**By the time this photo was taken in 1925, rice had replaced the kalo that was formerly cultivated in this area.
Mai Hoopalaleha I Ke Kanu Kalo
Do Not Neglect Planting Taro
Kuokoa Home Rule, Buke IX, Helu 33, 18 August 1911
Summary
This article was published in the Hawaiian language newspaper, Kuokoa Home Rule, on August 8, 1911. In it, the author speaks to the transition of land use in Honolulu, as many of the loʻi kalo were beginning to dry out. The author, unnamed, warns that nearly three hundred acres of Honolulu’s kalo lands, at the time in cultivation, will soon no longer be planted. In the end, the reader is called to action:
“Nolaila, e na Hawaii mai paupauaho oukou no ke kanu kalo, a mai hoopalaleha ia hana mikiala o ka aina.”
“Therefore, to the people of Hawai’i, do not lose enthusiasm for planting kalo, and do not neglect this lively industry of the land.”
Translated by Kahanuola Tabor, Reviewed by Puakea Nogelmeier
Sources
- Mai Hoopalaleha i ke Kanu Kalo, Kuokoa Home Rule, Buke IX, Helu 33, 18 August 1911 (Original Text from Kuokoa Home Rule, accessed through Papakilo Database)
- Mai Hoopalaleha i ke Kanu Kalo (Article with Translation)
Inquiry Questions
- What is the author urging readers to do? What is the underlying fear?
- Where was this taking place? What was that area like at the time this article was written?
- What is this area like today? Are there hundreds of acres of loʻi kalo there today? Currently, do we see many people working this ʻāina? Is it producing food? Why and how do you think this transition took place?
- How do you think this author would react to seeing this ʻāina today? What might he or she do about it?
- What can we do to steward this ʻāina differently?
- What life lessons might we learn from this moʻolelo? How might it connect with our ʻōlelo noʻeau?
Vocabulary
- Mai: Do not
- Hoopalaleha: Neglect; to be indifferent, idle, careless, neglectful of duty
- Kalo: Taro
- Loʻi / Loʻi Kalo: Wetland taro fields
Haʻawina (Life Lessons)
E mālama Hāloa, e mālama ʻāina (Care for kalo, care for ʻāina)
- As is reflected in its title, this article is a reminder not to be negligent of our responsibility as kānaka to both care for kalo as well as ʻāina.
