Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 17, Number 5, 1 May 2000 — The scoops on coconuts [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

The scoops on coconuts

Niu maka o nola'ela'e Green coconuts for a clear vision

By Claire Hughes Dept. of H e o I t h ĪHE GRACEFUL niu, coconut tree, is kinolau of Kū. It contains the mana of this god of many things in ancient Hawaiian life. This tree is so strongly rooted in the earth that great windstorms eannot uproot it. Kawena Pūku'i tells us that the water of young coconuts, niu hiwa a Kāne, was used by kahuna in divination. The niu played a significant role throughout Polynesian society. According to Isabella

Abbott, a noted Hawaiian ethnobotanist, fossil records of the niu dating back to 3000 B.C. have been found in Melanesia and New Guinea. Archaeologieal evidence in Hawai'i establishes an early presence; the actual mode and timing of entry, however, are uncertain. An O'ahu mo'olelo relates that the early voyaging chief Pōka'ī from Kahiki planted niu in the Wai'anae region known today as Pōka'ī Bay. The symbolic importance of the niu to kanaka maoli is seen in the ehoiee to plant a coconut grove in Kalama'ula more than 100 years ago in honor of King Kamehameha V, Lot Kapuaiwa. As kinolau of Kū, it fell to the men to plant niu and although women were expert cordage makers, only men could make 'aha cordage from niu husks. Hawaiians had specific names indicating six distinct stages of development of the flesh of the coconut. In the first stage, 'ō'io, the flesh has a jelly-like consistency. During haohao, the flesh

is soft and white, in a shell that is still white. 'Ili kole, or 'ili 'ole, is the half-ripe stage. The flesh is fully mature in the next stage, niu o'o, while the husk is dry. In the final stage of ripeness, niu 'aka'a, or 'oka'a, the flesh separates easily from the shell and no water remains

in the nut. According to Sir Peter Buck, former director of the Bishop Museum, of Maori descent and better known by his , Maori name, Te Rangi Hiroa, i 'ili'ole was the stage preferred | for eating coconut raw; niu ; malo'o was used for making I coconut cream, and mano'i, ! coconut oil, was made from niu 'aka'a. Only two varieties of coconut were known in ancient Hawai'i. The first, niu hiwa, distinguishable by its dark green husk and black shell, was used for ceremonial and medicinal purposes and was kapu to women in its entirety. Niu lelo, with a reddish yellow exterior and a yellowish shell, was kapu as food for women, but its fronds and trunk were free for other uses. There is consensus within the research that coconut was not

used for food in ancient Hawai'i as widely as it was in the South Pacific. Unlike Samoans, our ancestors did not make pudding from coconut milk and breadfruit or sprinkle it on raw fish like the Tahitians. Nor was grated coconut on seaweed eaten by Hawaiians. The Hawaiian preparations kūlolo, ko'elepalau and haupia are presumed to have originated in ancient times and, if so, would have been eaten only by men because of the eultural kapu. Nutritionally, the water from the coconut would be low in calories, although no ealoiie content is available in loeal publications. It is the coconut flesh and cream, or coconut milk, made from coconut flesh that supply large amounts of ealories, primarily from natural fat or oil content. A eup of fresh grated coconut provides 306 calories and nearly 30 (29.6) grams of saturated fat. A heaping tablespoon contains 34 ealories and 3.2 grams of saturated fat. Half a eup of coconut cream or coconut milk, without water added, contains nearly 350 (346) calories and nearly 35 (34.7) grams of saturated fat. Even with added water, the ealories of the diluted coconut milk

would total 252 and would provide about 25 (24.9) grams of saturated fat. Information on nutrients supports the cautious use of coconut in a prudent diet. It seems that the traditional limitations on use of coconut as a food are very appropriate today. ■

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"Hawaiians had specific names indicating six distinct stages of development of the flesh of the coconut."

Niu at risk

i CCORDENG TO a m report by Jan Tenffl Bruggencate pubjjk lished Apiil 17 on the Ē 1 front page of the Honolulu Advertiser , insects, disease and drought pose a threat to Hawai'i's coconut groves. The crawling culprit is the blue coconut leaf beetle, a tiny invader formerly known as the Pohnpei beetle, whose larvae eat the young leaves. So far, the blue leaf beetle has been found only on O'ahu. The experts believe it ean be eontrolled by its natural predators, ants, geckos and a wasp whose larvae eat the beetle's larvae. Coconut trees in wet areas are susceptible to a heart rot disease, TenBruggencate reported. ■

The venerable elders dignifying the site of the Royal Hawaiian Hotel are all that remain of a coconut grove that onee stretched through the whole Kalia district and counted some 10,000 trees, most of whieh have long since succumbed to disease and old age. "We're taking good care of those we have left," said Rob Fullerton, the Royal's assistant head gardner.

These treetops over the Royal Hawaiian Hotel are the last remnant of the ancient coconut grove known as Helumoa,

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