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Natural History

Kiawe
(Prosopis pallida)

Because the tiny-leaved, thorny kiawe dominates Hawaii's leeward lowlands, many people assume they are native. This is not so.

In other places, the kiawe is called "algoroba" or "mesquite." A native of Peru, Columbia and Ecuador, it is said that the thorny South American plant was introduced into Hawaii by a Frenchman, Father Alexis Bachelot, who had been sent to Hawaii to establish a Catholic mission in July, 1827. During a final farewell promenade with friends in the Royal Gardens in Paris, the good father absentmindedly pocketed a few seeds from a thorny, lacy-leaved tree there.

After he took up residence at Fort Street in Honolulu, the priest planted the seeds, introducing one of the toughest, most common trees that ever grew in Hawaii's dryland habitat. (Some of the early residents of Oahu quipped that the kiawe was purposely introduced by the missionaries as an effective way to get Hawaiians to wear shoes!) It is said that all of Hawaii's kiawe trees are a descendent of that one tree.

The trees are found most abundantly growing in the arid, leeward areas of the islands. They grow at sea level and thrive as high as 2,000 feet in elevation, grow easily, and readily propagate themselves. They have been used extensively in the reforestation of dry wasteland areas and are the only coastal dry forest tree that can form a canopy.

Because kiawe easily overshadows other vegetation and have deep taproots that use all of the available water in an area, it is a severe threat to native Hawaiian plants. In many coastal areas of Hawaii, dense, impenetrable kiawe thickets have displaced and even replaced precious koa, Ohio, wiliwili, nail, and numerous other native trees, shrubs and herbs.

The trees vary considerably in shape and size, but the branches are all long, slender and flexible. Any strong breeze will set the branches of the tree to dancing. The word "kiawe" means "to sway."

The trees seldom reach as much as 60 feet tall. Young trees and branches are smooth except for the youngest branches which are often covered with large, spiky thorns that are the bane of unwary barefooted beachgoers who do not know better than to walk under the trees. The thorns are often long enough to penetrate thick-soled rubber flip-flops.

There are several varieties of kiawe which do not have thorns. These are sometimes used as ornamental plants in gardens that do not get much water.
The plant, which has been called "the most commercially valuable introduced tree in Hawaii," is actually a legume and a relative of the koa, the sensitive plant and wattle trees. The protein-rich seed pods, which look like long beans, contain 25% grape sugar and were once collected in abundance for cattle feed. In times of famine, they were used as human food as well. (Algaroba is a part of the diet of some American Indians.) In the early 1900s, people supplemented their income by selling 35 pound bags of kiawe pods for 15 cents.

The tiny, pale, yellowish-green sprays of flowers are a favorite of bees. Kiawe flower honey has a fine flavor, according to aficionados.
The dense, hard wood is the wood of choice for fence posts that last for years, and as long-burning fuel for wood stoves. The unique flavor imparted by the smoke from kiawe charcoal during grilling is a major selling point of several fine restaurants. It is an old favorite. Cooking over kiawe charcoal was highly regarded by chiefs and for many years kiawe charcoal was one of the few export products of the island of Niihau.

Bachelot's first kiawe tree was chopped down in 1918. A preserved chunk of the tree's trunk can still be seen at the downtown mission church toward the mauka end of what is now called the Fort Street Mall.

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Arts & Culture

Ho'okipa Beach Park

All of the Maui tourist guidebooks are sure to have a blurb or two about the "premier windsurfing beach in Hawaii,) and "the Mecca of windsurfers," Ho'okipa Beach Park. They are all sure to mention that the word "Ho'okipa" means "hospitality in Hawaiian.

On any given day when the conditions are right and after the surfers have had their morning ablutions, a fleet of colorful sails skim along the ocean's surface, crisscrossing the whitecaps. The best windsurfers from all over the world come to test themselves in the less-than-hospitable currents and surf, braving the razor-sharp coral under the waves, and performing daring aerial acrobatics just because they can. It is not for beginners.

The beach itself, located on the Hana Highway about three miles east of Paia town, is little more than a narrow rectangle of sand behind a wide, rocky shelf. At one time, there was a wide, white sand beach fronting the park's present sea wall. Hau trees provided shade along the shoreline. In 1933 Maui Agriculture leased the land for the park to the County of Maui. In the late 1930's, it was this beach that singer Alice Johnson, once called "the Songbird of Maui" and a singer with the Royal Hawaiian Band, made famous.

In 1937, Alice wrote a song, "Ho'okipa Park Hula," extolling the beauty and serenity of the beach. The song became a Hawaiian standard and the beach was on its way to becoming one of the island's best-known shoreline landmarks.

That beach is gone now. It was destroyed in the April Fool's Day tidal wave of 1946. The sea wall along the seaward edge of the park was constructed to prevent further damage. The wall was built after a land exchange conveyed title to the Territory of Hawaii in 1947.

In her song, Alice mentioned the surfing there. The park is acknowledged to be the original home of contemporary surfing on Maui.

Surfing, as everybody knows, was an ancient sport of kings. However, missionary suppression of the sport, which they considered "frivolous" because it not only wasted time in unproductive play but also fostered gambling, promoted intermingling of scantily dressed men and women and encouraged sexual freedom, was so effective that the sport had nearly died out by 1985. By the turn of the century very few people were brave enough and fanatical enough to continue to surf in the face of such disapproval.

In the early 1930's a small group of hard-core surfers started hitting the waves again. By 1936, they had formed the Ho'okipa Surfriding Club, with all 11 boards in use. A small building served as a clubhouse and a set of surfboard racks were donated and constructed in the park by Harold Rice.
The fever spread rapidly, and by the following year, board-surfing was added to the Alexander House Settlement island-wide sports program with major competitions held during Kamehameha Day celebrations. The surfers returned to the beaches of Maui as if they had never gone away.

During the later 1930's Ho'okipa Beach Park was also used by the Hui Makani, a youth organization for the children of Lower Paia and Kuau. It was started by a police officer, Curtis Sylva, who often took the children to the park to swim and surf. By the time Alice visited the park, they had already made Ho'okipa their place.

During World War II, the park became a favorite party site of the men of the Fourth Marine Division whose camp was at Kokomo.
Then, in the early 1960's a second Ho'okipa Surf Club was formed on Maui. Originally called the "Maui Surf Club," the members decided on the name "Ho'okipa Surf Club" because the park was their usual meeting and surfing place. Headed by William and Barbara Meheula, the club became an influential youth organization. They participated in many community service projects, initiated the first Lanai-Lahaina surfboard race and coordinated a weekend of festivities that evolved into the now-defunct annual Lahaina Whaling Spree. Club members found many of the surfing spots on Maui and gave them descriptive names like "Hot Sands", "Lone Pine," and "Shark Pit" that are still familiar to aficionados today.

Then in the early 1970's, a new ocean sport called windsurfing was introduced to Hawaii. Its popularity swept Oahu first and then made the leap to Maui. By the 1980's windsurfing was an international sport and the world discovered the winds and waves on Maui and especially at Ho'okipa. The rest, as they say, is history.

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Braddah-Nics Lexicon

STANDARD: I don't believe you have the authority to decide that.
BRADDAH-NICS: What? Now you da boss?

* * * * * *

STANDARD: It was boring.
BRADDAH-NICS: Was bo-o-o-oring!

* * * * * *

STANDARD: Is the dog in the house?
BRADDAH-NICS: The dog no stay in the house, hah?
 

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Local Grinds

Okinawan Donuts


Ingredients:

Procedure:

Sift flour with sugar and baking powder. Mix with eggs, evaporated milk, butter and orange rind. Let stand
for at least 30 minutes. Heat deep fat to 375 degrees. Stir dough before frying. Scoop dough in hand, and shape into a ball. Repeat until you have 24 dough balls. Drop dough into hot fat and fry for 8 to 10 minutes.
Turn often until donuts split/brown. Drain and let cool. Makes 2 dozen donuts.

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Spotlight On…

Birth of the Iao Needle

Rising high amongst ridges and waterfalls, the Iao Needle is perhaps one of the most well known landmarks on the Island of Maui. A beautiful sight nestled in the heart of serene Iao Valley, many legends pervade about Iao and the Needle; most regarding it's use as a staging ground for the epic battles of Old Hawaii. Less known however, is the story of how Iao Needle came to be . .

In a time long past, Maui, the god from which the island takes it's name, had a daughter; Iao. Ravishing in her beauty, Maui decreed that only the worthiest of island Kings may have Iao's hand in marriage. While surely Iao planned for such an inevitable marriage to take place, she undoubtedly did not plan on finding the true love of her life in a warrior named Puuokamoa.

Half man, half god, Puuokamoa became Iao's secret lover, carrying on their affair carefully and under the cover of darkness, hoping not to be discovered, especially by Maui. Unfortunately, the secret could not be kept; a commoner saw Iao with Puuokamoa by her side, and immediately alerted Maui of Iao's disobedience. Furious, Maui flew into a rage so loud that the Fire Goddess Pele heard his displeasure, and went to investigate.

Upon her arrival, Pele asked Maui why he was so upset. Maui immediately told her of his daughter's indiscretion, and that the punishment shall be the death of the god Puuokamoa, by fire. Hearing this, Pele pleaded with Maui to spare Puuokamoa, as he was not only Iao's lover, but Pele's friend. However, Maui would not listen to Pele's pleas. As Pele continued her petition, Iao came home, and was told of her lovers death sentence.

With tears in her eyes, Iao explained to her father that she could not bear to live without the sight of Puuokamoa.
Feeling this to be true, Maui paused. After some thought, he spoke; telling his daughter that he could not allow this romance to continue, but that he also would not destroy her lover on her request. Instead, it was decided that Puuokamoa would be turned into a pillar of stone; ending the affair while still allowing Iao to gaze at her lover forever more.

And so the Iao Needle was born . . .

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