Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 17, Number 9, 1 September 2000 — I kū mau mau: rooted in the forest [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

I kū mau mau: rooted in the forest

Bv Diane Peters-Nauven

//, KŪ mau mau," belI lowed the malo-clad I caller, muscles I bulging. "I kū wā!" I the line of smdents and teachers of Kula Kaiapuni o Ānuenue hurled back in bloodcurdling response. On the dynamic exchange continued until its rousing end, "Kūlia!" ("Strive!") The students were reconstructing a fishpond, but they, like many Hawaiians seeking to intensify their team's energy level, borrowed some zeal from the logging industry.

The chant, recently revived in the islands, has been revitalized by Nā Kāne Pono's hugely popular recording of " Kaulana Nā Pua," ean be traced back to Kamehameha Nui. It exhorts the workers to pull (huki) as they move together to achieve their goal. Carrying the heavy logs from the forests upland required great strength and endurance as well as teamwork. Kamehameha's desire for foreign exchange contributed to deforestation of the native iliahi, sandalwood. But today, the school that bears his family name is a leader

īn reforestation and silviculture. Kamehameha bchools began a koa reforestation program on the slopes of Mauna Loa in 1977 for cultural and eeonomie uses and has designated some 76,500 acres statewide as forest i reserves I Koa, Hawai'i's best known and loved hard wood, is & endemic to the Hawaiian Islands. Hawaiians of kahiko

used koa wood for surfboards, canoes, paddles and implements. Koa bark and leaves were used in dyes, l medicines and cultural practices. I There has been a decline in the availability of koa m as native forests have been cleared for development

and agricultural uses. Koa remains, however, the second most numerous tree in our native forests. i The popularity of the wood has soared in recent I years, leading to renewed interest in planting. m fnrpct inHiicfrv nrnviH#>« mnrp than

1,000 jobs and statewide revenues of $29 milk Uon.

The Hawai'i Forest Industry Association, representing forestry professionals, woodl workers, sawyers, retailers and landownk ers, seeks to ensure the health of our

forests as important ecosystems. Now in its tenth year, the nonprofit association has scheduled its annual Wood

Show, this year titled "Nā Lā'au o Hawai'i," for Sept. 9-17 at the Aloha Tower. Furniture, eanoe paddles, sculpmres, bowls and 'ukulele will be displayed for sale. Along with koa, the most highly prized wood milo, monkeypod, 'ōhi'a, kou and macademia nut will be featured. ■

Alaka'i Hui I leū mau mau I kū wā I kū mau mau I kū wā / kū mau mau I kū huluhulu I kā lanawao / kū wā I kū lanawao Ikūwā Alaka'i and Hui / kū wā huki I kū wā ko I kūwāa mau A mau ka eulu E huki ē Kūlia!

5 g o o 0 C § 2 1 m 5 o O o o 2 5 z <

This koa log felled in a rainforest snuggles next to a hāpu'u fern.