Spirit of Aloha | Articles | Books | May/June 2002

Adventures in Dining
By Bob Dye

Life on an Ahupua'a

Used with its companion poster, The Ahupua'a, the book Life in Early Hawai'i: The Ahupua'a provides easy-reading insight into daily living in Old Hawai'i

What a neat idea! And how did I miss it?

Inspired by a mural of an ahupua'a painted by Marilyn Kahalewai, the producers of this book about early Hawai'i enrich our understanding of Hawaiian culture. For readers of any age, the going is easy and rewarding.

The text begins: "In the time of 'Umi, son of the great chief Liloa, the Hawaiian islands were divided into political regions. The four Mokupuni (larger islands) of Kaua'i, O'ahu, Maui and Hawai'i were divided into moku (districts). The smaller islands of Moloka'i, Lana'i and Kaho'olawe became moku of Maui, and Ni'ihau a moku of Kaua'i. For ease in collecting annual tribute the moku were subdivided into ahupua'a, land sections that usually extended from the mountain summits down through fertile valleys to the outer edge of the reef in the sea."

What follows is a description of life on an ahupua'a, and the plants and animals found there. For my eldest daughter, the ink drawings of the plants and animals were a useful study aid and field guide for her university course in Traditional Ecological Knowledge.

The small volume comes with a large color poster of the mural that inspired it. The book contains a black and white reproduction of the color poster, with the people, plants and animals numbered to match descriptions in the book.

Now in its third edition, Life in Early Hawai'i: The Ahupua'a was first published by Kamehameha Schools Press in 1994. This latest edition, with updated scientific nomenclature, was beautifully designed by Barbara Pope.

Although the book and poster were intended for use in the classroom, the poster would look neat on a kid's bedroom wall, or on the wall of your study. Singly or together, Ahupua'a would be a great gift, or a memento of a vacation in a Hawaiian place.

Life in Early Hawai'i: The Ahupua'a, third edition, compiled by the Kamehameha Schools Hawaiian Studies Institute staff and designed by Barbara Pope Book Design. Kamehameha Schools Press, Honolulu, 1994, $11.95. For use with The Ahupua'a poster by Marilyn Kahalewai, Kamehameha Schools Press, Honolulu, 1993, $12.95. Both are available at bookstores through special order or at Kamehameha Schools Press, 808-842-8880, or www.ksbe.edu/pubs/KSPress/catalog.html.

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