Hawaiian

ethnobiology ] Ethnobiology is the multidisciplinary field of study of relationships among peoples, biota, and environments integrating many perspectives, from the social, biological, and medical sciences; along with application to conservation and sustain ...

is the study of how people in Hawaii, particularly pertaining to those of pre-western contact, interacted with the plants around them. This includes to practices of

agroforestry Agroforestry (also known as agro-sylviculture or forest farming) is a land use management system that integrates trees with crops or pasture. It combines agricultural and forestry technologies. As a polyculture system, an agroforestry system c ...

horticulture Horticulture (from ) is the art and science of growing fruits, vegetables, flowers, trees, shrubs and ornamental plants. Horticulture is commonly associated with the more professional and technical aspects of plant cultivation on a smaller and mo ...

, religious plants, medical plants,

agriculture Agriculture encompasses crop and livestock production, aquaculture, and forestry for food and non-food products. Agriculture was a key factor in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created ...

, and aquaculture.

Conservation

Often in conservation, "Hawaiian ethnobiology" describes the state of ecology in the

Hawaiian Islands The Hawaiian Islands () are an archipelago of eight major volcanic islands, several atolls, and numerous smaller islets in the Pacific Ocean, North Pacific Ocean, extending some from the Hawaii (island), island of Hawaii in the south to nort ...

prior to human contact. However, since "ethno" refers to people, "Hawaiian ethnobiology" is the study of how people, past and present, interact with the living world around them. The concept of conservation was, like many things in pre-contact

ancient Hawaii Ancient Hawaii is the period of Hawaiian history preceding the establishment in 1795 of the Kingdom of Hawaii by Kamehameha the Great. Traditionally, researchers estimated the first settlement of the Hawaiian islands as having occurred sporad ...

, decentralized. At the '' ahupuaa'' level, a ''konohiki'' managed the natural resource wealth. He would gather information on people's observations and make decisions as to what was '' kapu'' (strictly forbidden) during what times. Also, the concept of ''kuleana'' (responsibility) fueled conservation. Families were delegated a fishing area. It was their responsibility to not take more than they needed during fishing months, and to feed the fish kalo (''Colocasia esculenta'') and

breadfruit Breadfruit (''Artocarpus altilis'') is a species of flowering tree in the mulberry and jackfruit family ( Moraceae) believed to have been selectively bred in Polynesia from the breadnut ('' Artocarpus camansi''). Breadfruit was spread into ...

(''Artocarpus altilis'') during a certain season. The same idea of not collecting more than what was needed, and tending to the care of "wild" harvested products extended up into the forest. In modern times, this role is institutionalized within a central state government. This causes animosity between natural resource collectors (subsistence fisherman) and state legislature (local Department of Fish and Wildlife).

Agroforestry

Managing the forest resources around you is

. This includes timber and non-timber forest crops. Hawaiian agroforestry practices

Religious Plants

If a religious belief system influences a culture's practices in how the perceive and manage their environment, then that plant is part of a "sacred ecology". Hawaiian sacred plants include ''awa'' ('' Piper methysticum''), which was used both religiously as a sacrament, and by the common people as a relaxant/sedative. Other religious plants that have shaped ecology are Ki (''

Cordyline fruticosa ''Cordyline fruticosa'' is an evergreen flowering plant in the family Asparagaceae. It is known by a wide variety of common names, including ti plant, palm lily, cabbage palm. The plant has been cultivated in Asia and Oceania, with a number of ...

'') Kalo. Ki is a sterile plant, so the wide distribution of the plant across the main Hawaiian islands indicated human activity; if not directly planted, then through gravitational fragmentation. Kalo was the staple starch crop of the Hawaiian diet. In Hawaiian genealogy, Haloa was the first born of Papa (Earth Mother) and Wakea (Sky Father). He was a still birth, so Papa went out and buried Haloa. Haloa then sprouted into the first kalo plant. Their second son they also named Haloa. He was charged with the kuleana to always care for his older brother. The historical Hawaiian people draw their direct lineage from Haloa, and did, and some still do, assume his responsibility to care for kalo. This responsibility, and need for food, drove the building of huge kalo growing complexes called loi.

References

{{Reflist Ethnobiology Environment of Hawaii