Moe Kaoo I Ka Ai Lepo
Ka Nupepa Kuokoa, Volume XI, Number 43, 26 October 1872
Summary
This article comes from Ka Nupepa Kuokoa and was published on October 26, 1872. In it, the author, J. B. Keliikanakaole, recounts a story of Bernice Pauahi Bishop and Miriam Likelike Cleghorn as they journey from Hanakamalaelae, Heʻeia to the fishpond at Kawainui, Kailua, Oʻahu to taste the lepo ʻai ʻia (edible mud) found there.
Sources
- Keliikanakaole, J. B. Moe Kaoo i ka Ai Lepo. Ka Nupepa Kuokoa, Vol XI, Number 43, October 26, 1872. (Original Text, accessed through Papakilo Database)
- Pauahi and Likelike and the edible mud of Kawainui, 1872 (Nupepa Hawaiʻi, 2013)
- Edible Mud of Kawainui (Kapalaiʻula de Silva, 2013)
Inquiry Questions
- What do you think this lepo ʻai ʻia was? Why would it be so significant that the aliʻi Pauahi and Likelike both made the journey from Heʻeia to try it?
- What does this moʻolelo tell us about the health of Kawainui and of Kailua at the time? Where are we in comparison?
- Do you think there is still lepo ʻai ʻia in Kawainui fishpond today? Why or why not?
- What can we do to bring this lepo ʻai ʻia (and other sources of food) back so that they can be eaten by future generations?
- What life lessons might we learn from this moʻolelo? How might it connect with our ʻōlelo noʻeau?
Vocabulary
- Lepo ʻai ʻia: Edible mud found in the fishpond of Kawainui in Kailua, Koʻolaupoko
- Lepo: Mud, dirt, soil, earth
- ʻAi: To eat; food; taro
- Aliʻi:Royalty
- Huakaʻi: To journey, travel
- Pāʻina: To eat, share a meal
Inoa ʻĀina (Wind, Rain, & Place Names)
- Hanakamalaelae: An area in the ahupuaʻa of Heʻeia where Bernice Pauahi Bishop would sometime reside
- Heeia: An ahupuaʻa between Kāneʻohe and Kahaluʻu in the district of Koʻolaupoko, Oʻahu
- Kaneohe: An ahupuaʻa between Kailua and Heʻeia in the district of Koʻolaupoko, Oʻahu
- (Ka Loko o) Kawainui: Name of a fishpond in Kailua where the lepo ʻai ʻia was found, currently referred to as “Kawainui Marsh”
- Kailua: An ahupuaʻa between Kāneʻohe and Waimānalo in the district of Koʻolaupoko, Oʻahu
