“For ka poʻe kahiko (the people of old) the sea was the remedy upon which all relied, from Hawaiʻi to Kauai.”
“When people took sick with stomach upsets (ʻinoʻino ma ka ʻopu), griping stomach aches (nahu), fever (wela), grayish pallor (hailepo), squeamishness (nanue na ʻopu), nausea (polouea), or dizziness (niua,) …”
“… the usual ailments caused by a change of regular diet from sweet potatoes to taro – or from taro to sweet potatoes – a drink of sea water was the universal remedy employed.”
“Those who live on lands that grow sweet potatoes have foul stools (ua ʻeka ko lakou lepo) when they change to taro lands, and are subject to worms (ua ulu ka ilo maloko.)”
“It is the same with those from lands where taro is grown when they go to lands where sweet potatoes are grown. Their custom therefore was to drink sea water.”
“In the early morning they lighted an imu for sweet potatoes and put them in to bake with a chicken and a dried fish.”
“Then they fetched a large container full of sea water, a container of fresh water to wash away the salty taste, and a bunch of sugar cane.”
“They would drink two to four cupfuls of sea water, then a cupful of fresh water, and then chew the sugar cane.”
“The sea water loosened the bowels, and it kept on working until the yellowish and greenish discharges came forth (puka pu no ka lena a me ke pakaiea.)”
“Then the imu was opened, and the sweet potatoes and other foods eaten (without resulting discomfort.) The stomach felt fine, and the body of the elderly or the aged was made comfortable.”
“Another good use for sea water was to secure forgiveness (huikala.) When someone in the family broke an oath sworn against another (hoʻohiki ʻino) – a man against his wife, a mother against her children, relatives against relatives, “cousins” against “cousins” (hoahanau), and so on …”
“… then the pikai, or sprinkling with salt water, was the remedy to remove (the repercussions from the breaking of the oath.)”
“This is how it was done. A basin or bowl of real sea water, or of water to which salt had been added, in which were laced ʻawa rootlets (huluhulu ʻawa) and olena, was the water to absolve and cleanse (kalahala e huikala) the family for the defilement (haumia) caused by the one who had broken his oath.”
“Any defilement pertaining to the house, to fishing, tapa printing, tapa beating, farming, or wauke cultivation, from which trouble had resulted, could be cleansed with pikai; it purified and caused an end to defilement. Implements of labor could also be cleansed of their defilement by pikai.”
“Another way to purify the family was this. In the evening, after dark, a ‘canoe procession’ was formed (waʻa huakaʻi, in which the participants lined up in single file, as in a canoe.)”
“The person at the head of the procession had a pig, another had tapa garments and ninikea tapas, and another held in his hands bunches of kohekohe grass.”
“The last person in the line offered the prayers for forgiveness and carried the basin for the ritual procession to cleanse the defilement (ka poʻi kaʻi huikala.)”
“The ritual procession (kaʻi) had to be perfect, with the voices responding in unison in the prayers for forgiveness and purification, and their steps exactly alike as they went in the procession and entered the mua, the ‘family chapel.’”
“They lighted the imu for the pig and continued their praying until the pig was cooked and eaten.”
“The rewards (uku) they received were health, blessings, material prosperity, and other benefits of this kind to them all…” (Kamakau)
Seawater is 96.5% water by weight. The remaining 3.5% is composed of salts; there are small amounts of organic material and microorganisms.
It could be classified as a medicinal mineral water due to its content of mineral ions such as Na+, Cl-, Mg++, Ca++, and K+, which are present as salts and attached to organic molecules.
With current technology a total of 95 elements have been found in seawater, including trace elements such as I, Fe, Cu, and Zn. About a third of these elements have also been detected in the human body; regardless of the amount, most of them are essential elements. (Valencia) (The image is Surfer Magazine’s photo of the year, 2011.)
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