All of the tropical fruits now found in Hawai’i were actually imported here from other places.
Hawai’i’s past at Mr. Ed’s Bakery in Honomu, where I fi nd two local delicacies whose origins pre-date present-day tourism. Spam was introduced by G.I.s during World War II and today more Spam is consumed here per capita than in any other state. A surprisingly tasty island twist on the processed meat is Spam musubi—cold steamed rice and a slice of marinated Spam wrapped in seaweed. It’s even served in local McDonald’s and Burger Kings. For dessert, I enjoy another island favorite, manju, a sweet bun fi lled with bean paste that originally arrived with the Japanese in the late 1800s. My culinary expedition ends
further up the road in Honoka’a with Portuguese malasadas at Tex Drive In. Brought to Hawai’i more than 125 years ago by Portuguese laborers, these celebrated donuts are made plain or fi lled with guava, pineapple, mango, or custard. Locals drive for miles to get them warm from the oven. Several times daily as I drive
the island, I spot the Indian mongoose, a weasel-like critter that wasn’t here when the
fi rst Europeans arrived. Sugar plantation owners in 1883 imported the mongoose to control rats. The plan backfi red because mongooses slept at night when the rats were active. The mongoose developed a taste for local birds and their eggs, silencing the melody of birdcalls that longtime residents grew up with. Now they lose sleep from the shriek of coqui frogs, which arrived here in the late 1980s and now numbers in the hundreds of thousands. And that’s not all. The miniscule amphibians eat native insects that pollinate plants and provide food for Hawai’i’s remaining native birds.
The goddess of fi re
The road back to the airport leads past Volcanoes National Park. It’s here with my feet on the ground that I encounter a tortured landscape of sculpted lava and hardy plant life not seen from helicopter-height. Walking a path along the rim of Kilauea Caldera, I fi nd several offerings of fruit and fl owers to Pele, the goddess of fi re and volcanoes in Hawai’ian religion. According to legend, she lives in Halema’uma’u Crater within the caldera. Although offi cially abolished in 1819, the religion’s observances almost 200 years later are clear evidence that the beliefs of the ancient ones continue today. The next evening the sun is sinking fast into the sea off the
Maui coast. Grass-skirted maidens and bare-chested men sway beneath a fl aming sky while waves crash on the beach and soft trade winds rustle the palm trees. Seemingly endless all-you-can- eat buffet tables loaded with dozens of island specialties beckon the hungry. What’s not to like about a lu’au? The origin of the lu’au goes back to ancient times when Hawai’ians
would gather to celebrate important occasions such as the birth of a child, a war victory, or a good harvest. Lu’aus were also a way to honor the gods while sharing a feast with family and friends.
EnCompass January/February 2012 29
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52