j ' \ CALIFORNIA STATE UNIVERSITY, NORTHRIDGE NUTRITION AND FOOD HABITS OF THE ANCIENT HA~\TAIIANS · ,, A thesis submitted in partial satisfaction ~ . .. of the requirem~nts for the degree of Master of Science in Home Economics by Nalani L. De Clercq-Kaeck / June 1977 ,---~----- ~·-------------~- ---~ ~~------·--------- -- ·-·-------------- --------~ ! I The thesis of Nalani L. De Clercq-Kaeck is approved by: California State University, Northridge June 1977 ii ............. ····· ......... ············ ...... ····· ...... - ....... /............ \ \ DEDICATION To the 20th Century American vloman - those who inspired me: Dr. Margaret Mead, Eleanor Roosevelt, Betty Friedan, Jaqueline Kennedy Onnasis, Candice Bergen, Lillian Hellman; those who helped me: my mother, Elan De Clercq, my advisor, Dr. Ann Stasch, my professor, Gail Fonosch, my friends Barba.IOa Kistler, Elvie Wilkinson, Alice Andre, the iate Lillian Van Hook; and to those who taught me how much women can accomplish: Claudie Hemenway, Martha Bruske, Kathy MacDonald, :Dr. Molly Gorelick - this thesis is respectfully dedicated. iii ) ··c·••=•=,"=••·-"'••·••<"'''''""'-·'"~"~=·~~_,,,~.mh~•M~~··---·~·'"-~•·~····•··-·~"''w-•·~·•·.·~···~.. w•~~-~"~··»·· .. •··••.o=·•·•~~·•1· •···-"~~····•·"'·"··"~'''"·'''''"'·-••···•····'-~···••c \ ACKNOWLEDGMENTS A special "mahalo" is extended to Mrs. Nao Wenkam of the University of Hawaii for material issued in special printing, and for opening the library of Nutritional . Studies in the department of Food Science; and to Mrs. Mary Kawena Pukui, the renown translator and historian of Hawaiiana, for personal communication. She is the last .... of her kind! I would also like to remember in loving gratitude my husband, the late Alexander Paki Kaeck, for inspiring me to study things Hawaiian~ iv \ \ TABLE OF CONTENTS l Il Page ! !Dedication .................................................... iii i jAcknowledgments ............................................... iv lList of T~bles .................................... v i j List of Figures • o •••••••••••• o ••• o • o ••••• o ••••• 0 ••• 0 ••• o • o o ••• vi I Abstract ... vii I. Introduction ............... ~ ~ . 1 Statement of the Problem •o 3 Limitations 3 II. Review of Literature • 0 5 III. Procedure 7 IV. Discussion 10 Prehistoric ·Origins 10 Hierachy 12 Physical Status 13 .Taro •••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• if; ••••••• 15 Sweet Potato ................... 21 Breadfruit 23 Yam .................................................. 25 Sugar Cane .............. ~ .. e ••• ,. ....... ,. .............. .. 27 Coconut 28 Candlenut •••••••••••••••~'t!.,lle~~'••:~~~ .. ••••••••c.•••e-••••• 29 Ti ••••••.•••••••• o •••••••.•••• ·• •••••••••••••••••••••• 30 ',./: Page Fruits 1. Banana ......................................... 32 2. Mountain Apple ................................. 32 3. Ohelo .......................................... 33 4. Pineapple ..................................... 33 Animals Eaten As .Food 1. Hog ••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• 34 2. Dog •••••••••••••••••••.••••••••••••••••••••••• 35 3. Chicken 36 4. Wild Fowl ................................ -.: .... 36 Seafood 37 Drinks 42 Medicines and Remedies 45 Utensils and Implements 46 Cooking ~fethods .................................... 52 Food Customs 54 Foods Introduced Later 56 v. Summary, Conclusion, Recommendations 59 vi \ LIST OF TABLES Page Alphabet and Pronunciation Guide •••••••••••••••••••••••••• 9 Graph Showing Increase in Acidity of Poi •••••••••••••••••• 19 Essential and Non-essential Amino Acids Content of Five Hawaiian Fishes ....•.•..•...••.......•............. 40 Chart of Nutritive Value of Specific Foods ••••••••••••.••• 44 .... J l I l' Vii LIST OF FIGURES Page 1. Y~p of the Islands ....................................... ix 2. Taro Plant ................................................ 16 3. Sweet Potato Plant . ..................................... 22 4. Breadfruit Plant ......................................... 24 5. Yam Plant . ........................... 26 6. Ti Plant ............................ -31 7. Poi Pounders and Preparation of Poi 47 8. Calabashes and Bowls 49 9. The Imu ....................... " ......................... 51 10. Lau Lau Wrapping ..........•.............•.....•........•. 53 l ! viii ABSTRACT This thesis is a research of the foods used by the ancient !Hawaiians, both indigenous and those brought to the islands for culti- :vation by the original Polynesian settlers. Information was gathered from the University of Hawaii in the Food Science Department, in the archives of the Bernice P. Bishop :Museum in Honolulu, and through personal contact with Mary Kawena Pukui, 'renown historian and translator of _the Hawaiin language. Most of the plants came by way of Indonesia or Malaya, and were ;transported to the islands by canoe, proving a rare feat of navigation iand horticulture. Although taro, the main staple, is grown and eaten throughout Polynesia, the Hawaiians were the only group of people to produce from 'it the sticky and bland-flavored paste-called poi. 1be·end result was l ~ food of highly nutritious value and digestibility. The caste system in Hawaii produced some unusual results in iVaried statures. The ruling class had superior diets due to t~eir ' ;! status. The common people were farmers or fishermen, with a barter · system used in the exchange of foods between them. 1be non-use of metals demanded the use of wooden implements, and resulted in a method of cooking in an earth oven called an "imu". Plants Here used as medicinal herbs. There '"ere curatives and treatments for various illnesses kno-v.rn today. · There was also a system of taboos that influenced the dietary habits. The people of ancient Hawaii \vere well-formed, healthy, and physically attractive. It is hoped that a recording of the foods they ate would produce additional research into the dietary patterns of : ' :today's citizens, and how they have, or will affect, their health. Q ~~,S\ t. __ ~ C~) .. fj ("r·\ r-~ / i I IN:TRODUCTION position pf the foods that are on the market today, there has been an 'upturn in the interest in nutrition, particularly "natural" foods. 'Dietitians today·a:re interested in what foods are culturally acceptable to patients, in order to prescribe diets that.wlll most likely be adhered to. Nutritionists are interested in the physical results of 'substitutions in foods that.ordinarily have been eaten for generations lby a particular race of people. Primitive peoples have existed for centuries on·adequate diets, ·although they did not have the facilities for measuring the nutrient icontent of those foods. Often great harm is inflicted by modern change~ ·of these diets. Diets of long duration change when exposed to outside i :influences, not nec<.:ssarily to the advantage of the people consuming ' :them. The Hawaiians are subjects of food habits imposed upon them by 1 a number of variables! climate, availability of resources, religious :or superstitious beliefs, and customs, among others. Hm.raiians had no i "rritten language ¥Jit:h which to record their customs. The alphabet is 'composed of the fi-<.1e VO'i>Jels plus the consonants H, K, L, H, N, P, H, Persons \·Jh<) speak fluent Hawaiian are 1 2 : fast disappearing, as well as the racially pure full-blodded Polynesian, resulting in a loss of knowledge of the older culture and customs. Due to the economic and political changes in the Hawaiian ! Islands, and the infiltration of so many other races, diets and food i :habits have changed considerably since Captain Cook first set foot upon' i j : the island of Oahu. Islanders today suffer from an assortment of ills ! that are considered diet-related: diabetes, coronary diseases, gall- ,bladder diseases, dental problems, obesity. Studies are now being ;undertaken to obtain information on these diet changes. Much can be learned about a race of people from a study of their food habits, their physical status, their superstitions. The !author is interested in the ethnic aspects related to nutrition. If we are to investigate the problems of malnutrition, it would behoove us to: :determine what changes have been wrought and how they have affected these people. As dietitians, we can recommend certain prescribed diets, but we do not really know if there are any personal or cultural adversions to following the diet. A diet can only "work" if it is ; adhered to. Perhaps, too, we are overlooking a source of nutrients so nee- • essary during famines in our haste to impose so-called modern methods ,on people. What we may discount as a food may be a precious source of ienergy to a needy population.· We already have evidence that injury can ;be done when a basic food habit has been changed. We have only to read' . of the results of the lack of i1eeded lime produced when American i Indians '"ere changed· from grinding the maize for their bread in stone · cor~tainers to the newer method of pulverizing corn in steel containers 3 to obtain flour. There is a grov1ing interest in using insects as a source of protein, where not so long ago this'would have been consid­ ered epicurally revolting. There has been a general int~rest in re­ turning to older ways of growing food "plants and preparing them as food in the new "organic foods" craze. Statement of the Problem The purpose of this study, then, is: : 1. To report and discuss the foods consumed by Hawaiians prior to invasion by other races. · 2. To list, as fully as possible, the nutrient content of these foods •. 3. To present the food habits