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FLOWER OF A GODDESS
(Metrosideros collina var. polymorpha)

'Ohi'a lehua trees are found throughout Polynesia where they grow from sea level to the summits of all but the highest mountain. In the Hawaiian Islands the plants are extremely variable in size, leaf-shape, presence or absence of hair and other features.

For a long time there was confusion about how many kinds of 'ohi'a are native to Hawaii. Botanist Otto Degener, in 1930, said, "It is quite likely that only a few distinct kinds exist but that, due to cross-pollination, many variable hybrids result that are mistaken for additional distinct varieties. " Recent reclassification of the genus Metrosideros indicates that there are five endemic species in Hawaii.

In the Hawaiian islands it grows in a wide range of habitats: lava fields, dry to wet forests and bogs and is especially common in the rainforest. It is found on all islands except Ni'ihau and Kaho'olawe.

The 'ohi'a lehua is from the same family as guava. In height, the plant can range from three to 80 feet tall with a spread from 10 to 30 feet wide. The simple oval to ovate leaves range in color from reddish-gray to shiny green with silvery color underneath. The leaves can be dull green to bright green.

The leaves were an ingredient of a favorite Hawaiian tonic made by mixing the young reddish-crimson 'ohi'a lehua leaves with the bark of the root of the uhaloa, the fruit of the noni , and the leaves of the oxalis. Sugar cane was added to make the concoction sweet and the medicine was used to induce drowsiness.

The young leaves were also used as one of several remedies for thrush, a common disease of children. The leaves were chewed into a masticated mass which was then given to the child.

The Hawaiian god Ku sometimes took the form of the 'ohi'a lehua. For this reason, the dark, durable, dense wood of its twisted trunk was used for temple carvings, enclosures and offerings to the gods, but only with the permission of the chief. It was believed, in ancient times, that the tree had a human voice and a groan could be heard when the tree is cut. Easy to whittle when fresh, it was carved only by skilled craftsmen with a great deal of ritual and prayer.
The tree was so sacred that originally no commoner would dare to desecrate a branch or even pick a flower without obtaining permission from the appropriate gods, goddesses and village chiefs.

The wood was often used in outrigger canoes to make the gunwale where the paddle usually rubs. This part of the canoe was called the mo'o. Using this durable wood for this part of the canoe kept the canoe from getting worn by the action of the paddles. It was also commonly used to make durable, sturdy bowls, and into poi boards and troughs.
In later times, the wood was considered good for making railroad ties and for fuel. Ukulele keys are still made from it because they do not slip as easily in their sockets as do those made of most other woods. Its beautiful grain and reddish color was used to great advantage in wall panels and wood floors for some of the finest Island homes.
It has one to two inch pom-pom clusters of flowers. The flashy flowers have small and rounded, almost inconspicuous petals, but its numerous, long red stamens make a fluffy ball. These hair like filaments inspired the Hawaiian name, lehua, which means "hair".

Some 'ohi'a lehua flowers are pink, salmon or even white. The flowers secrete abundant nectar which attracts the honeycreepers like the red 'apapane, whose red feathers were used extensively in feather-work, and the mamo bird, whose yellow feathers were of the highest value in old Hawaii. The yellow lehua mamo and the red lehua 'apane are named for these birds.

The red 'ohi'a flowers are also called 'ohi'a 'ula'ula (red-red 'ohi'a). Lehua lau li'i referred to a form with tiny leaves, literally "lehua with small leaves." There was even a special name for a legendary tree that bore one red and one white flower.

In one old story, the goddess Hina took the form of an 'ohi'a tree and kept watch over a small youth in Waipio Valley. Perhaps for this reason, the flowers were used as an aid in childbirth since Hina was a protector of childbearing women and babies.

The scarlet 'ohi'a lehua is the subject of many songs and tales. It is considered sacred to Pele, goddess of fire and the volcanoes. When Pele first arrived in Hawaii, she paced a lei lehua on the little island west of Ni'ihau, giving it its name. A lei lehua is a proper offering for Pele, but permission is necessary before picking the blossoms. Hawaiians never pick the flowers on the way up the mountain for fear of rain and Pele's retribution. They make an offering at the mountaintop, and make a lei on the way down to show where they have been and their devotion to her. The flower remains a symbol for the Big Island, where Pele makes her home.

In later times, 'ohi'a was associated with love - a grand love for Nature, a binding love for family and friends and erotic passion as well. A poem written by Princess Liliuokalani in the 19th century says:

"Entranced with beauty
The lehua blossoms.
I come quickly to find
A flower to place upon my heart."

Hula dancers in traditional halau hula, schools, are taught to gather plants for the kuahu, altar, to honor the gods and to inspire the haumana, students. One of the plants commonly placed on the altar is the 'ohi'a lehua because it is considered to be the plant form of the male Laka diety Kuka'ohialaka.

One chant, written around the time the hula originated on Molokai, was offered before the chanter took a small piece of the tree for placement on the altar. In it the chanter likens her love for the lehua tree to the type of affectionate love a woman might feel for her husband.

Ku'u ipo mau no me he kane la,
He ipo na'u ka lehua iluna, lehua ilalo,
Pupu weuweu a Laka e.

[My beloved one, dear as a husband,
A sweetheart to me are the lehua above and below,
In the leafy bower of Laka.

Gathering plant plants and plant parts was done with care and respect after chants were offered, out of reverence for the plants themselves and for the guardian spirits to whom those plants were dedicated.

According to one kupuna, elder, interviewed by researches at the University of Hawaii's College of Tropical Agriculture and Human Resources, Hawaiians in the 1920s and '30s taught the young people, "when you go into the mountains to pick the liko of the lehua tree...remember, the tree has feelings too." She was told to pick "gently," and to remove just a few liko (young leaves) from each tree so that the tree was left looking healthy and beautiful.

Gathering was spaced out in some way, typically, taking a little from this tree and that tree.
According to several other kupuna, it prevented the other plants of the type being collected from becoming lili (jealous) and squabbling among themselves. Ecologically, the practice helped to ensure that no area was completely stripped of a certain plant species and the harvesting could continue over time. It was good manners and it made good sense as well.
 

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HELENE HALL

Standing at the foot of the ancient Ka'uiki Hill, overlooking Hana Bay, is Helene Hall. Since its dedication on June 5, 1954, when the grand opening coincided with the graduation exercises of the Hana Elementary and High Schools, the hall has been a gathering place for the people of the isolated community of Hana. Paul I. Fagan, a San Francisco businessman, who (with his wife Helene) revitalized the economy of the Hana area as the once-booming sugar plantations faltered, donated the recreation center to the community.

Helen Fagan's father, William G. Irwin, was prominent in banking and in the sugar industry. He was an associate of Claus Spreckels, once called "the Sugar King," who founded Hawaiian Commercial & Sugar Company (HC&S). Like Spreckels, Irwin was a friend of King Kalakaua and also a member of the King's privy council.

The hard-charging Paul Fagan decided that Hana would be a good place to retire. He let go of the Puu O Hoku Ranch on Molokai that he owned and moved to Hana.

In 1943, the Fagans bought the Kaeleku Sugar Company, adding to their holdings so that they held about 14,000 acres of land in and around Hana. With 300 Herefords they began Hana Ranch Company, converting the cane fields into ranch land. By 1946, the sugar plantation was gone and the ranch was firmly established.

At the same time that they were getting the ranch going and taking over the diesel plant which supplied the town with its lights and power, the Fagans set out to build one of the first resorts in the islands outside of Waikiki. It was Helene who argued for locating the first-class hotel closer to the heart of Hana Town. (Paul thought it should be built at Haumoa, near the area's best beaches and close to the grass airstrip located there.) By October 1946, the Hotel Hana-Maui was completed and, over the years, it continued to provide jobs and an economic center for the entire area.

Helene Hall was just one many gifts to the people of Hana from the Fagans. It was built by S. K. Oda, Ltd. of Hilo at the cost of $80,000. The land, which was also donated by the Fagans, was valued at $10,000.

The facility was named after Mrs. Fagan by the directors of the Hana Community Association composed of William P. Haia, principal of Hana Elementary and High Schools; William H. Ibara, Hana Store manager; Lt. Leslie Medeiros, the local police commander; and John Hanchett, Hana Ranch Company manager. The association's executive director was Edwin Nakashima.
This association managed the facility at first. (It is now operated by the County.)

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STANDARD ENGLISH: Oh, a present! What do you think it is?
BRADDAH-NICS: Try look, one present! What you t'ink get?

* * * * * * * *
STANDARD ENGLISH: I'm confused. Why don't you want to go?
BRADDAH-NICS: Den how come you no like go den?

* * * * * * * *
STANDARD ENGLISH: Most of the people who attended were senior citizens.
BRADDAH-NICS: Mostly da guys was all da-kine old futs.

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Local Grinds

Mango Bread

Ingredients:

Instructions:

Mix all ingredients well.
Pour into greased pan.
Bake at 325 degrees F. for one hour, let cool for 20 minutes.

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Halawa Beach Park ("Curve" Beach) - Molokai

Comprised of two distinct beaches; the curve shaped Kama'alaea Beach and it's rocky, exposed sister, Kawilli Beach, Halawa Beach Park offers calm, scenic ocean conditions during the summer months, with prime surfing conditions during the winter season. Containing both rocky and sandy expanses in relative seclusion, Halava Beach Park is a great place to go for outdoor rest, relaxation, and recreation.

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