Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 15, Number 3, 1 March 1998 — KA IʻA LAUOHO LOLOAOKA ʻĀINA... [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

KA IʻA LAUOHO LOLOAOKA ʻĀINA...

the long-haired fish of the land. — 'Ōlelo No'eau By Claire Hughes, N u t r i t i o n i s t , Hawai'i Department Of Health |t surprises many to leam that our ancestors could be eonsidered almost vegetarian eompared to the way we eat today. Back then, kalo and poi were the staples. The kalo tops, lū'au, and other greens as well - as vams and sweet ootatoes

comprised at least 80 to 90 percent of the food or ancestors eonsumed. Thus, Hawaiians ate kalo, a vegetable, with other vegetables. These foods were rich in the many vitamins, minerals and fuel that protect the heart, the digestive tract and all the tissues of the body. Today's healīh reports talk about the protective nature of folic acid and vitamin B6 against heart disease. The foods described above provide those nutrients. According to some heahh authorities, if we ate more like our ancestors and did ! not smoke cigarettes, we could improve overall heahh by as mueh as 75 percent. By adopting this way of eating and provid- j ing an example for our children and grandchildren, we could create healthy Hawaiians again. The above proverb comes from Mary Kawena Pūku'i's eolleetion of 'Ōlelo No'eau and refers to any vegetable eaten with poi, such as kalo greens, hō'i'o, kikawaiō ferns or sweet potato leaves. Poetically speaking, the leaves are the oho or lauoho, the hair of plants. In an article on making poi, Aunty Kawena tells how the cooked kalo greens on occasion were substituted for pig and offered to the gods; they were then referred to as pua'a hulu 'ole or hairless pig. This practice indicates the deep reverence our ancestors had for this food. It was considered an appropriate offering because of its importance in the ancient diet and merited great respect. Kalo greens were good as an offering to the gods, as medicine and as food for man and animals. The 'ili kalo, or outer strip, was used to replenish the soil. Kalo leaves cannot be found easily in the supermarkets today, however, they may be available at some open markets or farmers markets. The Hawaiian riddle, "He 'ai ko lalo, he i'a ko luna," or "the food is below, the meat is above," means that on many oeeasions, Hawaiians made a meal of cooked lū'au and poi. Kupuna Elizabeth Ellis told us how her family used to pūlehu lū'au, tuming a packet of ti leaf-wrapped leaves over hot embers until it was done. That was their fish substitute for dinner. Obviously, real fish was also eaten, but the practice of eating lū'au and poi was frequent enough to occasion this riddle. A childhood memory of sitting with my siblings in the kitchen at the Aunty Molly Cummings house at Waiale'e, O'ahu flooded my mind. The memory was watching tūtū Cummings make keko palai for us. This was made with chopped hāhā, or stems of the lū'au, mixed with kalo and cooked in a cast iron skillet on a kerosene burner. Tūtū sang in Hawaiian the entire time and smiled at us. She spoke to us in Hawaiian. We sat and watched and listened. Of course, we didn't understand every word, but the aloha that she shared was appreciated. Then she served us pancakes made of lū'au and hāhā. What an absolute treat! The four of us sat and ate together, tūtū and the kids, while the "adults" talked on the porch. So it was. Today, many Hawaiians eat greasy fast food with minimum amounts of vegetables and lots of empty calories. Our ancestors had better nutritional practices and better heahh than we have. Fortunately, making the change to better healīh is really simple, and we honor our ancestors in the process. ■

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