Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 2, Number 3, 1 March 1985 — He Mau Ninau Ola [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

He Mau Ninau Ola

Some Healih Question$ 6y Kekuni BlaisdeH, M.D.

Q: E kauka, my hapahaole unele says there were no poisons in old Hawai'i before the po'e haole (foreigners) eame, but I remember something about a poisonous Moloka'i tree and a high chief who was hanged because he poisoned his wife. Who is right? A: Both you and your

'anakala (unele) are perhaps partially pololei (correct). Your 'anakala's statement may be based on the generalization of modern ethonobotanists that apparently there were no la'au kama'aina (native plants) with a lethal toxin i ka wa Hawai'i kahiko (in pre-haole Hawai'i). However, there were a few la'au kama'aina without potent toxins that could cause some pilikia (trouble), such as the medicinal oily kukui nut, whieh, when eaten raw in large amounts, could irritate the na'au (gut) sufficiently to cause lua'i (vomiting), 'opu eha (abdominal cramps), and palahi (diarrhea). Moreover, if we move from ka 'aina (the land) to ke kai (the sea), we find marine toxins that we now know caused ma'i (illness), ranging from the mild stinging venom of ka pa'imalau (Portuguese-man-of-war), to the deadly palytoxin, discovered in 1971 in the zoanthid, "limu-make-o-Hana," described by David Malo in the 19th century. More of this and other forms of "poisoning," ancient and modern, in future co!umns. The poisonous Moloka'i tree you alluded to was apparently three kinds of mau kumu la'au (trees) at Maunaloa on Moloka'i, according to Samuel Kamakau, another mea kakau 'oiwi (native writer) of the mid- 1800s. These trees were harmless elsewhere in Hawai'i kahiko. But one night at Maunaloa, when the a'e tree (Sapindus or Fagara) was entered by the god Kahuilaokalani; the 'ohe tree (araliad Reynoldsia s.) was entered by Kapo, sister of Pele; and the tree nioi (Eugenia sp.) was entered by the god Kaneikaulana'ula, all three trees became la'au make (poisonous). The trees contained such great mana of these akua (gods), that the mere touching of the trees, or chips or sap from them, caused instant death. So the ruling chiefs of Moloka'i were compelled to kapu this ulu (grove) of trees at Maunaloa. Mau ki'i (images) made from these trees were called Kalaipahoa because they were kalai (carved) with pahoa adzes. Worship of these ki'i maintained their lethal toxicity . The only

known effective antidote, or remedy, against their fatal effect was a preparation from another kumu la'au, unknown to us today, containing the mana of the healing akua Ma'iola. Since the overthrow of na kapu in 1819, these trees and ki'i no longer have the "poisonous" effect of the old. Their mana has been lost. lf the ali'i (chief) you refer to as having poisoned his wife was Kamanawa, grandfather of King Kalakaua and Queen Lili'uokalani, then the event was in 1840, i.e., post-haole eontact. In court, during the reign of Kamehameha II, Kamanawa confessed to giving his deceased wife, Kamokuiki, a mixture of 'akia, 'auhuku and 'awa — all la'au kama'aina. Yet, from a modern perspective, it seems unlikely that these three la'au alone, as prepared in 19th century Hawai'i, would have been lethal. In old Hawai'i, 'akia (Wikstroemia spp.) was used in hola fishing in shallow water, to stupefy fish and thus aid in their capture. Dr. Frank Tabrah reports that in the modern laboratory, extracts of 'akia make fish sluggish, but Dr. Harry Arnold, Sr., has reported that the 'akia berry, leaf and sap have no adverse effect on man. Similarly, 'auhuhu (Tephrosia p.), also a hola fish-stupefier, is reportedly "only slightly toxic, if at all, to humans." As for 'awa (Piper m.), or kava, the ceremonial drink of Polynesia, it too posseSses only mild narcotizing effects in man. Although four crystalline principles have been extracted from this plant, they have only gentle, soothing and sleeping-inducing influences in human subjects. To summarize, our kupuna kahiko probably did have some true poisonings in the modern sense, but fatal incidents were probably infrequent, accidental, and due to only a few, now-known, marine lethal toxins. It is conceivable, but not likely, that one or more of these fatal manne toxins were extracted by clever and vicious kanaka kahiko to use intentionally to kill others, but we have no reliable evidence of this. No known island minerals are directly toxic. Mild to moderate, reversible, non-lethal, accidental poisonings by substances in living organisms in the sea and on land occurred oeeasionally. Intentional poisoning by these milder agents probably was practiced to some degree, but it seems impossible that they were ever directly fatal in the modern pharmacological sense. The "deadly poisonings" by Kalaipahoa and other akua were probably due to psychobiological mechanisms that later haole observers would eall "sorcery." Lethal poisonings after the coming of foreigners, such as in the case of Isaac Davis and Kamokuiki, may have been due to introduced toxic agents. More of these and other mau ninau ola next month.