top of page

Kalo

Around the same time Kawainui was an extravagant fishpond, it was also the beginning of kalo plants as far as the eye could see. The forests of Kawainui had been cleared to make room for massive loʻi kalo (taro fields) [1]. These fields were set up along the 450-acre fishpond and the streams that flowed into it to allow for maximum irrigation and maximum kalo growth. The loʻi were watered often by the streams from nearby Maunawili and Kapaʻa Valleys, as well as significant rainfall and runoff [2].

 

However, once settlers and colonizers arrived in Hawaiʻi, the kalo plants were uprooted and rice was planted [3]. This was devastating to the native population because kalo has always been a source of not only delicious food, but community. It has brought people together by connecting them with the land and their ancestors.

Some Hawaiian people believe that taro, or kalo, is the elder brother of man [4]. In a similar story, it is also believed that the kalo plant was the first born child of Papa, who is commonly known as Earth Mother. It is said that her first child was stillborn, so she buried him in the earth and kalo grew. 

These legends are indicative of why the kalo plant is so important to Hawaiian people. It gives them food, life, community, and connection to the earth from which they came. The kalo represents their thriving land, healthy soil, and genealogy.

Written by Eve Berlinsky

November 30, 2017

bottom of page