Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 29, Number 8, 1 August 2012 — EATING THE ʻAI PONO WAY [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

EATING THE ʻAI PONO WAY

By Kekoa Enomoīo After simmering for more than two decades, the 'Ai Pono nutrition program now is bubbling on a front burner. Herbert Kealoha Hoe of Kaunakakai, founder of the 'Ai Pono movement in the early 1990s, said 'Ai Pono from its onset has approached food "from a Hawaiian point of view that the foods had a lot of mana, to the point ... the food was actually godlike. "Whatever you ate was representative of (the) deities actually associated with our culture, like Lono and Kū and all of these different deities," said Hoe, 74, who began 'Ai Pono as a Kamehameha Schools adult-education course on healthful Native Hawaiian foods. The retired O'ahu fire captain credited the Queen Lili'uokalani Children's Center with expanding 'Ai Pono classes statewide. While emphasizing healthful Hawaiian foods, the 'Ai Pono nutrition program does not exclude items such as fried fish and kālua pork, whieh may be eaten in moderation, Hoe said. Like a savory lū'au stew, 'Ai Pono

bubbles actively: On Moloka'i, the nonprofit Ka Honua Momona International showcases 'Ai Pono at its kahonuamomona.org website. On Kaho'olawe, the 'Ahahui O Nā Kauka (organization of doctors) last month held a three-day huaka'i replete with 'Ai Pono meals, speakers and activities. In Maui County, the Nutrition and Physical Activity Coalition, NPAC, has hosted two dozen 'Ai Pono workshops benefiting more than 1,100 people. Statewide, advocates

promote 'Ai Pono in interactive workshops, where participants join in traditional practices, such as peeling taro, pounding poi and sampling poke made with different fish varieties. In October, at an international conference in Honolulu, kumu hula Kapono'ai Molitau will present an 'Ai Pono abstract examining "the relationship between akua (deities) and food." Molitau will address the Paeihe Global Health Conference with Robert Kealoha Domingo. Domingo affirmed that kalo is the kinolau, or embodiment, of the deity Hāloa, eldest sibling of the Native Hawaiian people. "I have eome to realize Hāloa is definitely our elder brother and deserving of our attention," he said. "I think food in general ean be tied into Hawaiian beliefs." Molitau added that "the workshop will be an opportunity to acknowledge Kāne," embodied in wai (water) and wai niu (coconut water), and other deities Kanaloa, one of whose kinolau is he'e (octopus); Lono, represented by 'uala (sweet potato); and Kū, whose forms include kō (sugar eane). One of Molitau's students in the Maui-based hālau Nā Hanona Kūlike 'O Pi'ilani is Sandra

McGuinness, coordinator of NPAC of Maui County. She promotes 'Ai Pono to improve nutrition and especially to remedy ailments like diabetes, stroke and seizures. She contracted Molitau to teach 'Ai Pono concepts to the hālau and organizations, such as Maui Nui Botanical Gardens, Hawaiian Canoe Club, University of Hawai'i Maui College, Pūnana Leo O Maui, and to Alu Like kūpuna on Moloka 'i and Maui. "Protocol and so many things about Hawaiian culture made me realize how hālau could be a wonderful vehicle to teach about dietary and lifestyle changes," McGuinness

said. "When a federal grant heeame available to incorporate Mea 'Ai Pono, it was an opportunity to work with organized groups to try to introduce information and learning about what they may not know. ... Fortunately Kumu Kapono'ai was very open to serving as cultural adviser to the 'Ai Pono program." Tammy Hoe Smith indicated that the Hale Kealoha-'Ai Pono Catering Services she started with dad Herbert Hoe seeks to open an 'Ai Pono restaurant in Kailua, O'ahu, at summer's end. Meanwhile, 'Ai Pono eame to a rolling boil recently when Smith catered a family 'aha'aina for 300 to mark Kamana'o Crabbe being named chief executive officer of the Office of Hawaiian Affairs. To honor Crabbe as a warrior and leader "responsible for one whole Hawaiian nation," she said she created a menu of isle delicacies: a whole pig, kalo, 'ulu, 'uala, pa'i 'ai, poi, steamed 'ehu fish; dried aku, he'e and venison; lū'au stew made by his sister to represent their mother; and a spread of raw 'opihi, white crab, 'a'ama, lomi 'ō'io, poke enenue, poke 'ahi, limu and limu kohu, all served on his grandfather's poi-pounding board. The feast was "my vision

of him as a person, through food," she said, adding about her 'ohana's involvement with 'Ai Pono: "Our kuleana is huge. ... It is a family thing and lotsa pride." For more information about 'Ai Pono, contact Herbert Hoe at (808) 553-8390 or e-maii kahonu amomona@gmaii.com; Kealoha Domingo at hawaiianstyīe@rocket mail.com; or Tammy Hoe Smith at maheaīan i80 @yahoo. eom. I Kekoa Enomoto is a retired copy editor and stajf writer with The Maui News and former Honolulu Star-Bulletin.

Health conference >What: Pacific Global Health Conference on Transforming Public Health in the Pacific > When: Oct. 8-10 > Where: Ala Moana Hotel, Honolulu > How: Register by Aug. 10 to save up to $100 at website http://bit.ly/NwdoDS Featuring: A session on "Traditional and Cultural Practices of Mea 'Ai Pono" led by kumu hula Kapono'ai Molitau and Kealoha Domingo starts at 11 a.m. Oct. 9.

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Herbert Hoe, right, wite Julia and their son, Kama, present an Ai rono breaktast ot kalo biscuits, uala biscuits and papaya partait with bananas and haupia. The meal was served at a Department of Health town-hall meeting in June in Kaunakakai. - Courtesy: Hoelani Lee Yamashita, Ka HonuaMomona lntemational

Hō'i'o, or native fern frond, is incorporated into a salad. The healthful dish offers tomato wedges on and around a bed of lettuce tossed with sprouts and the dark green hō'i'o, known as pohole on Maui. - Courtesy: Kealoha Domingo

An 'Ai Pono array features, clockwise from foreground, coconut milk, hō'i'o (native fern frond) salad, poke 'ahi, laulau, fried fish, freshly pounded poi, 'ulu, kalo, kōlua pork, pipi kaula and unwrapped laulau, atcenter. 'Ai Pono advocate Kealoha Domingo led preparation of the tra-ditional-style fare for a Bounty of He'eia event. - Courtesy: Sean Connelly