Hawaiian Traditions | Page 2 | Images of Old Hawaiʻi

May 14, 2026 by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

ʻAwa

“ʻAwa was the food of the gods, just as poi was to the Hawaiians. No religious ceremony was complete without the ʻawa.” (Pukui, Maly)

E hanai ʻawa a ikaika ka makani.
Feed with ʻawa so that the spirit may gain strength.
(One offers ʻawa and prayers to the dead so that their spirit may grow strong and be a source of help to the family.)

Outside of water and drinking coconut, no other drink was known. ʻAwa was “a sacred drink of importance in many phases of Hawaiian life. …”

“Its effect is to relax mind and body and it was used by farmer and fisherman for this purpose. Medicinal Kahunas (learned men) had many uses for it. It was essential on occasions of hospitality and feasting, and as a drink of pleasure for the chiefs.” (Titcomb)

ʻAwa is a canoe crop, one of the plants brought by the earliest Polynesian voyagers arriving in Hawaiʻi. It is a member of the pepper family. In other parts of the Pacific it is known as Kava or Kava Kava. It is a shrub growing about four to eight feet high.

There are several native traditions regarding the origin of ʻawa in Hawaiʻi. Perhaps the most significant narratives describe ʻawa as having been brought to Hawaiʻi from Kahiki (the ancestral homelands) by the akua (gods) Kāne and Kanaloa.

These two akua Kāne, a Hawaiian god and ancestor of the chiefs and commoners, a god of sunlight, fresh water, verdant growth, and forests; and Kanaloa, a god of the ocean, marine life, healing, and a companion of Kāne – planted ʻawa at various localities throughout the islands.

In places where no water could be found with which to prepare the ʻawa, Kāne even caused water to appear, thus forming many springs and streams in the islands. (Maly)

In the discovery of Hawaiʻi by Hawaii-loa, ʻawa is noted in the find, “One time when they (Hawaii-Loa and his company) had thus been long out on the ocean, Makaliʻi, the principal navigator, said to Hawaii-Loa: ‘Let us steer the vessel in the direction of Iao, the Eastern Star, the discoverer of land …’

‘There is land to the eastward, and here is a red star … to guide us … So they steered straight onward and arrived at the easternmost island … They went ashore and found the country fertile and pleasant, filled withʻ awa, coconut trees … and Hawaii-Loa, the chief, called that land after his own name … (Fornander)

It is valued as an intoxicating drink and as a medicine. ʻAwa is also a sedative, used as a sacred plant for prayer, as well as appreciated for pleasure, especially in the south Pacific islands. It assists in opening communication channels with others and with the elements.

The drink is made from the root, which is woody, slightly spongy, toughish and roughly gnarled. The root was scraped and washed, then reduced to small pieces. It was then ready to chew (mama) and mix with water to make a cold water infusion. In later days, chewing was replaced by grinding or pounding. (Titcomb)

It is prepared by pulverizing the root in a mortar; if it is the dry article of commerce it is kept sufficiently moist to prevent its scattering and forming dust. When well pulverized, water is mixed with the mash to bring it to a proper dilution, when it is strained. (Emerson)

The favorite ʻawa strainer of the Hawaiians is made of the stem of the ahu-awa plant. The stem is split up and the fiber separated from the pulp by being combed between two sticks. It is then taken up from the bowl and the dripping liquor wrung out of it.

The bits of ʻawa root which were caught in it are shaken out and it is again used as a strainer, this time being formed into a kind of funnel, something like a bird’s nest, through which the awa drink is poured into the separate cups of those who are to partake. (Emerson)

An 1899 article on Molokai Archaeology in the Evening Bulletin notes, “At Pakaikai is found a large stone lying by the bank of the stream, in which are dug four holes each eight inches in diameter and six inches deep. They are finely polished inside. The holes dug in this large stone are claimed to have been used as awa cups (apu awa) for Kamehameha-ai-luau (a descendant of Kamehameha the Great.)”

“They were chiseled with stone implements by the ancients during the stone age of Hawaiʻi nei, a task which no native of the present generation will dare undertake. Nearby is another hole dug in another rock and much larger and deeper than the four. This last one is said to be the kānoa ʻawa (or kā ʻawa, large bowl in which ʻawa is mixed and strained,) or place where awa is cleaned and purified, fit to drink.”

The beverage is not attractive to the eye. If dried ʻawa is used, the liquid is greyish, if green ʻawa is used it is greenish. The liquid is never clear in spite of straining. In Hawaiʻi it was a fairly thick liquid, this being preferred to “the dishwater drunk in the south” according to an old saying remembered by Kinney. Ellis termed it “like thick calcareous water.” (Titcomb)

The ʻawa-drinking house was like a chief’s house, there must be no gaiety, no talking, no jollity, lest one vomit. The candlenut torch was the only thing one desired – one or two torches would produce warmth – then there was a sound in the ear like the chirping of land shells and of fiddles that teased the ear pleasantly, or like the roaring of the strong wind that changed to stillness. Such was the custom of the planter; he would sleep till morning and the pains and soreness would be gone. (Kamakau, Titcomb)

Their general drink is water or the milk of the coconut, but all the chiefs use the ʻawa, and some of them to excess, as was very evident from their skins, which were rough and parched as can well be conceived, and their eyes red and inflamed. (Kotzebue, Titcomb)

There is a deep cultural-historical relationship between the Hawaiians and ʻawa. The poʻe kahiko (ancient people) identified many varieties, cultivation techniques, values and uses of the ʻawa. (Maly)

I have had ʻawa once, it was part of an ʻawa ceremony we participated in to commemorate the signing of the Kaʻawaloa Curator Agreement between DLNR and the Royal Order of Kamehameha I. (It was a moving experience; I was proud and honored to be there. The descendant families, members of the Order and others sat on one side; I sat by myself (representing the State) on the other side.)

The image shows the Kaʻawaloa ʻawa ceremony.

May 4, 2026 by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

May The Forest Be With You

Please join us at the Friends of Hakalau Forest https://friendsofhakalauforest.org/membership/

The National Wildlife Refuge System is a series of lands and waters owned and managed by the US Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS). Wildlife conservation is at the heart of the refuge system.

In the Islands, prior to 1975, very little was known about the distribution and abundance of many of Hawai’i’s forest birds or the extent and quality of their forest habitat. From 1976 to 1981, the FWS conducted intensive forest bird and habitat surveys on the main Hawaiian Islands.

Data from this “Hawai‘i Forest Bird Survey” demonstrated a high density of endangered forest birds within and around the Shipman Ranch, a large privately owned parcel surrounded by State and other private lands, on the eastern side of Hawai’i Island.

In 1985, the FWS, with the active involvement and support of The Nature Conservancy, purchased Shipman Ranch lands and established the Hakalau Forest National Wildlife Refuge (Hakalau Forest). Later, other nearby privately owned parcels were purchased or donated to the refuge.

The Hakalau Forest consists of two distinct units. The Hakalau Forest Unit is a 32,830-acre parcel on the windward slopes of Mauna Kea on Hawai’i Island. It was established to protect and manage endangered forest birds and their rainforest habitat.

This higher refuge contains some of the finest remaining stands of native rain forest in Hawai‘i and habitat for dozens of critically endangered species including seven birds, one insect, one mammal and 20 plants found nowhere else in the world. Currently, it is the only place in Hawai’i where native forest bird populations are stable or increasing.

The refuge provides essential habitat for three endangered honeycreepers (‘Akiapola’au, Hawai’i Creeper ‘Alawi and ‘Akepa), one threatened species (‘I’iwi) and one threatened waterfowl species (Nene – Hawai’i’s state bird that was reintroduced to the refuge in 1996).

Reforestation at the upper elevations of the Hakalau unit of the refuge has increased available habitat and control of feral animals has enhanced habitat quality.

Because of this management effort, the refuge has the highest density of three Hawai’i island endemic endangered bird species, the ‘Akiapola’au, Hawai’i Creeper and Hawai’i ‘Akepa, each with populations in the low thousands. These birds are also found in a few other areas of Hawai’i Island but are in lower densities.

The refuge is one of the few areas on Hawai’i Island where Nene can reproduce freely thanks to protection and small-mammal predator control. Occasionally, Hawaiian Ducks or Koloa are found in stock ponds and along rivers in remote areas in the Hakalau Forest Unit.

In 1997 the FWS added the Kona Forest Unit through a purchase of 5,300-acres south of Kailua-Kona, on the slopes of Mauna Loa. In 2019, an additional 10,000 acres were added to the Kona Unit through the purchase of McCandless Ranch lands that are adjacent to the original parcel, making the total acreage for the Kona Forest Unit 15,448-acres.

The lower elevation Kona Forest Unit is predominantly ‘ōhi‘a trees with an understory of nonnative trees and shrubs and home to a number of endangered birds, plants and one insect.

The primary purpose of this unit is to protect, conserve and manage this native forest for threatened or endangered species. The few remaining wild Hawaiian Crows, or ‘Alala, were found as recently as 2002.

At will public access is not allowed at Hakalau Forest Refuge for a variety of reasons – with the primary one being that the analysis and public scoping conducted during the development of the current management plan found the risks posed to the sensitive native resources were too great.

These risks include the introduction of invasive plants and animals, diseases, and hazards such as fire. Furthermore, the Refuge does not have the types of access or infrastructure necessary to accommodate public visitation in a safe and manageable manner.

Despite Hakalau Forest Refuge not being an ‘open’ refuge, there are still ways for the public to experience the wonders of the refuge, these include:

Refuge-sponsored events and tours
Private tour with one of the guides that is permitted to conduct tours at the Refuge, and
Participating in a volunteer service trip. During these trips, the volunteers plant native trees, work in the greenhouses, or help with other refuge tasks. (Lots here is from the Friends and the FWS Hakalau Forest Refuge.)

I am a Board member on the Friends of Hakalau Forest National Wildlife Refuge. Check out https://friendsofhakalauforest.org/

Please join us at the Friends of Hakalau Forest https://friendsofhakalauforest.org/membership/

May The Forest Be With You!

Remember, it is for the birds.

April 13, 2026 by Peter T Young 1 Comment

Voyaging … and Returning

“In the South Pacific the North Star cannot be seen – north is a dark area of the sky over which stars arch on their nightly paths. One night the navigator discovers a new star just above the horizon in the center of the place of darkness.”

“And as time passed the new star did not appear to move. … Soon everyone was awake to see this miracle; this star that did not move. … Could it have been placed by the gods to light our way to new land?”

Later, “… a massive cloud bank on the western horizon appeared to be standing still, not moving in the wind – a sign that it might be building over an unseen island. … Then we saw a bird, it was homeward bound after its day of fishing. Flying over the water it headed straight for the strange cloud bank in the west and we knew land was near.”

“Looking anew at the clouds we saw a sight difficult to comprehend. What had appeared as an unusual could formation was now revealed as the peak of a gigantic mountain, a mountain of unbelievable size, a white mountain …” (Herb Kane; The Discovery of Hawaiʻi)

Using stratigraphic archaeology and refinements in radiocarbon dating, recent studies suggest it was about AD 900–1000 AD that “Polynesian explorers first made their remarkable voyage from central Eastern Polynesia Islands, across the doldrums and into the North Pacific, to discover Hawai‘i.” (Kirch)

The motivations of the voyagers varied. Some left to explore the world or to seek adventure. Others departed to find new land or new resources because of growing populations or prolonged droughts and other ecological disasters in their homelands. (PVS)

By the time European explorers entered the Pacific in the 15th century almost all of the habitable islands had been settled for hundreds of years and oral traditions told of explorations, migrations and travels across this immense watery world. (Kawaharada)

According to Hawaiian oral traditions collected in the 19th century, voyaging continued between Hawai‘i and the South Pacific after the original settlement of Hawai‘i. The motives given for voyaging are various:

Maintaining Family Connections

The earliest traveler mentioned in oral tradition is the goddess Papa, or Walinuʻu; according to tradition she returned to Kahiki because her parents were from there; in Kahiki she became a young woman again; after her rejuvenation, she returned to Hawai‘i. (Kamakau; PVS)

Moʻikeha is said to have sent his son Kila to Tahiti to bring his grandson Laʻamaikahiki to Hawai‘i. (Fornander; PVS)

Marriage

Hawaiʻiloa voyaged from Hawai‘i to Tahiti to search for husbands or wives for his children. He brought back his brother Ki’s first born son Tu-nui-ai-a-te-Atua as a husband for his daughter O‘ahu. (Fornander; PVS)

Keanini (whose mother was from Hawai‘i) sailed from Kahiki to Hawai‘i to marry Ha‘inakolo; he and Ha‘inakolo returned to Kahiki. After they had a child called Leimakani, Ha‘inakolo and Leimakani returned to Hawai‘i. (Kamakau; PVS)

Family Quarrels and Unhappy Love Affairs

Pele, the volcano goddess, quarreled with her sister Namakaokaha‘i, a sea goddess, and left her homeland (the mystical land of Kuaihelani) to come to Hawai‘i. (Emerson; PVS)

Pāʻao feuded with his brother Lonopele. After each killed the other’s son, Pāʻao migrated to Hawai‘i. (Kamakau; PVS)

Burial in Homeland

Laʻamaikahiki took Mo‘ikeha’s bones back to Tahiti for burial. (Fornander; PVS)

Acquiring Mana from the Homeland

Pāʻao, who brought the war god Kūkaʻilimoku to Hawai‘i, returned to Tahiti to bring back a chief of pure blood (Kamakau; PVS)

Escaping Flood and Famine

Pupu-hulu-ana left Kauai during a famine and searched for islands to the east (Kamakau; PVS) ‘Olopana left Waipi‘o for Kahiki after a flood brought on a famine (Kalakaua; PVS)

Maka‘ika‘i – Sightseeing and Adventure

Kaulu “traveled throughout Kahiki, saw all the kingdoms of the world” (Kamakau; PVS) Paumaukua “was a chief who traveled around Kahiki and brought back with him several foreigners”. (Kamakau; PVS)

Mo‘ikeha’s grandson Kaha‘i-a-Ho‘okamali‘i went sightseeing to Tahiti and brought back with him a breadfruit tree from ‘Upolu (Taha‘a in the Society Islands) and planted it at Pu‘uloa, ‘Ewa district, O‘ahu. (Kamakau; PVS)

Obtain Materials or Plants not Available on one’s home island

The tradition of Aka describes a voyage from Hiva (Marquesas) to Rarotonga to obtain highly prized red feathers; the story of Pepe-iu describes a voyage made to bring the breadfruit plant from Hiva to Rarotonga. (PVS)

By the time Europeans arrived in Hawai‘i in the 18th century, voyaging between Hawai‘i and the rest of Polynesia had ceased for more than 400 years, perhaps the last voyager being Pāʻao or Moʻikeha in the 14th century. The reason for the cessation of voyaging is not known. (PVS) (Lots of information here from Polynesian Voyaging Society)

The image shows a Herb Kane depiction of readying a canoe for a voyage. (Herb Kane)

April 12, 2026 by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

Three Rivers

The Allegheny, Monongahela, and Ohio Rivers have a unique confluence in Pittsburgh. The Allegheny River from upstate New York ends here, as does the Monongahela from the mountains of West Virginia.

The Allegheny River is a young river formed from the last Ice Age some 10,000 years ago, and its waters tend to be faster and colder than those of the slower moving Monongahela, an ancient, wider river from a million years ago.

The Ohio River begins here; the name Ohio comes from the Iroquois word oyo. The Ohio River, called the beautiful river (la belle riviere) by French explorers, was the start of the watery road west for countless immigrants and settlers in the nineteenth century.

The Ohio drains westward into the Mississippi a thousand miles away, and then travels southward to reach New Orleans and the Gulf of Mexico [America]. (RiversOfSteel)

Wait … This isn’t about those three rivers, this is about the flows from the Makiki, Mānoa, and Pālolo valleys, what are named the Pi‘inaio, ‘Āpuakēhau, and Kuekaunahi.

Three main valleys Makiki, Mānoa, and Pālolo are mauka of Waikīkī and through them their respective streams (and springs in Mānoa (Punahou and Kānewai)) watered the marshland below.

As they entered the flat Waikīkī Plain (and merge and separate,) the names of the streams changed; the Mānoa became the Kālia and the Pālolo became the Pāhoa (they joined near Hamohamo (now an area mauka of the Kapahulu Library.))

While at the upper elevations, the streams have the ahupuaʻa names, at lower elevations, after merging/dividing, they have different names, as they enter the ocean, Pi‘inaio, ‘Āpuakēhau and Kuekaunahi.

The Pi‘inaio (Makiki) entered the sea at Kālia (near what is now Fort DeRussy as a wide delta (kahawai.))

The ‘Āpuakēhau (Mānoa and Kālia,) also called the Muliwai o Kawehewehe (“the stream that opens the way” on some maps,) emptied in the ocean at Helumoa (between the Royal Hawaiian and Moana Hotels.)

The Kuekaunahi (Pālolo) once emptied into the sea at Hamohamo (near the intersection of ‘Ōhua and Kalākaua Avenues.) The land between these three streams was called Waikolu, meaning “three waters.”

The early Hawaiian settlers, who arrived around 1000 AD, gradually transformed the marsh into hundreds of taro fields, fish ponds and gardens. Waikīkī was once one of the most productive agricultural areas in old Hawai‘i.

Beginning in the 1400s, a vast system of irrigated taro fields and fish ponds were constructed. This field system took advantage of streams descending from Makiki, Mānoa and Pālolo valleys which also provided ample fresh water for the Hawaiians living in the ahupua‘a.

By the time of the arrival of Europeans in the Hawaiian Islands during the late eighteenth century, Waikīkī had long been a center of population and political power on O‘ahu.

Following the Great Māhele in 1848, many of the fishponds and irrigated and dry-land agricultural plots were continued to be farmed, however at a greatly reduced scale (due to manpower limitations.)

In the 1860s and 1870s, former Asian sugar plantation workers (Japanese and Chinese) replaced the taro and farmed more than 500-acres of wetlands in rice fields, also raising fish and ducks in the ponds.

By 1892, Waikīkī had about 550-acres planted in rice, representing almost 12% of the total 4,700-acres planted in rice on O‘ahu.

Nearly 85% of present Waikīkī (most of the land west of the present Lewers Street or mauka of Kalākaua) were in wetland agriculture or aquaculture.

However, drainage problems started to develop in Waikīkī from the late nineteenth century because of urbanization, when roads were built and expanded in the area (thereby blocking runoff) and when a drainage system for land from Punchbowl to Makiki diverted surface water to Waikīkī.

During the first decade of the 20th century, the US War Department acquired more than 70-acres in the Kālia portion of Waikīkī for the establishment of a military reservation called Fort DeRussy.

The Army started filling in the fishponds which covered most of the Fort – pumping fill from the ocean continuously for nearly a year in order to build up an area on which permanent structures could be built. Thus the Army began the transformation of Waikīkī from wetlands to solid ground.

In accordance with the law, a reclamation project was proposed and conducted under the pretext of doing sanitation. This project aimed to dig a canal (Ala Wai Canal of today) in the center of Waikiki and reclaim all these swamps by earth and sand dug out from the construction of the canal.

During the 1920s, the Waikīkī landscape would be transformed when the construction of the Ala Wai Drainage Canal, begun in 1921 and completed in 1928, resulted in the draining and filling in of the remaining ponds and irrigated fields of Waikīkī.

Soon after, in 1928, the construction of the Royal Hawaiian Hotel was completed (joining the Moana Hotel (1901,) marking the beginning of Waikīkī as a world-class tourist attraction.

March 27, 2026 by Peter T Young 1 Comment

Four Horsemen

“Kuhio was not an heir-born but a created prince by royal proclamation at the coronation ceremonies of King Kalākaua and Queen Kapiʻolani in February, 1883, as was also his brother, the late David Kawananakoa. They were nephews of Kapiʻolani, the queen consort; sons of David Kahalepouli Piʻikoi, a high chief of Kauai, and Kinoiki Kekaulike.”

“Kuhio Kalanianaʻole was born at Kapaʻa, Kauai, March 26th, 1871, a lineal descendant of the last king of the islands of Kauai and Niʻihau. He married Elizabeth Kahanu K Kaauwai, a chiefess of the old regime, October 9th, 1896”. (Thrum)

“The last great work of Prince Kalanianaʻole was for his people. He labored ceaselessly for more than a year on a scheme of rehabilitation through which it is hoped the Hawaiian may be returned to the land of his ancestors, to live as fisherman and farmer.”

“Against formidable and aggressively active opposition the Prince managed to consummate his plans, and the ‘Rehabilitation Bill’ is now a law.”

“Through its operation large tracts of land … will be allotted to those of Hawaiian blood who desire to return to husbandry. Each will receive a sizeable farm and a sum in cash sufficient to put it under cultivation and sustain a family until the crops begin to yield…” (Mellen; Hitt)

A few years before the passage of the Rehabilitation Law, and a few days after the return of the Delegate Prince Kuhio from Washington, four Hawaiians, assembled at Pualeilani at Waikiki to discuss the subject “Rehabilitation of the Hawaiians.”

Dubbed the Four Horsemen, Kuhio, Rev Stephen Langhern Desha, Sr, John Carey Lane and Henry Lincoln Holstein had their pictures taken so Kuhio could show to his fellow congressmen at Washington his backers that brought up this important matter for rehabilitating its people.

Later other friends joined, and they were John H Wise, Noa Aluli, Akaiko Akana, Emil Muller, Attorney CK Breckons, and several others, and they planned to first pass the measure in the local legislature.

It was introduced by John Wise in the senate and backed by Senator Desha and John Lane, and it was introduced in the House by Speaker Holstein. It was through their efforts that it became a law and it was approved by congress at Washington. (Star-Bulletin)

Rev Stephen Langhern Desha, Sr had an unusual combination of ministry of the gospel, service in legislative bodies and publisher of a newspaper. He was behind the ‘Desha Bathing Suit Law,’ requiring all over 14 to cover up ‘at least to the knees,’ or be fined.

Desha began his career as pastor of the Napoʻopoʻo church, Kona and served Haili Church in Hilo for 45-years; he was a supervisor of the County of Hawaii and later elected to the senate of the Territory; and he was editor and business manager of the Hawaiian newspaper, ‘Ka Hoku o Hawaii.’

“Rev SL Desha is in a class by himself. One may listen to this man and watch him with much enjoyment without understanding a single word of what he says. … In eloquence of gesture, no speaker of any race I have seen can equal the Rev Desha when talking in Hawaiian.” (Hawaiian Star, October 10, 1908)

John Carey Lane was a member of the territorial senate from 1905 to 1907 and introduced the bill establishing the City and County of Honolulu. He was elected by an overwhelming majority to serve as Mayor of Honolulu from 1915 to 1917.

He was an avowed Royalist supporting Queen Liliʻuokalani, and Lane “was at her side when they usurped control and dethroned her in 1893, and he was among those who took part in the counterrevolution in 1895 with the hope of restoring her throne and native Hawaiian rule”. (Mellen; Advertiser, 1954)

Henry Lincoln Holstein served in the Senate of the Republic of Hawaiʻi from 1896 to 1898 and later as Speaker of the House in the House of Representatives of the Territorial legislature. Holstein served as the executor of Queen Liliʻuokalani’s estate.

The provisions of the Hawaiian Rehabilitation Act (Hawaiian Homes Act (HHCA)) are embodied the desires to (1) build up in Hawaiʻi a class of independent citizen farmers, and (2) place the Hawaiian and part-Hawaiian people back upon the land. (Rehabilitation in Hawaiʻi, 1922)

Passed by Congress and signed into law by President Warren Harding on July 9, 1921, the HHCA provides for the rehabilitation of the native Hawaiian people through a government-sponsored homesteading program. Native Hawaiians are defined as individuals having at least 50 percent Hawaiian blood.

DHHL provides direct benefits to native Hawaiians in the form of 99-year homestead leases at an annual rental of $1. In 1990, the Legislature authorized the Department to extend leases for an aggregate term not to exceed 199 years.

Homestead leases are for residential, agricultural or pastoral purposes. Aquacultural leases are also authorized, but none have been awarded to date. The intent of the homesteading program is to provide for economic self-sufficiency of native Hawaiians through the provision of land.

Other benefits provided by the HHCA include financial assistance through direct loans or loan guarantees for home construction, replacement, or repair, and for the development of farms and ranches; technical assistance to farmers and ranchers; and the operation of water systems.

On January 7, 1922, six months after he had succeeded in having the Hawaiian Homes Commission Act passed, Prince Jonah Kuhio Kalanianaʻole passed away. (hawaii-edu)