Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 18, Number 4, 1 April 2001 — ʻAʻohe ʻai waiwai ke hiki mai ka makahiki [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]
ʻAʻohe ʻai waiwai ke hiki mai ka makahiki
No food is of any value when the makahiki festival comes.
By Claire Hughes State Department of Health At the time of the makahiki, gifts, including food, were given to the kahuna who eame in the makahiki procession to honor Lono. According to the seasons known in ancient Hawai'i, Makali'i, little eyes, (December and January) was the time when the first shoots of many plants were just beginning to show. During Kā'elo, "the drenching season," (January and February) the tradewinds returned and rain and southerly winds ended. Migrating birds were fattened and greasy ('elo'elo) and seasonal birds, such as the kōlea, prepared for the long flight home. Kaulua, "two together," (February and March), offered alternating cold and warm periods, just as we are experiencing now. Nana "animation," (March and April) was the period during whieh plants and animals grew and flourished. During April and May, Welo, "vining out like a tail," sweet potatoes and yams and other vines grew rapidly, spreading with little shoots.
Gardens grew and were tended during Nana and Welo seasons. The faster growing varieties of sweet potato, wild yam and arrowroot matured and could be eaten right away. In a matter of weeks, all of the food plants would enter their prime growth. As the weather warmed, women began making kapa at home, while the men hunted in the forests and mended fishing nets, canoes
and other oeeangoing equipment in preparation of deep sea fishing.
During June, Ikiiki "warm and sticky" and Ka'aona "pleas- " antly rolling along," the women would move down
to the shore to catch small fish and collect sea salt. Upland farmers would muleh the lo'i and potato patches with dry grass and fern. Outdoor life flourished.
ing and storing foods in preparation of the less productive winter months. Māhoe-mua and Māhoe-hope, the twin months of September and October were filled with activity — deep sea fishing on good days, drying the large, firm-fleshed fish when the seas were too rough. 'Uala, 'ulu and banana were dried and stored. Winter storms and rough seas shifted the focus from the outdoors
to indoor activities. Men repaired the houses, worked on their weapons, fishing and hunting gear. Women made a variety of baskets and mats and
spun cord from coconut fibre. As the end of the maka-hiki season drew
near, planting resumed in ground that
was soaked with the rains of the winter months. In the lowlands, taro, sweet potato, gourds, wauke and olonā were planted; and in the uplands, yams and arrowroot were
started for the next growing season. After the rainy winter season there was often a scarcity of plant foods ready to eat, and people living in the ma uka sections would go into the forest searching for wild fern, tree fern starch and banana. Those who lived near the oeean began inshore fishing, collecting shellfish and picking limu. Mueh trading and exchange between families and households occurred. Youth were sent with fresh fish, seaweed and shellfish to family and friends living in ma uka areas. They returned with firewood and an array of edible forest delicacies. Our ancestors cherished this natural rhythm of life that off-set periods of hard work with times of rest. Life ebbed and flowed in accordance with the seasons. This lifestyle required an intimate knowledge of nature and fostered a close bond with the earth and the elements. Hawaiians of old knew what to plant and where, and they knew when to harvest. Today, we have moved so far away ffom this most natural and healthful way of life, our french-fry eating keiki no longer know what whole foods look like and how they grow. The consequences are apparent in alarming statistics that tell us of ever-increasing obesity among the entire population. ■ *
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The summer months The kōlea (Pacific golden plover) spend were devoted to deep wlnter monttis in Hawal'i and return sea fishing, and dry- home' fattened