Limu Research: Native Hawaiian Practices

Shows the gathering and preparing of the Hawaiian limu (seaweed) by members of the Ewa Hawaiian Civic Club.

Hosts Kalani Akana and Ipo Wong, along with kupuna Kauahipaula, talk about different delicacies of Hawaiʻi, especially the loli (sea cucumber), puhi (eel), and limu (seaweed). Along with footage from an ʻAha Mānaleo held in Lahaina, they share stories of how various regions gather and prepare food differently, some of the ways to prepare loli, puhi, and limu, and what times or seasons are best to harvest limu. TV viewers also call in.

A recording of an oral history interview with educator, ethnobotanist, and phycologist Isabella Abbott, who was the first Native Hawaiian to be awarded a Ph.D in science. During the interview, Dr. Abbott discussed her Hawaiian/Chinese family history, education, work as a "limu lady", studies of traditional Hawaiian uses of seaweed, and ongoing research.

An ethnobotanical study of some edible Hawaiian seaweeds.

Hawaii's lofty mountain range -- Oahu's domestic volcanoes -- Volcanic products -- Kilauea, safety-valve -- Recording earthquakes -- Coral reefs -- What happens to the rain? -- Artesian wells -- The climate of Hawaii -- Kahoolawe, island of dust -- What is somatology? -- Whence the Polynesians? -- Necker Island, mysterious shrine -- The outrigger canoe -- Food plants of the ancient Hawaiians -- Hawaiian sports -- Hawaiian featherwork -- Hawaiian fishponds -- Fish poisoning -- Cloth and cord from nettle plants -- The kukui and its uses -- Pioneer Hawaiian botanists -- Tree ferns -- Sandalwood -- The shower trees -- Limu -- The Portuguese man-of-war -- Starfish and sea urchins -- Common crabs and other crustacea -- Cockroaches -- Praying mantis -- Dragons of the pond and air -- Termites -- Hawaiian butterflies -- Beetles, good and bad -- Mosquitoes -- Biological control of insect pests -- Quarantine against insect pests -- Hawaiian landshells -- Marine shells -- Hawaiian eels -- Hawaiian tuna -- Butterfly fishes -- Surgeon fishes -- Native Hawaiian perching birds -- Hawaiian Islands Bird Reservation -- Migratory birds -- Hawaiian birds of prey -- Hawaiian rats -- Collection and preserving natural history specimens -- Index.

The first Hawaiians and their plants -- An evolving relationship to land and crops -- Religious dimensions of Hawaiian agriculture -- The staple crops, kalo and uala -- Other land plants used for food and drink -- Food plants from aquatic sources -- Clothing and the making of kapa -- Cordage for all occasions -- Houses and other buildings -- Household furnishings -- Canoes and fishing tools -- Food transportation, preparation, storage, and service -- Medicines and healing -- Warfare and chiefly regalia -- Religious images and ceremonies -- Hula and music -- Personal adornment and leisure.

This book is intended as a general introduction to the ethnobotany of the Hawaiians and as such it presumes, on the part of the reader, little background in either botany or Hawaiian ethnology. It describes the plants themselves, whether cultivated or brought from the forests, streams, or ocean, as well as the modes of cultivation and collection. It discusses the preparation and uses of the plant materials, and the methods employed in building houses and making canoes, wearing apparel, and the many other artifacts that were part of the material culture associated with this farming and fishing people.

Description of thirty plants, their medicinal and other uses by early Hawaiians, and their continued medicinal use today.