Inoa | Name(s)

Mahi ʻai kalo

Hōʻuluʻulu manaʻo

ʻO ka mahiʻai kalo ke ʻano o ka mahiʻai pili i ke kanu a mālama ʻana i ke kalo. ʻO ke kalo mua i hua mai ai, ʻo ia hoʻi ʻo Hāloa, a ma hope mai i hua mai ʻo Hāloanakalaukapalili a me nā kānaka o ka lāhui Hawaiʻi. ʻO ka ʻoihana mahiʻai kalo he ʻoihana koʻikoʻi nō ia no nā kānaka Hawaiʻi, ʻoiai, ʻo ke kalo ke kuaʻana o kānaka.

Mahi ʻia ke kalo i ka māla ʻai a me ka loʻi kalo. ʻO ka ʻōʻō ka mea i hoʻohana ʻia no ka mahi ʻana i ke kalo. I ka huki ʻana i ke kalo maiā ka loʻi mai, kanu hou ʻia nā huli i mea e hoʻoulu hou ai i ke kalo. Aia he ʻekolu haneli a ʻoi ʻano kalo i mahi ʻia. ʻAi ʻia nā māhele a pau o ke kalo. ʻO ka poi a me ka paʻiʻai ka ʻai nui o ka lāhui Hawaiʻi. Kuʻi ʻia ka hua o ke kalo e ke kanaka me ka pōhaku kuʻi ʻai ma luna o ka papa kuʻiʻai a lilo ke kalo i ka paʻiʻai a iʻole ka poi, ʻo ia hoʻii ka ʻai kamahaʻo o ka ʻāina.

Description

Mahiʻai kalo refers to the practice of specifically farming kalo. The first kalo that was grown was Hāloa, and after that was born Hāloanakalaukapalili as well as the Hawaiian people. The practice of cultivating and caring for kalo is vital to Hawaiians because kalo is considered our elder sibling.

Kalo is grown in dry and wetland conditions. The ʻōʻō or digging stick is what is used to harvest the kalo. When kalo is harvested from the loʻi, the huli, or stem of the kalo is re-planted to grow new kalo. There are more than three hundred different types of kalo. All of the parts of the kalo can be eaten. Poi and paʻiʻai are the staple foods for Hawaiians. The corm is pounded with a pōhaku kuʻi ʻai on a papa kuʻiʻai until the kalo becomes paʻiʻai or poi.

ʻŌlelo kuhikuhi

E koho i kēia huaʻōlelo no nā kumuwaiwai pili i ka mahiʻai kalo.

Instructions 

Use this term for resources related to kalo farming.

Moʻokūʻauhau | Genealogy 

Akua | Deity: Hāloa

Hana | Practice: Mahiʻai

Lako | Materials + tools / implements: ʻŌʻō; Pōhaku kuʻiʻai; Papa kuʻiʻai

Kūmole | Source(s)

Life in Early Hawaiʻi : The Ahupuaʻa. Third edition. Honolulu: Kamehameha Schools Press, 1994.

Pukui, Mary Kawena, and Samuel H. (Samuel Hoyt) Elbert. Hawaiian Dictionary : Hawaiian-English, English-Hawaiian. Rev. and enl. Ed. Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press, 1986.

Pukui, Mary Kawena. ’Olelo No’eau : Hawaiian Proverbs & Poetical Sayings. Honolulu, Hawai’i: Bishop Museum Press, 1983.

Williams, Julie Stewart, and Robin Yoko Racoma. From the Mountains to the Sea : Early Hawaiian Life. Honolulu: Kamehameha Schools Press, 1997.

Hoʻopili ʻia i | Applied to: A handbook of kalo basics : for its planting, care, preparation, and eating : handbook; Taro : mauka to makai : a taro production and business guide for Hawai’i growers

Mea haku | Created by: Keahiahi Long; Annemarie Paikai