Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 9, Number 2, 1 February 1992 — A matter of taste [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

A matter of taste

i\Taliirally Ilawaiian

by Patrick Ching artist/ e nvironmentalist

"Gross! That man has |spiders on his shirt!" I overheard a tourist lady say to her husband. I looked down at the silk screened 'a'ama crabs that adorned my T-shirt. l've always considered this a very attractive |design but 1 guess not

everyone ean appreciate the beauty of black crabs crawling up a T-shirt. Though the crabs may look repulsive to some, they bring a mouth watering response from those who are familiar with the sweet taste of the 'a'ama's flesh. The 'a'ama or black grapsid crab is active by day and ean be seen scuttering about Hawaii's rocky shorelines and tidepools. Its flattened body and strong, pointed legs enable it to cling to rocks in the splash zone without being swept into the oeean where it is vulnerable to predators such as eels, wrasses and 'ulua. A crab's shell is actually an outer skeleton called an exoskeleton. Like all crustaceans the 'a'ama crab must shed its exoskeleton in order to nrou/

The discarded exoskeletons or molts are often left above the waterline and appear reddish in color rather than black. In old Hawai'i the crabs were caught either by hand, net, or with a line baited with opihi. Another technique is to use a bamboo pole split at the end with a thin line stretched between the tips. The line is dragged across the crabs back toward the eyes. When the line touches the crabs' eye the crab pulls its eye into its socket and is caught.

The 'a'ama crab was an important food source especially during times when the oeean was too rough for fishing. It was usually salted and eaten raw, though some liked it broiled. The 'a'ama is said to have been a special or favorite food for certain priests; care was taken

to see that the crab was whole — no missing legs, etc. It was also used in medicine, usually to finish off a course of treatment for certain diseases. The 'a'ama crab was offered in sacrifices so that the gods would loosen up and grant a request. The literal meaning of 'a'ama is "to spread and relax as the fingers" according to the Hawaiian dictionary by Pukui and Elbert.

Another use for the 'a'ama crab is to bait. Live crabs are attached to hooks in order to catch large fish such as 'ulua. If we look past the repulsive appearance of the 'a'ama crab we see a creature that is useful and strong. One Hawaiian proverb goes: "Pi'i mai

nei i ka pali me he 'a'ama." (climbs the cliff like a black crab.) This is said of a person who is sure footed, confident, and steadfast in the face of adversity. As for my T-shirt, whieh sports the black crab motif, it is one of my favorites and I wear it proudly.

'a'ama, black crab