Ka Hana Lawaiia a Me Na Ko'A O Na Kai 'Ewalu Vol. 1

By Kepa Maly

Book Id: WPLBN0002096825
Format Type: PDF eBook:
File Size: 4.12 MB
Reproduction Date: 6/6/2011

Title:	Ka Hana Lawaiia a Me Na Ko'A O Na Kai 'Ewalu Vol. 1
Author:	Kepa Maly
Volume:	1
Language:	English
Subject:	Non Fiction, History of the Americas (Canada, Mexico, Central and South America, etc.), Hawaiian History
Collections:	Authors Community, Education
Historic Publication Date:	2003
Publisher:	Kumu Pono Associates

Member Page:	Hale Kuamoʻo Hawaiian Language Center
Citation APA MLA Chicago Maly, B. K. (2003). Ka Hana Lawaiia a Me Na Ko'A O Na Kai 'Ewalu Vol. 1. Retrieved from http://gutenberg.cc/

Description
In a traditional Hawaiian context, nature and culture are one and the same, there is no division between the two. The wealth and limitations of the land and ocean resources gave birth to, and shaped the Hawaiian world view. The aina (land), wai (water), kai(ocean), and lewa (sky) were the foundation of life and the source of the spiritual relationship between people and their environs. Every aspect of life, whether in the sky, on land, or of the waters was believed to have been the physical body-forms assumed by the creative forces of nature, and the greater and lesser gods and goddesses of the Hawaiian people. Respect and care for nature, in turn meant that nature would care for the people. Thus, Hawaiian culture, for the most part, evolved in a healthy relationship with the nature around it, and until the arrival of foreigners on Hawaiian shores, the health and well-being of the people was reflected in the health of nature around them. Today, whether looking to the sea and fisheries, or to the flat lands and mountains, or to the condition of the people, it is all too easy to find signs of stress and diminishing health of Hawaiian nature and the native culture. As will be seen in this study, this is clearly evident in the condition of Hawaiian fisheries, which traditionally extended from thekuahiwi-kualono (mountains), to the kai popolohua a Kane (the deep purple-blue seas of the god Kane).

Excerpt
At the request of Scott R. Atkinson, Director of Marine and Coastal Conservation, of The Nature Conservancy, and in partnership with the Department of Land and Natural Resources-Division of Aquatic Resources, the University of Hawaii-Hawaii Natural Heritage Program, and various community organizations, Kumu Pono Associates (Maly and Maly) conducted detailed archivalhistorical documentary research, and oral history interviews to identify and document, traditional knowledge of Hawaiian fisheries—including those extending from mountain streams to the beaches, estuaries and near shore, and extending out to the deep sea—and changes in the nature of fishery resources of the Hawaiian Islands as recorded in both written and oral historical descriptions. The historical documentary research cited in this study was compiled from documentary research conducted by Kepa Maly over the last 30 years, and from additional research with specific emphasis on fisheries, conducted between August 2002 to May 2003. The archival-historical research and oral history interviews conducted for this study were performed in a manner consistent with Federal and State laws and guidelines for historical documentary and cultural assessment studies. A primary objective of the present study was to research and report on documentation that would help readers better understand native Hawaiian customs and practices, and historic events associated with native land and fishery resource stewardship and use, and the relationship of the wide range of fishery resources in Hawaiian culture—in both traditional and historical contexts. The study also sought to identify the wide range of fishery resources—where species occur (occurred), what was caught where, and in what quantities.