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Natural History

‘OHAI, MONKEYPOD, RAIN TREE
(Samanea samau)

Among the largest trees in the islands, the monkeypod is stately and massive with rough, dark bark. Because of their size, the trees tend to be used in public plantings, along streets, and in very large private yards or old pastures. They were once common trees in the old plantation camps and have sometimes naturalized in other disturbed lowland areas.

It is a legume, native to Central America, from Mexico to Brazil and Peru as well as the West Indies, where its native name is zaman, from which its scientific name is derived. It was first recorded as growing in Hawaii in 1871. The tree is a common, favorite shade tree in other tropical parts of the world as well. The name “monkeypod” does not derive from monkeys. The former scientific name Pithecellobium means “the monkey’s earrings” and refers to its bulbous four- to eight-inch long pea-like seedpods. Perhaps the scientist who named the tree felt the pods were fit earrings for a monkey!

The branches of the trees support a gigantic, rounded, dome-shaped canopy of leaves. The canopy is a single layer thick and can cast a gently dappled shadow over an immense area of ground. The trees can reach a height of eighty feet in fifteen years and grow to a width of fifty feet or more.

One gardening expert says “a medium-sized monkeypod is just the right amount of shade for a tropical garden beneath and can be used as a lath-house for delicate tropicals like anthuriums or ferns provided there is protection from the wind.” The leaves are compound in structure, made up of opposite pairs of pointed leaflets which fold together in the late afternoon, reopening again the following morning. A dark cloudy day can cause the leaves to close as well. The leaves have a habit of falling off in February and March. New leaves appear, followed by the drift of falling flowers which comes later and then a hail of old seed pods.

In spring and summer, the trees are often covered with a thin film of pink flowers. The flowers are short tassels made up of tufts of silky pink stems. They grow on short stems in bunches near the ends of the branches. They are followed by thick, dark pods, which hang on the trees until the following spring. These pods do not open. The clacking of the pods in the wind gave the monkeypod another name: “woman’s tongue!”

The pods contain a sticky pulp with small, oval, brown seeds which are sometimes used in contemporary seed lei. The dark wood is a favorite for carvers of wooden calabash bowls and sculpture and monkeypod has been jokingly called “salad-bowl tree.”

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Arts & Culture

THE HAUOLA STONE

The Hauola stone is a legendary healing rock shaped like a stone couch that can be seen by looking over the right-hand end of the stone wall that separates Wharf Street (the street in front of the Pioneer Inn) from the ocean. It is part of a cluster of large rocks which stand above the waves at low tide.

The off-shore stone was believed to have been a girl, Hauola, who was desperately fleeing from her enemies when her protective guardian gods turned her into a stone. Probably because of its legendary origin, this stone was believed to be sacred, with special healing powers.

It is said that Hawaiians believed that if sick people could sit on the stone and let the surf wash over their dangling legs they would regain their health. One source says that many healers would send their patients to bathe in the waters at this stone and that many of these patients were cured. There is even an old proverb that refers to Ka La’i o Hauola (the calm of Hauola), as a metaphor for peace and comfort.

The use of healing stones was an important component in ancient Hawaiian medical practice, along with herbal remedies, special diets and massage. Healing stones like the Hauola stone, are found on all of the Hawaiian islands, but most have long been forgotten.

According to the Maui Historical Society’s LAHAINA HISTORICAL GUIDE, the sacred rock was also a pohaku piko, where Hawaiians hid the umbilical cords (piko) of newborn children since “this rock was a sacred place and not likely to be disturbed.” The umbilical cords were secretly placed in crevices in the rocks and wedged in with pebbles. If they were successfully hidden and left undisturbed, it was said, the baby would grow up to be a chief.

It is interesting to note that Hauola is also the name of an ancient surfing area in Lahaina.

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Braddah-Nics Lexicon

STANDARD: I was so scared, I started shaking like a nervous dog.
BRADDAH-NICS: Ho! Only scared I was, I went shake up, jalike one dog.

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STANDARD: I tried to act strong.
BRADDAH-NICS: I like try psych myself...ack macho...all tantaran.

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STANDARD: It didn't work; what could I do?
BRADDAH-NICS: No can...what I can do?

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Local Grinds

Spam Musubi

Ingredients:

• 2 cups "sticky" rice
• 1/4 cup soy sauce
• 1/4 cup oyster sauce
• 1/2 cup white sugar
• 1 (12 ounce) container Spam, sliced lengthwise into desired thickness
• 5 sheets sushi nori (dry seaweed)
• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil

• Stir soy sauce, oyster sauce, and sugar together.
• Marinate Spam in sauce for 5 minutes.
• In a large skillet, heat oil over medium high heat.
• Cook slices for 2 minutes per side, or until lightly browned.
• Cut nori sheets in half and lay on a flat work surface.
• Place a rice press in the center of the sheet, and press rice tightly inside.
• Top with a slice of luncheon meat, and remove press.
• Wrap nori around rice mold, sealing edges with a small amount of water.