Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 14, Number 11, 1 November 1997 — Ancestral fare, food for today [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

Ancestral fare, food for today

By Claire Hughes. Nutrltlonist Hawai'l Department Of Health

UALA, SWEET potatoes. were the second most important food in the diet of ancient Hawaiians. Dried sweet potatoes first eame to Hawai'i as sea provisions. They were so weil-liked that a voyage was made especially to bring back sweet potatoes for planting. In the 1930s, the eminent botanist, Professor Handy, collected 230 names for 'uala in Hawai'i. According to botanist Dr. Isabella Abbott, this represents about 40 to 50 different varieties. Sadly, fewer than two dozen of these varieties ean be found today. I remember enjoying as a child the huamoa (ehieken egg) variety; its flesh was whitish-grey around the edges with a yellow. yolk-like center. 'Uala was grown in pu'e (mounds) in māla (patches), whieh were usually surrounded bv stone walls. Vast areas were cultivated on eaeh island. Sweet potato grows best in moist soil. and ancient Hawaiians were intelligent enough to wait until the rainy season before planting ln dry areas. After the rainy season, they would plant in wet areas. According to Kamakau, Hawaiians perfected the two planting methods for 'uala — the malo 'eka (dirty malo) and ha'aheo (aristocratic) methods. Kamakau tells us that planting was a day full of festivities, lā ha'aheo, when farmers wore fine malo and kihei and 'ilima on their heads. Men lined up on one edge of the māla (patch) with their 'o'o. In perfect unison they made three thrusts into the ground. On the third thrust the soil was turned up and the o'o was cleaned off, before moving on. Festively adomed women followed and dropped two 'uala slips in eaeh puka. Other women packed the soil round the slips with their feet. Dr. Abbott explains that planting of 'uala was usually done on the lst and 6th day after the new moon, on nights designated Hilo and Hoaka, on Kū nights, and

at full moon. About a month after a field was planted, a few young tubers were dug out and offered to Lono, the god of this crop. With that, a kapu was put on māla, and no one could enter the field until harvest time, several months later. In contrast to the slower growing taro, a māla would yield two or three crops eaeh year. Both men and women could plant and harvest 'uala, unlike taro whieh only men could plant. 'Uala is a kinolau of Lono, who brought the rains provided by Kāne. Since the farmer relied on rains to water his 'uala, the farmer developed a closeness to Lono. Farmers called upon Kamapu'a, the pig boy, or Kānepua'a, the pig man, to help with planting by softening the soil in the fields with their rooting. Traditionally, 'uala was steamed in the imu with the rest of the family's food. Sweet potato leaves, palula, were enjoyed as a vegetable. Dr. Abbott says that poi 'uala was pounded with lightweight stone pounders in the old days, and with sticks in post-contact times. Coconut shells were used to spoon poi 'uala, making it the only food whieh was customarily eaten with a utensil. Kawena Pūku'i describes how Ka'ū people airdried whole, cooked 'uala in open-weave hanging baskets. Fishermen frequently ate dried 'uala when they stayed away from home for long periods. The starchy tuber of the sweet potato is a rich source of complex carbohydrates and B vitamins and is a fair source of vitamin C. Orange-colored 'uala are very rich in vitamin A. All varieties have potassium, phosphorus and iron. Cooked sweet potatoes make excellent snack foods, and if you have a food dryer, dried sweet potatoes and yarns are really 'ono. 'Uala provides a link to the ancestors and ean easily be incorporated in our daily diet. ■

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