Kapiolani
Community College Horizons 2002
Kapiolani
Community College
Horizons 2002
by Shannon Bucasas
INTRODUCTION
My study is on Hawai’ian Fishponds. I am fascinated by the fact that the ancient Hawai’ians were able to construct these ponds and use them as a means of survival. What is most interesting to me is that all ponds were constructed by man, not machinery or modem materials such as cement. I feel that these were great accomplishments for the Hawi’ians, and it is for these reasons that I chose this as the subject of my study.
METHODOLOGY
It was hard to find an informant for my research due to the fact that fishponds were created many years ago. However, I was lucky enough to find someone who works to preserve fishponds. My main informant in this project was Mr. Matt Lyum. He belongs to an organization that works to restore the Waikalua Fishpond located in Kaneohe. Matt also referred me to additional sources that he felt could help me in this endeavor.
ANALYSIS AND DISCUSSION OF DATA
Fishponds were a very critical part of the Hawai’ian society. The ponds provided major subsistence to the people of Hawai’i. The most common was the ocean pond or loko kuapa. Most ocean ponds were owned by the ali’is, or leaders. They were able to construct fishponds because they had total control over their subjects. Everyone in the district was forced to contribute to the creation of the ponds. This creation was a difficult process, as told in this testimony of a Moloka’i fishpond:
The Fishpond was affirmed to have been built by all of the people of Moloka’i, is the fruit of their labor and toil in former days, when they were drafted and commanded by lunas and chiefs. Po ’alima (commoners) worked on the loko. I helped build the wall of fishpond of Pukoo under Ilae luna Auhau. All the people were called to this work from Kamalo to Halawa. Women and children also went and worked in the sea gathering lime for the wall.
Construction of a loko kuapa, or walled fishpond, could take a year or more. There were two ways of constructing a loko kuapa: either build a wall across the mouth of a small bay or between two close points of land, or create a barricade along the shoreline to form a semicircular figure. The loko kapua varied in size and could span an area of 1 acre to 523 acres. The distance covered by the wall of a fishpond measured anywhere from a few hundred to several thousand feet. The wall was typically anywhere from 3 to 19 feet wide and between 2 _ and 5 feet tall.
Coral and basalt were the materials of choice in the construction of the kapua. These raw materials came in pieces that usually weighed about half a ton. Workers would form a long line and pass these heavy rocks from hand to hand in quick succession. Most kapuas was lined on both sides with the rubble of coral or basalt or some combination of the two. On the island of Moloka’i, coralline algae that could be found on the coral was used as a filler. This algae is a lime secreting form of algae. It served as a cement to strengthen the kapua. According to Joseph Farber, two basalt boulders were placed on the kapua. On represented Ku, the god of fishing, war, canoe-building, and sorcery, and the other, the goddess Hina. The boulder representing Ku was placed along the eastern portion of the wall, in order to greet the sunrise and attract the fish. The boulder representing Hina was laid flat on the western end of the pond, representing the setting of the sun. It was here that the goddess Hina brought offerings and requests for an abundant supply of fish.
The tops of the kuapas were leveled so that access to the makaha, or gate, was easy. The makaha was an essential feature of the fishpond as it helped to ensure the healthy flow of water in and out of the pond. Built by binding sticks made of ohi’a, ’ai, or lama to several cross beams, the makaha was placed in an upright position at strategic locations along the ocean wall. Acting as a barrier between the fishpond and the open sea, the makaha worked simultaneously to both prevent the fish from escaping and predators from entering. The following is a detailed story of the building of the makaha: When the stone walls of the kuapa banks were completed, then the task remained to find the proper wood for the makaha. This was selected by the kahuna of the ’aumakua who increased the fish in the pond. When the wood was prepared, and the proper day had arrived for construction, the kahuna was fetched to set up the first piece of timber. A hog or a pig was sacrificed in hopes of increasing the amount of fish. Prayer was also done.
An ’auwai, or lane, was built by piling rocks to make two rows that extended about ten feet in and out of the pond. A guardhouse, or halekia’i, was usually built near each makaha so that the makaha keeper could supervise the fishpond. On nights of high tide the guard slept in the hale so that he could prevent the fish in the makaha from being stolen or killed by pigs or dogs. When the tide lowered the fish would go back to the center of the pond.
TYPES OF FISHPONDS
SHORELINE PONDS
Loko kuapa and loko ’umeki were two types of shoreline ponds. As described in the previous section, loko kuapa were walled ponds that were usually built on the reefs. The loko kuapa are unique to Hawai’i; that is, they are not found in any other Polynesian society.
Loko umeki, another type of shore pond, was usually constructed by building low walls that were submerged during high tides. Loko umeki did not require a guard house (makaha); they only needed ’auwais, or fishing lanes. A platform was built on each ’auwai so that the fisherman could sit on it when they were harvesting the fish.
INLAND PONDS
There were three kinds of inland ponds: pu’uone, loko wa’i, and loko I’a kalo. The pu’uone were located near the sea and were connected to it by a ditch or a stream. Brackish or fresh water, or a combination of both, was found in the pond. An ’auwai kai, or saltwater ditch, connected the pond to the ocean. There were two different pu’uone; small pu’uones owned by commoners that needed little maintenance and construction, and large pu’uones owned by the ali’is that required considerable manpower both in their construction and maintenance.
Construction of a small pu’uone was not as backbreaking as the loko kuapa. However, for both a small and a large pu’uone, the building process was similar. The pond was usually erected at the site of a natural basin or a depression near the seashore. Weeds and other vegetation were cleared and the mud was dug to the desired depth. The mud that had been dug up was then used to form an embankment. The ’auwai kai ran from the pond to the sea. If a stream connected the loko to the sea, the stream would be enlarged so that the salt water could enter the pond more readily. According to Hawai’ian belief, the seawater helped the fish grow fatter and made them more delicious (in fact, this sea water was actually necessary for their survival). Fish were initially stocked by transporting them from the ocean to the pond.
The second type of inland ponds, the loko wa’i, are also known as the fresh water ponds. These were usually natural ponds that were enhanced as fishponds by erecting kuapas and ’auwais. Fish such as o’opu, opae, and awa were caught at the sea or in the streams and carried to the ponds. It is said that in these ponds formed an edible mud, a jelly-like substance that was sometimes substituted for poi.
The loko I’a kalo, also known as taro fishponds, were the last type of inland pond built by the Hawai’ians. These ponds were filled with water that flowed from the mountain streams to the sea. Kuapas and ’auwais were constructed so that water from the stream could flow into the pond. Taro was planted in mounds and the fish were transferred to the loko I’a kalo from nearby ponds. The nutrient-rich taro allowed the fish to grow very large.
SPECIES OF FISH FOUND IN THE LOKO
There were usually two ways to accumulate fish into the ponds. First, the fish could be caught in bays or shallow waters and transported to the loko. Second, large fish could be trapped in the pond because they were too large to exit. Some fish would swim in through the makaha and feed on whatever was in the pool. After feeding, some would be too large to exit through the narrow makaha, and were thus trapped in the pond.
Mullet and ama were the primary fish found in a loko. Aholehole, papio, moi, and kaku were also common. Mullets or Ama’ama were highly favored by the Hawai’ians because they were believed to have been born of human parents. The awa was the third most common fish in Hawai’ian diet and is similar to the ’ama. Like those discussed thus far, the awa is an herbivorous fish that feeds on the natural algae that grew at the bottom of the ponds. The aholehole were also plentiful in the loko. When there were heavy rains, the aholehole would swim to the makaha. Some believed that the noise made by the falling rain agitated the fish, and in order to escape they would rush to the makaha.
The o’opu is a freshwater fish, aside from a few found in saltwater ponds. It was also an important part of the Hawai’ian diet. Believed to be associated with the family of Pele because of its lizard-like appearance, the o’opu was eaten with some misgiving. However, despite the myths associated with it most Hawai’ians were very fond of this omnivorous fish. Usually a generous people, the Hawai’ians were uncharacteristically selfish in regards to the o’opus.
Several fish were associated with different taboos in the Hawai’ian culture. The papio, for example, is a fish forbidden to women because it was associated with the warrior. The Moi was restricted only to chiefs; commoners were forbade from eating it.
Crustaceans as well as fish were found in the lokos. ’Opae, also known as the grass shrimp, was one of the more popular crustaceans harvested; however, Tahitian prawns and crabs were also readily available in the loko.
An interesting characteristic of the fish raised in the loko is their high protein content. This is associated with the rich algae growing in the pond, as well as the species that were selected. The sources of food in the Hawai’ian fishpond included diatoms, algae, and organic substances such as vegetable debris and detritus. Due to these factors, the herbivorous fish of the Hawai’ian fishpond provided communities with 100 times more protein than wild catch might.
HARVESTING
Most of the harvesting of fish was done at the makaha. When the makaha keeper wished to harvest some fish, he would go to the makaha during high tide when the fish were attracted to the incoming water. With a scoop net the men were able to catch baskets full of glittering fish. Some keepers were able to predict the arrival of fish by dipping a foot in the water at the makaha. If the water felt warm and pressed against his foot like a stream he knew the makaha would be full of fish. Fish could also be attracted to the makaha by food. The keeper would drop a bit of taro in the water at the makaha and use an ’upena ku’u, or net, to collect the fish.
A unique and very effective method used by the Hawai’ians to gather fish is known as pa’i pa’i, which means “strike”. Two men would hold one side of the net each while other men beat the water to scare the fish into the net. We should note here that women usually harvested the fish, although the men could also help. Fish could be caught one at a time by using a long net. At night the harvesters would sit on a raised stone platform located at the end of the ’auai. The fishermen held the net in the ’auwai, with the opening facing the sea, and waited for a tug. Long nets were also used to scoop up fish inside of the loko.
DESTRUCTION OF THE LOKO’S
With the influence of Western culture came the destruction of the Hawai’ian loko I’a. The Great Mahele of 1848, which was the privatization of land in Hawai’i, was the turning point for Hawai’ian society. Prior to the Mahele the ahupua’as were run by local ali’is, konohikis, and maka’ainana, and each group cultivated their lands. With the MAhele and the division of land, 24% of the land went to the King, 36% was divided between 251 chiefs, and 36% came to be controlled by the government. Most of the fishponds were given to the ali’is. However, since they no longer had control of the commoners they could not maintain the ponds. Many of the loko either perished or were sold to foreigners. In those areas where the ali’I did have control over the commoners, the population had declined so drastically due to disease that the ponds were often neglected.
Wave activity, erosion, silt build up on the bottom of ponds, and debris filling the makaha were some of the problems that, coupled with neglect, led to the deterioration of the ponds. The polluting of streams and harvesting of sandalwood, along with the invasion of foreign plants, overcame the ponds. Mangroves in particular have caused problems in the fishponds. This plant, introduced from Florida, thrives best in brackish water and spread all too quickly along the shores and in the ponds of Hawai’i. However, perhaps the greatest destructive force of all has been urbanization. Many fishponds have been destroyed by housing and other developments. Land development farther away from the shore caused the runoff of silt which filled many ponds at the base of streams. However, even without these outside influences, all ponds are destined to destruction without the proper care.
RESTORATION
Sadly, due to the lack of funds, many lokos have disappeared. Waikalua Loko Fishpond Prevention Society maintains Waikalua pond, but due largely to lack of funds no major restoration has been carried out. Fishponds in Kahalu’u and Hakipu’u have been restored as tourist attractions. He’eia pond in Kaneohe has been partially restored and used for commercial aquaculture. Several ponds on Moloka’i have been restored as cultural projects, and the federal government is restoring a major pond in Kona, Kaloko as part of a national park. However, many obstacles stand in the way of restoration. One is the Procedures and permits you must obtain to start rebuilding- six in all! In addition, restoration is costly and time consuming. In addition, many citizens feel that rebuilding will cause beach erosion, loss of public access to abandoned ponds, and a waste of public money.
CONCLUSION
This research has revealed the importance of the fishpond for the survival of the Hawai’ian society. The brilliance in the design and maintenance of these ponds, as well as the knowledge that the Hawai’ian people held of the local species of fish is incredible. I find it appalling that these ancient Hawai’ian works of art are being covered by homes, invading plants, and pollution. Perhaps with more helping hands and contributions, we will one day be able to restore what is left of the ancient Hawai’ian fishponds.
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