians were especially recognized

throughout the Pacific for their excellence in weaving and tapamaking. Such accomplishments and mastery eame from eoneentrating on those who showed the greatest potential. Kūpuna watched for the early indications of talent and abihty among the youth, and their lessons and lore were passed on in a systematic and orderly progression. There was a clear division of work between men,

women and children, all contributing

to an orderlv familv life. Men fished on reefs and in the deeper water, while women and children gathered shellfish and hmu on shorehne reefs, in streams and rivers. Only men planted, tended, harvested and cooked kalo, mostly because this required great strength, but also because kalo was kinolau (body form) of the god Kāne. Kalo was cooked in one imu.

while food for women and children was prepared in another. Women made tapa, did the weaving, gathered pili for thatching, assisted with net making for household items, and supervised child care with the assistance of older children. There is a tendency to interpret the kapu and tasks for women in a negative or chauvinistic light. Our elders interpret these practices as being protective. A Maori kahuna explained that women were kept from the negative mana of challenging oratory, yet they performed the critical role of calling to previous generations for support before the haka (ehal--lenge). He saw the ban on eating certain fish as a protection against being considered for sacrifice. In the same vein, noted storyteller Emil Wolfgramm, relates how Tongan and other Polynesian men protect women in recognition of a woman's vital role in producing healthy future generations. £harles Kenn, declared a "living treasure" by the Hongwanji Mission, explained to me in personal sessions that food kapu kept women from eating foods considered too rich and detrimental to producing strong, healthy offspring. liawena Pukui's diet for pregnant women shows precise planning for healthy offspring that would work well even today. Based on the orderly thinking of Polynesians, elders agree that a woman's role in the family was cherished. Healthy women were and are critical to the survival of the race and family.

Cw,