Hawaiian Ethnobiology
Encyclopedia
Hawaiian ethnobiology
is the study of how people in Hawaii, particularly pertaining to those of pre-western contact, interacted with the plants around them. This includes to practices of agroforestry
, horticulture
, religious plants, medical plants, agriculture
, and aquaculture.
, "Hawaiian ethnobiology" describes the state of ecology in the Hawaiian Islands
prior to human contact. However, since "ethno" refers to people, "Hawaiian ethnobiology" is the study of how people, past and present, interact with the living world around them.
The concept of conservation was, like many things in pre-contact ancient Hawaii
, decentralized. At the ahupuaa level, a konohiki managed the natural resource wealth. He would gather information on people's observations and make decisions as to what was kapu
(strictly forbidden) during what times. Also, the concept of kuleana (responsibility) fueled conservation. Families were delegated a fishing area. It was their responsibility to not take more than they needed during fishing months, and to feed the fish kalo
(Colocasia esculenta) and breadfruit
(Artocarpus altilis) during a certain season. The same idea of not collecting more than what was needed, and tending to the care of "wild" harvested products extended up into the forest.
In modern times, this role is institutionalized within a central state government. This causes animosity between natural resource collectors (subsistence fisherman) and state legislature (local Department of Fish and Wildlife
).
. This includes timber and non-timber forest crops. Hawaiian agroforestry practices
Kalo was the staple starch crop of the Hawaiian diet. In Hawaiian genealogy, Haloa was the first born of Papa (Earth Mother) and Wakea (Sky Father). He was a still birth, so Papa went out and buried Haloa. Haloa then sprouted into the first kalo plant. Their second son they also named Haloa. He was charged with the kuleana to always care for his older brother. The historical Hawaiian people draw their direct lineage from Haloa, and did,, and some still do, assume his responsibility to care for kalo. This responsibility, and need for food, drove the building of huge kalo growing complexes called loi.
Ethnobiology
]Ethnobiology is the scientific study of dynamic relationships between peoples, biota, and environments, from the distant past to the immediate present....
is the study of how people in Hawaii, particularly pertaining to those of pre-western contact, interacted with the plants around them. This includes to practices of agroforestry
Agroforestry
Agroforestry is an integrated approach of using the interactive benefits from combining trees and shrubs with crops and/or livestock.It combines agricultural and forestry technologies to create more diverse, productive, profitable, healthy and sustainable land-use systems.-Definitions:According to...
, horticulture
Horticulture
Horticulture is the industry and science of plant cultivation including the process of preparing soil for the planting of seeds, tubers, or cuttings. Horticulturists work and conduct research in the disciplines of plant propagation and cultivation, crop production, plant breeding and genetic...
, religious plants, medical plants, agriculture
Agriculture
Agriculture is the cultivation of animals, plants, fungi and other life forms for food, fiber, and other products used to sustain life. Agriculture was the key implement in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that nurtured the...
, and aquaculture.
Conservation
Often in conservationConservation biology
Conservation biology is the scientific study of the nature and status of Earth's biodiversity with the aim of protecting species, their habitats, and ecosystems from excessive rates of extinction...
, "Hawaiian ethnobiology" describes the state of ecology in the Hawaiian Islands
Hawaiian Islands
The Hawaiian Islands are an archipelago of eight major islands, several atolls, numerous smaller islets, and undersea seamounts in the North Pacific Ocean, extending some 1,500 miles from the island of Hawaii in the south to northernmost Kure Atoll...
prior to human contact. However, since "ethno" refers to people, "Hawaiian ethnobiology" is the study of how people, past and present, interact with the living world around them.
The concept of conservation was, like many things in pre-contact ancient Hawaii
Ancient Hawaii
Ancient Hawaii refers to the period of Hawaiian human history preceding the unification of the Kingdom of Hawaii by Kamehameha the Great in 1810. After being first settled by Polynesian long-distance navigators sometime between AD 300–800, a unique culture developed. Diversified agroforestry and...
, decentralized. At the ahupuaa level, a konohiki managed the natural resource wealth. He would gather information on people's observations and make decisions as to what was kapu
Kapu
Kapu refers to the ancient Hawaiian code of conduct of laws and regulations. The kapu system was universal in lifestyle, gender roles, politics, religion, etc. An offense that was kapu was often a corporal offense, but also often denoted a threat to spiritual power, or theft of mana. Kapus were...
(strictly forbidden) during what times. Also, the concept of kuleana (responsibility) fueled conservation. Families were delegated a fishing area. It was their responsibility to not take more than they needed during fishing months, and to feed the fish kalo
Taro
Taro is a common name for the corms and tubers of several plants in the family Araceae . Of these, Colocasia esculenta is the most widely cultivated, and is the subject of this article. More specifically, this article describes the 'dasheen' form of taro; another variety is called eddoe.Taro is...
(Colocasia esculenta) and breadfruit
Breadfruit
Breadfruit is a species of flowering tree in the mulberry family, Moraceae, growing throughout Southeast Asia and most Pacific Ocean islands...
(Artocarpus altilis) during a certain season. The same idea of not collecting more than what was needed, and tending to the care of "wild" harvested products extended up into the forest.
In modern times, this role is institutionalized within a central state government. This causes animosity between natural resource collectors (subsistence fisherman) and state legislature (local Department of Fish and Wildlife
United States Fish and Wildlife Service
The United States Fish and Wildlife Service is a federal government agency within the United States Department of the Interior dedicated to the management of fish, wildlife, and natural habitats...
).
Agroforestry
Managing the forest resources around you is agroforestryAgroforestry
Agroforestry is an integrated approach of using the interactive benefits from combining trees and shrubs with crops and/or livestock.It combines agricultural and forestry technologies to create more diverse, productive, profitable, healthy and sustainable land-use systems.-Definitions:According to...
. This includes timber and non-timber forest crops. Hawaiian agroforestry practices
Religious Plants
If a religious belief system influences a culture's practices in how the perceive and manage their environment, then that plant is part of a "sacred ecology". Hawaiian sacred plants include awa (Piper methysticum), which was used both religiously as a sacrament, and by the common people as a relaxant/sedative. Other religious plants that have shaped ecology are Ki (Cordyline fruticosa) Kalo. Ki is a sterile plant, so the wide distribution of the plant across the main Hawaiian islands indicated human activity; if not directly planted, then through gravitational fragmentation.Kalo was the staple starch crop of the Hawaiian diet. In Hawaiian genealogy, Haloa was the first born of Papa (Earth Mother) and Wakea (Sky Father). He was a still birth, so Papa went out and buried Haloa. Haloa then sprouted into the first kalo plant. Their second son they also named Haloa. He was charged with the kuleana to always care for his older brother. The historical Hawaiian people draw their direct lineage from Haloa, and did,, and some still do, assume his responsibility to care for kalo. This responsibility, and need for food, drove the building of huge kalo growing complexes called loi.